The standard foreign-investment vehicle in Indonesia is a PT PMA (Penanaman Modal Asing) limited liability company, subject to minimum capital thresholds and sector rules under Indonesia's Positive Investment List, administered through the BKPM's OSS online licensing system.
PT PMA -- the standard foreign-investment company structure
A PT PMA (Penanaman Modal Asing) is the standard vehicle for foreign investors, including Indian
investors, to do business in Indonesia. This platform found reported minimum paid-up-capital and
per-business-line investment thresholds -- around IDR 2.5 billion paid-up capital and IDR 10 billion total
investment plan per business line (excluding land and buildings), under reported 2025 regulatory updates --
from a business-services advisory source rather than Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM)
directly. This platform recommends confirming current thresholds via BKPM's OSS (Online Single Submission)
system before relying on a specific figure, since these thresholds change periodically.
The Positive Investment List, and sector restrictions
Indonesia's Positive Investment List (successor to the older “Negative Investment List”)
determines which business sectors are open to 100% foreign ownership, partially open, or closed/reserved.
This platform could not retrieve current sector-by-sector detail from a primary BKPM source in this
research session and recommends checking the current Positive Investment List directly via BKPM/OSS given
how frequently these sectoral rules change.
Visa categories for Indian investors and workers
KITAS (Kartu Izin Tinggal Terbatas), Indonesia's general limited-stay permit, covers work-permit-linked
residency for employees of a PT PMA. The newer Second Home Visa (KITAS E33) offers a longer-stay, reportedly
up-to-10-year option subject to a financial-capacity requirement this platform found cited around IDR 2
billion via bank deposit or real estate investment -- sourced from a visa-consultancy site rather than
Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration directly, so current thresholds should be confirmed at
imigrasi.go.id.
Common mistakes NRIs and Indian businesses make when entering Indonesia:
- Relying on outdated or unofficial minimum-capital figures rather than confirming current thresholds
via BKPM's OSS system.
- Not checking whether the intended business sector is open, partially open, or closed under the
current Positive Investment List.
- Confusing the work-permit-linked KITAS with the investment-based Second Home Visa, which serve
different purposes.
