Can a Foreigner Own 100% of a Company in Indonesia? The Positive Investment List Explained (2026)

Short answer: Yes — in most sectors. Since Presidential Regulation No. 10 of 2021 (as amended by No. 49 of 2021), Indonesia's default rule is that every business field is open to 100% foreign ownership unless it is expressly closed, capped, or reserved for local MSMEs. The real constraints are your KBLI business classification and the IDR 10 billion minimum investment per business line.

Ask an incorporation agent whether you can fully own your Indonesian company and you will usually get a one-word answer: "yes." Ask a lawyer and you will get the answer that actually protects your money: "yes, if your exact business activity — down to the five-digit KBLI code — is on the right side of the Positive Investment List, and if you can commit the minimum capital that comes with foreign ownership."

That distinction matters because foreign founders don't get in trouble at the "can foreigners invest in Indonesia?" level. They get in trouble at the KBLI level — discovering after incorporation that one of their planned activities is capped at 49%, reserved for local small business, or requires a partnership they never budgeted for. This article explains how the system actually works.

What is the Positive Investment List?

For two decades Indonesia regulated foreign investment through a Negative Investment List (Daftar Negatif Investasi, most recently Presidential Regulation No. 44 of 2016) — a long catalogue of sectors that were closed or restricted to foreigners.

The Job Creation (Omnibus) Law — enacted as Law No. 11 of 2020 and re-enacted as Law No. 6 of 2023 — flipped the logic. It amended Article 12 of Law No. 25 of 2007 on Investment so that all business fields are open to investment, except a short list of closed activities and fields reserved by the central government.

The implementing rule is Presidential Regulation No. 10 of 2021 on Investment Business Fields (effective 4 March 2021), amended by Presidential Regulation No. 49 of 2021 (effective 25 May 2021). Practitioners call it the Positive Investment List (Daftar Prioritas Investasi). As of this writing, no new presidential regulation has replaced it — it remains the governing list, read together with the OSS risk-based licensing regime now under Government Regulation No. 28 of 2025 (which replaced GR 5/2021 on 5 June 2025).

What is the default rule for foreign ownership?

Simple: open unless stated otherwise. If your five-digit KBLI business classification does not appear in the Perpres annexes as closed, capped, conditional, or reserved for MSMEs/cooperatives, a foreign investor may own up to 100% of the PT PMA that runs it.

That covers most of the modern economy: software and IT services, e-commerce and digital platforms, most manufacturing, wholesale trade, most professional consulting, hotels and many tourism activities, oil and gas services, and power generation, among many others.

Which sectors are completely closed to foreign investment?

Under Article 12(2) of Law 25/2007 (as amended by the Job Creation Law), only six activities are closed to all private investment — foreign and domestic:

1. Cultivation and industry of class-I narcotics; 2. Gambling and casinos in any form; 3. Capture of fish species listed in CITES Appendix I; 4. Harvesting of coral from nature (for building materials, aquariums, souvenirs, or jewellery); 5. Chemical weapons manufacturing; 6. Ozone-depleting industrial chemicals.

In addition, Perpres 49/2021 kept the alcoholic beverage industry (KBLI 11010, 11020, 11031) closed to new investment — a political reversal of the brief 2021 liberalisation — and certain fields remain reserved for the central government (e.g., defence-related activities). A handful of sectors are also restricted by their own statutes rather than the Perpres, such as press/media and certain domestic aviation and maritime activities.

Which sectors are capped or conditional?

Between "fully open" and "closed" sit two categories foreign founders must check carefully:

Sectors open with conditions (foreign ownership caps). Annex III of the Perpres lists business fields open only under specific requirements — a maximum foreign shareholding, a special license, or a designated Indonesian partner. Well-known examples include domestic sea transportation (max 49% foreign), domestic scheduled air transport (max 49%, with single largest shareholder requirements under the Aviation Law), and postal/courier services (max 49%). Financial services (banking, insurance, fintech lending) follow separate OJK and Bank Indonesia sectoral rules with their own ownership and capital regimes.

Sectors reserved for, or requiring partnership with, cooperatives and MSMEs. Certain lower-capital, traditional, or community-scale activities can only be run by Indonesian micro, small, and medium enterprises — or require the investor to partner with one. As a practical matter, this reservation combines with the capital rules below: activities that make economic sense only below IDR 10 billion are effectively off-limits to a PT PMA anyway.

How the four categories compare

What does 100% ownership actually cost? The capital rules

Foreign ownership is legal in most sectors — but it is priced for serious investors. Two different numbers apply:

• Minimum investment plan: more than IDR 10 billion (~USD 610,000) per five-digit KBLI code, per project location, excluding land and buildings. This is a planning commitment declared in the OSS system, not cash you wire on day one.
• Minimum issued and paid-up capital: IDR 2.5 billion. This was reduced from IDR 10 billion by BKPM Regulation No. 5 of 2025 (effective 2 October 2025), which revoked BKPM Regulations 3, 4, and 5 of 2021. The paid-up amount is real money deposited into the company's account — and under the new rule it is subject to a 12-month lock-up, usable only for asset acquisition, construction, or genuine operations.

