Indonesia May Allow Foreign Property Buyers Soon

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Indonesia may soon allow foreign investors to purchase property, according to published reports.

"The government is committed to continuously comb through policies to make it easier to invest in Indonesia," Gita Wirjawan, chairman of the Investment Coordination Board of Indonesia, said during a conference next week.

New regulations that might go into effect by this summer would allow foreign direct ownership of both residential and commercial property, Wirjawan said.

Southeast Asia's largest economy, Indonesia could prove alluring to many investors, especially as traditional markets like Hong Kong and Singapore grow more expensive.

Details of the ownership regulations are still scarce. Full ownership may be limited to high-end apartments, Natalia Sutanto, a property analyst at PT Bahana Securities, told Bloomberg.

Wirjiwan said early investments will likely come from Indonesia's Asia neighbors.

"Those are the guys that are hungry for investments in Indonesia," he said. "The English, the Europeans and the Americans, those are the toughest bunch because of what they've gone through in the last 15 months and they see Indonesia as a basket case. It's off their radar."

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