Indonesia: Govt approves major reform easing rules affecting foreign ownership of insurers
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Mar 2020
Indonesia is now allowing foreign investors to own more than 80% of shares in locally-listed insurance companies – loosening a rule that has for a long time stopped foreign insurance companies from expanding their business in Indonesia.
According to a report from The Jakarta Globe, the government capped foreign ownership at 80% under previous regulations.
With the government agreeing to make changes, President Jokowi Widodo signed a presidential regulation on 16 January to allow an exemption from the cap for foreign investors if they could raise their capital through an initial public offering in Indonesia.
The rule also drops the requirement for a local partner, which according to the old rule, had to be a locally-based entity wholly controlled by Indonesian citizens.
The new regulation comes at the back of a crisis in the local insurance industry whereby the largest state owned life insurer Asuransi Jiwasraya is on the brink of collapse following an investment mismanagement and alleged fraud scandal. A