Setting up a business in Indonesia for a foreigner requires the help of a specialist or lawyer unless you have local contacts who can do it for you. The requirements and procedures are cumbersome and often confusing.
Before 2019, it used to take a t least a month, however, since 2019, it could take as short as two weeks – in Jakarta, at least. This is after the Jakarta local government removed the requirement for a domicile letter in their requirements to establish a company. It used to take about 1- 2 weeks to issue the said letter.
The most common business entities a re local compa nies (PT), fully-owned foreign companies (PMA) and Representative Office (RO). RO is best if you pla n to test the ma rket before opening an official office.
