An under-developed logistics infrastructure, a reliance on cash-on-delivery and foreign ownership and other regulatory restrictions have historically limited international expansion into the Indonesian eCommerce and FinTech sectors. Despite being the largest economy in Southeast Asia, the share of foreign investment in these sectors in Indonesia still remains relatively low in comparison to its neighboring countries.

Since 2016, however, foreign ownership restrictions have been relaxed and more sophisticated regulatory infrastructure has been introduced. Today, for example, foreign investors are permitted to acquire up to 85 per cent ownership stakes in Indonesian peer to peer (“P2P”) credit providers or 100 per cent in eCommerce sector businesses, provided that the minimum investment value of the eCommerce business is at least 100 billion Rupiah (~US $7.5 million).