JAKARTA: Indonesia is considering options for setting up tax-haven jurisdictions as it tries to lure back billions of dollars through its amnesty programme to fund infrastructure projects and finance the widening budget deficit, Coordinating Maritime Minister Luhut Panjaitan said yesterday. News of the haven plan follows an announcement by the government on Aug 11 that it would allow repatriated funds to be invested in assets such as gold and property. The central bank has said the tax amnesty programme could attract about 560 trillion rupiah (US$43bil) of funds stashed overseas. “It is still in early stage,” Panjaitan wrote in a mobile-phone text message. The Jakarta Composite Index has rallied 17%, making it the third-best performer in Asia so far in 2016.

Source: The Star August 14, 2016 22:18 UTC