INDONESIA'S ONE-STOP SERVICE TO EASE LICENSING PROCEDURES FOR INVESTORS By Fardah

 Jakarta, Feb 14, 2015 (Antara) -- Businessmen wishing to invest in Indonesia do not have to go through a lengthy bureaucratic process anymore, thanks to a one-stop service (OSS) offered by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKMP) that started early this year.

        The program, known as the Integrated One-Door Licensing Service (PTSP), was officially launched by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the BKPM office in Jakarta on January 22.     
   "The BKPM launching the OSS is just the initial step. Next, I will order for the processes to be simplified and sped up so they are no longer complicated," the president said while launching the OSS.  
   Investment is expected to help the country achieve an economic growth rate of more than 7 percent within the next three years.

        "This year, the economic growth of other countries will decrease, while ours will grow by 5.1 percent. Our target is to achieve growth of 5.6 to 5.8 percent, and the key to this is the realization of the state budget and investments, among other things," he affirmed.    
   The head of state also urged the BKPM to optimize the use of information technology so licensing procedures can become transparent and investors can follow them.

        In the past, an investor keen on building a power plant would need 52 permits, and the process would take 930 days, the president noted.

        "For me, this is unacceptable. It has to be corrected so electricity problems in cities and districts can be resolved," he remarked.

        Earlier, Chairman of the BKPM Franky Sibarani stated that issuing licenses at the PTSP could boost investment in Indonesia.

        With the new system in operation, the BKPM and other ministries/institutions are ready to facilitate licensing processes for all kinds of businesses.

        "Investors in need of licenses will be served better, as they do not have to tour Jakarta and visit several ministries/institutions for that purpose," Sibarani pointed out, adding that investors only need to visit the BKPM office now.

        As many as 22 relevant ministries/institutions have coordinated to meet this end. They will delegate their authorities to issue licenses to the BKPM and assign their personnel to help run the service.

        Moreover, Sibarani has expressed hope that a synergy with Indonesian envoys will be established to lure foreign direct investments to Indonesia.

        Indonesian diplomats overseas can disseminate information on the government's efforts to improve the country's investment climate, he stated.

        The BKPM chairman is optimistic that the country's foreign investment target for 2015 can be achieved if is a synergy is established between his office and Indonesian ambassadors.

        "Of the total investment target of Rp519.5 trillion, the BKPM aims to attract Rp343.7 trillion as foreign investments," he added.

        Sibarani expects funding in the form of foreign investments to come from Singapore and other ASEAN member states, as well as from China, South Korea, Japan, the United States, and European nations.

        Furthermore, the BPKM has observed that foreign investors often complain about poor infrastructure, logistics and industrial relations, as well as complicated licensing procedures and overlapping regulations.     
   "By integrating the OSS in Jakarta and other regions, I believe foreign investors' main complaint can be overcome," Sibarani affirmed.

        In addition, the government has been addressing the issue of poor infrastructure and logistics problems by constructing sea toll roads, railway networks, and power plants.  
   At the regional level, the Papua province, for instance, has expressed its readiness to implement the OSS for investors.

        "We will implement the system this year. It will allow investors to get permits through a one-door service system," Head of the Papuan Investment Office, John Way, stated in Jayapura recently.

        Way pointed out that in 2014, the office had processed some 203 investment permit proposals, adding that in 2015, his office targets to issue 90 permits.

        He recalled that President Jokowi had declared that 2016 would be the year of investment. So the OSS will become even more crucial to lure investors, he added.

        Moreover, Vice President Jusuf Kalla recently revealed that the government was looking to reform the bureaucracy and processes involved in issuing investment permits by implementing the PTSP program of the BKPM.

        "We have understood that our administrative processes have weaknesses and that our permit procedures for investments are complex. However, the government is trying to rectify these problems," Kalla emphasized.

        According to Kalla, President Joko Widodo inaugurated the OSS to shorten and expedite permit processes required to make investments in Indonesia.

        The vice president affirmed that the service will help the government achieve its development targets, including generating an additional 35 thousand megawatts of power that will require a funding of US$45 billion.

        "We often hear that potential investors are complaining about our complex administrative processes. We hope the OSS will resolve all issues related to permit procedures," Kalla remarked while addressing the Japanese Nikkei Forum.

        The OSS organizes complete licensing and non-licensing procedures of investment in a single office, and has the authority of related technical institutions or ministries to issue licensing and non-licensing documents on particular sectors.

        According to the BKPM, the implementation of the OSS is dedicated to provide easy, fast, precise, accurate, transparent and accountable licensing and non-licensing services. 
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(f001/INE/B003)