A number of regulations discourage mining investment

A number of legal products or regulations issued by the government have been discouraging foreign investment in the mining sector, according to the executive director of the Indonesian Mining Association, Paul L. Coutrier.

Courtrier revealed that the unfriendly regulations included Government Regulations on toxic wastes, about taxation and Law No. 41 on forestry.

Besides those inhibiting regulations, Coutrier said, mining investors were also discouraged by the presence of many illegal miners in their mining concessions.

Coutrier said Indonesia is actually an attractive country for mining investment because of its rich mineral resources. However, this richness in natural resources does not automatically attract investors to come in.

The secretary of the Directorate General of Geology and Mineral Resources, R. Sukhyar, concurred and said that such richness in natural resources should be supported by regulations that could give legal certainty to foreign investment in the country.

Sukhyar said that with the implementation of regional autonomy law, many of mining regulations would be produced by local administrations. Therefore, he said, local administrations would be encouraged to produce regulations that would be friendly to investors. (*)