Regulation of foreign investments in local insurance companies

Indonesian control authorities (OJK) may soon review maximum threshold of shareholding for foreign investors in the capital of local insurers. For the time being, foreign shareholding in the capital of local companies is in keeping with the latest amendment of the 2014 Insurance Code which submitted this item to the application of the 2008 law. The latter stipulates that foreign investors shall not be authorized to detain more than 80% of the capital of a local company.

The lawmaker has asked OJK to decrease this limit to 49%. Insurers having foreign partners are pushing for the suppression of this motion. It was during the 1998-99 Asian crisis that foreign investors made their appearance on the market by means of minority shareholding. Today, at least six insurance companies belong to foreign groups at more than 80%.