Following our sustained engagement with the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), BritCham held a Briefing with HE Thomas Lembong, the former Minister of Trade and new Head of BKPM on Monday, 28th Nov 2016.
The event was moderated by Vice President of Bumi Laut Group and BritCham Board Member, Jay Singgih.
Nearly 70 participants attended the highly-anticipated event. During the discussion, HE Thomas Lembong spoke about the progress of tax amnesty that was recently initiated by the Indonesian Government. The purpose of the government’s tax amnesty is to restructure and advance economic growth by repatriation of funds. According to an estimation by the Indonesian government, some IDR 4,000 trillion worth of “Indonesian money” is secretly stashed abroad in tax havens like Singapore, Panama, London, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. If these funds were stored in Indonesia and the country’s financial system, they could contribute to the economic development of Indonesia.
Through the repatriation of funds, domestic liquidity will be increased, leading to an improvement of the Rupiah’s performance, a decrease in bank lending rates as well as investment expansion. HE Thomas Lembong indicated that the quality of investment within the country is likely to accelerate by implementing the aforementioned initiative. The government has offered tax incentives and immunity from prosecution in order to make the programme more attractive to the affected parties.
Apart from the tax amnesty programme, the new Head of BKPM also encouraged participants and BritCham members to invest in the tourism sector given its massive potential. On the other hand, he pointed out several key indicators which still require great improvement, such as management systems.
We are also delighted to announce the MOU signing between BritCham and HIPMI during the opening session, witnessed by HE Thomas Lembong, Andrew Sutedja – YPG Chairman, Chris Wren – BritCham Executive Director, Jay Singgih – BritCham BOM & VP of Bumi Laut Group, HIPMI Representative, Bapak Hamzah Thayeb – Former Indonesian Ambassador to the UK, and HMA Moazzam Malik – UK Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor Leste, and ASEAN.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the Bumi Laut Group, Sutedja & Associates, PMA Services, and DIAGEO for supporting us in this event.
The Young Professionals Group (YPG) of the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia was founded in July 2011 with the objective to engage under 40s professionals in Indonesia, particularly Indonesian alumni of British educational institutions. It has become a forum where young professionals who represent future leaders in business and public life come together to exchange views on subjects of common interest. YPG continues to support the trade and investment between Indonesia and the UK through many different ways. In the field of education, the group encourages Indonesian students to pursue their studies at British universities as the UK has provided quality in education for decades. YPG is led by a committee of four – Andrew Sutedja, Jennifer Hadinugraha, Terzian Niode and Therene Noteno – with a collective experience covering agriculture, construction, banking and finance, oil and gas, as well as legal and public policies.
