CORE ISSUE “ISN’T THE PASSPORT”
Observers say allowing foreigners to lead Indonesia’s SOEs could inject international best practices in management, transparency, and innovation into the firms – many of which have been mired in debt, inefficiency and corruption scandals.
It could also boost investor confidence in publicly-traded SOEs, they said.
“The presence of expatriates is expected to bring improvements in governance,” said Toto Pranoto, an economist from the University of Indonesia.
Tauhid Ahmad, a senior researcher at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), said the removal of the decades-old ban was long overdue.
“If Indonesia wants to become a global player, it needs people with international experience. Those with such backgrounds can help accelerate progress more quickly,” he said.
