This article will examine Australia and Indonesia's laws, policies and regulations surrounding foreign direct investment (FDI) and whether each country is directing its focus towards protectionism or the liberalization of free trade and the opening up of borders. A discussion will be made concerning the positives and negatives of adopting protectionist policies and policies that embrace FDI. Australia sources approximately 20% of its capital flow from overseas 1 . This is significant, and I believe that if the Australian...

Who doesn't buy online? From toilet paper to washing machines, purchasing both luxuries and necessities from the convenience of our homes or offices is a daily occurrence. We spend millions each day with a simple 'click'. Technology undeniably plays a major role in our routine activities and affects countless aspects of the financial sector. Currently, the emergence of financial technology (fintech) and e-commerce makes business easier to conduct. No doubt, e-commerce garners more headlines since it is an important new feature of the global and national economy. The unconventional and distruptive nature of e-commerce has prompted the Indonesian government to...

Need a bodyguard? These days it feels like our companies need a 7-foot, muscle-clad personal security officer to shield us from the myriad of incoming bombs from all directions. It's not easy to completely anticipate what attacks may come our way. When it comes to guarding your company's trademark, no cursory measures will do. And in today's rapidly evolving e-commerce climate, it's no surprise how the Financial Technology (the "Fintech") market has shown a considerable amount growth, especially in Indonesia. As of December 2018...

Companies evolve. They change and react to their individual needs and the needs of the market. A company unwilling to consider its options is a company unwilling to be strategically competitive. Hence, companies throughout the world may, for a myriad of reasons, elect to spin off a product or business into a wholly owned independent company. Under Art. 1 par. (12) of Law No. 40 of 2007 concerning Limited Liability Company ("Company Law"), a Spin-Off is defined as a 'Separation', a legal...

Indonesia officially became the 100th member of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks (the "Madrid Protocol"), which was inaugurated at the 57th World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assembly in Geneva on October 2, 2017. The process of inducting Indonesia into the Madrid Protocol was ratified by Presidential Regulation No. 92 of 2017. Three months after the accession text was received by WIPO, precisely on January 2, 2018, the Madrid Protocol became effective in Indonesia...

Whether in the middle of a construction project or preparing to begin one, it's vital to have the most current information on legal requirements. On 24 January 2018, The Ministry of Public Work (the "MOPW") issued Regulation No 02/PRT/M/2018 of 2018 (the "REG") concerning the amendment of MOPW Regulation No 05/PRT/M/2014 (the "REG05") regarding the Guidelines of Safety and Health Management for Public Construction Work. The amendment serves as the legal basis for the establishment of...

Schmitthoff defines 'International Trade Law' as: "- the body of rules governing commercial relationships of private law involving different nations". The scope of this law, according to Schmitthoff is as follows: 1) international sale and purchase; 2) securities; 3) laws concerning activities regarding the conduct of international trade; 4) insurance; 5) transportation by land and rail, sea, air, and/or inland waters; 6) industrial property; and 7) commercial arbitration. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only international organization that regulates international trade,...

Considering the fact SLF endeavors to keep our valued clients aware of and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations in their business activities, we were pleased to hold our regular Client Legal Training on November 23rd, 2018. As usual, the training was a success. The key issues we addressed were the recent developments in environmental law and respective regulations, waste management, compliance, and other permiting and licensing issues. We specifically prepared the training for...

Sunglasses-check. Beach gear-check. Leave the work laptop behind-check. There's no question Indonesia continues to attract beachlovers and adventure-seekers from across the globe. The impact of and dependency on tourism cannot be overstated in many areas of Indonesia's archipelago. In fact, tourism continues to be one of the most flourishing industries with new companies seeking to capitalize. The Indonesian Government launched new licensing procedure system in the middle of 2018: the Government Regulation No...

It's a new day. The development of technology in the financial services cannot be ignored and needs to be managed in order to provide maximum benefit to society. The financial sector needs to be directed to produce financial innovations that are responsible, safe, prioritize consumer protection, and have well-managed risk. Consumer Protection in the financial services sector is aimed at creating a reliable consumer protection system, improving consumer empowerment, and developing awareness among financial services practitioners...

In today's constantly changing economic environment, it would be nearly impossible to find someone who doesn't know the significance of US President Benjamin Franklin: the face of the USD 100 dollar bill. While USD continues to be the most heavily traded currency throughout the world, Indonesia took a stand. The Indonesian Central Bank ("BI") Regulation No 17/3/PBI/2015 regarding the Mandatory use of Rupiah within the territory of Republic of Indonesia ("PBI") was enacted on 31 March 2015. The main purpose of...

As skyscrapers erect, apartment buildings emerge, and infrastructure materializes all around Indonesia, one symptom of progress is certain: construction disputes. While best efforts are undoubtedly made to protect cross-border and domestic parties through proper contracts, discrepancies arise. The construction contracts for many international projects use a FIDIC (an international standard organization for consulting engineering & construction) construction-contract template as the basis. Parties then adjust the clauses in the template pursuant to their project's needs....

Our international arbitration certification course will provide both a knowledge and an appreciation of commercial arbitration and its role within the global legal landscape. It offers the theory of arbitration law and practice with emphasis on the procedures of arbitration, both ad-hoc and institutional, and offers the practical side with a focus on drafting of arbitration agreements and awards. It will also explore the art of drafting dispute resolution clauses appropriate to the parties’ business needs and dispute resolution desires. This is the perfect course to either get your arbitration career rolling or to expand or perfect your existing knowledge as a practicing arbitrator or legal academic

In fact, investment arbitration and the use of ISDS have expanded drastically in the past decade. Various forms of ISDS are now a part of over 3,000 trade agreements worldwide. As the number of investment agreements has risen, the cases

When entrepreneurship in on the mind, the last thing anyone wants is a loss of momentum. Getting a business license shouldn't feel like walking in the sand when it comes to the paperwork involved. Great news! The Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs already officially announced a new system in Integrated Licensing Services Electronics on Monday, 9 July 2018. This new Online Single Submission (OSS) launch is launched based on the Government Regulation Number 24 Year 2018...

A spin-off company can be understood as a new, independent company resulting from either a separation or a solution from a larger parent company. The action of 'spinning-off' a company may be achieved by distributing or separating the shares (including its assets, employees, and intellectual property) from the parent company as special dividends on a pro-rata basis. There are number of reasons why parent companies create spin-offs. One common motive is to allow the parent company to focus on core operations and on the management of its resources and divisions while using a spin-off to expand into a wider market. While this can potentially have higher costs...

To address industry specialization demand, the Indonesian government has issued a new regulation concerning Procedures for Employing Expatriates under the Minister of Manpower Regulation Number 10 Year 2018 ("Permenaker 10/2018"). This regulation facilitates the implementation of Presidential Regulation Number 20 Year 2018 concerning Exertion of Expatriate Employment (Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing), which was issued on 26 March 2018 and took effect on 30 June 2018. Examining the new regulation, there are some significant changes the government has mandated in terms of expatriate employment....

Choosing a contractor or subcontractor can often have devastating consequences. The wrong one can plague a project like constant natural disasters. Some of the most typical consequences companies suffer from the making the wrong choice are as follows: Bad reputation. The project owner can begin to question your reputation. You have to be fully aware that keeping a good portfolio from the current project owner will help to land the next job. Loss of scheduling delays. If you choose the wrong subcontractor, it might cause your construction schedule to...