BALI: Bali has emerged as one of the possible locations for the planned Indonesia International Financial Centre or PFII, but there are growing concerns whether the resort island can benefit from the development without becoming overburdened.
Government officials have pointed to Bali and Jakarta as potential locations after the House of Representatives passed the bill to establish the financial centre on July 21, paving the way for a project the government hopes will draw between 300 trillion rupiah (US$16.6bil) and 500 trillion rupiah in funds from international investors.
“It will be announced once everything is ready. The (key) consideration is which of these is the low-hanging fruit, the one that we could build faster,” said Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto on July 23, as quoted by news agency Antara.
Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani, who is also the chief executive of state asset fund Danantara, said on the same day that the plan was to ultimately develop the PFII in Bali.
However, he noted a “transition period” of two to three years would be needed for the international financial centre to become fully operational, during which the financial centre would first be established in Jakarta before expanding to the designated location.
For the initial phase, the government has prepared an office building in Jakarta as a temporary operational base, with Danantara acting as the regional developer.
“A few days ago, I was in Bali to meet with 11 investors from family offices and others, and the responses have been very positive regarding the future financial centre in Indonesia,” Rosan said in a press release on July 23.
The government has set its sights on turning Bali into an international financial hub since last year, when it conveyed its intention to move forward with the family office plan thought up by the previous presidential administration.
In May, Airlangga reiterated Bali as the possible location for the financial center during his visit to the Kura Kura Special Economic Zone in Sanur. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