Every additional KBLI code you add multiplies the IDR 10 billion investment commitment. This is why we tell clients to resist the agent habit of stuffing the deed with "just in case" business classifications. (For the full breakdown, see our article on PT PMA minimum capital requirements.)

What this means for you

• Check the KBLI first, structure second. Whether you can own 100% is decided by your exact five-digit KBLI code(s) against the Perpres annexes — not by the sector's general name.
• Most founders can own 100%. Tech, digital, trading, consulting, and most manufacturing businesses need no Indonesian shareholder as a matter of law.
• If your sector is capped, plan the shareholding honestly. A 49% cap is a governance problem to be solved with lawful tools (shareholder agreements, share classes, board rights) — not with a nominee.
• Budget for the capital regime. IDR 10 billion committed per KBLI per location; IDR 2.5 billion actually paid up and locked for 12 months.
• Verify against the current rulebook. Licensing now runs through OSS under GR 28/2025; sectoral regulators (OJK, Ministry of Transportation, etc.) can add requirements on top of the Perpres.

Common mistakes we see foreign founders make

Using a nominee to dodge a cap or the capital requirement. Agents still quietly offer "local nominee" packages. Nominee arrangements are void under Article 33 of Law 25/2007 — you can lose the entire company. We wrote a full analysis in our article on why nominee arrangements fail.

Checking the sector, not the KBLI. "Logistics" sounds open; the specific courier KBLI is capped at 49%. "F&B" sounds open; alcoholic beverage production is closed. The list operates at five-digit granularity.

Stacking KBLI codes without pricing them. Each code per location carries its own IDR 10 billion commitment. A deed with six speculative KBLIs is a IDR 60 billion investment plan you must eventually realise or amend.

Assuming the 2021 list is frozen. The licensing layer around it has already been overhauled twice (GR 28/2025; BKPM Reg 5/2025). Any decision made on a 2021-era blog post deserves a fresh check.

Ignoring sectoral laws. The Perpres is not the only gate — aviation, shipping, media, and financial services statutes impose their own foreign-ownership limits that survive the Positive List.

Key takeaways

• Indonesia's default rule is open to 100% foreign ownership unless a field is expressly restricted (Art. 12, Law 25/2007 as amended by Law 6/2023; Perpres 10/2021 jo. Perpres 49/2021).
• Only six activities are closed to all investment; alcohol manufacturing and a few state-reserved fields are additionally closed to new private/foreign entry.
• Capped sectors (e.g., 49% for domestic sea transport, courier, domestic airlines) sit in Annex III; MSME-reserved fields are off-limits to PT PMAs.
• Foreign ownership requires >IDR 10 billion investment per KBLI per location and IDR 2.5 billion paid-up capital (BKPM Reg 5/2025, effective 2 Oct 2025).
• Licensing runs through the OSS risk-based system under GR 28/2025; sectoral regulators can impose additional limits.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner own 100% of a PT PMA in Indonesia? Yes, in most business fields. Under Perpres 10/2021 as amended by Perpres 49/2021, every sector is open to 100% foreign ownership unless it is expressly closed, capped, or reserved for MSMEs. The controlling factor is the company's five-digit KBLI business classification, not the investor's nationality.

Which sectors are closed to foreigners in Indonesia? Six activities are closed to all investment: class-I narcotics, gambling, CITES Appendix I fish capture, coral harvesting, chemical weapons, and ozone-depleting chemicals. The alcoholic beverage industry remains closed to new investment, some fields are reserved for the central government, and MSME-reserved activities cannot be run by a foreign-owned company.

What is the minimum capital for a 100% foreign-owned company in Indonesia? A PT PMA must plan a total investment of more than IDR 10 billion per five-digit KBLI code per project location (excluding land and buildings), and deposit issued and paid-up capital of at least IDR 2.5 billion — lowered from IDR 10 billion by BKPM Regulation 5/2025, effective 2 October 2025, with a 12-month lock-up.

What replaced Indonesia's Negative Investment List? The Positive Investment List under Presidential Regulation 10/2021 (amended by 49/2021) replaced the Negative List (Perpres 44/2016) on 4 March 2021. It reversed the default: instead of listing what is open, the law now presumes every field is open and lists only the exceptions.

Can I use a local nominee if my sector is capped? No. Nominee shareholding arrangements — where an Indonesian holds shares on a foreigner's behalf — are declared null and void by Article 33 of Law 25/2007 on Investment. If a cap applies to your sector, the lawful options are a genuine local partner with negotiated governance protections, a different corporate structure, or a different KBLI scope.

This article is general information current as of July 2026, not legal advice. Indonesian investment regulations change and apply differently to each situation. Confirm your specific position with a licensed advisor before acting — we're happy to help.