Indonesia parliament passes bill to set up international financial centres

Indonesia’s parliament passed a law to enable the creation of international financial centres, a move aimed at attracting foreign investment and strengthening economic growth. The measure, approved on Tuesday in an acclamation led by House Speaker Puan Maharani, is designed to boost banking and wealth-management activity, including investment banks and aircraft and ship leasing companies. Authorities say the centres will offer broad tax incentives modeled on established hubs such as Dubai, including a corporate income tax holiday lasting about half a century for qualifying investors. Indonesia’s government has not yet set the first centre’s location, though Bali has been cited, and it is projected to draw up to 500 trillion rupiah ($27.89 billion). Jakarta will create a supervisory board, a dedicated governmental body, and an arbitration body and special court for disputes. Danantara will provide initial capital.