To establish an Indonesian financial services company, the applicant typically should apply for an in-principle and business license based on the relevant laws and regulations, depending on the specific sectors. For some financial services businesses, such as banking, insurance and financing companies, the following conditions will need to be fulfilled:

Legal form and ownership

Generally, a financial services company established under Indonesia's law can be in the form of a limited liability company. The law requires at least two shareholders, which could be Indonesian citizens and/or Indonesian legal entities and foreign citizens and/or foreign legal entities, to establish and maintain a limited liability company. However, as mentioned above, foreign parties should consider any foreign shareholding limitation in the relevant sectors. Some types of financial services, such as banks and P2P lending platforms, are also subject to the OJKs single presence policy.

Fit and proper test

Primary parties of financial services companies in certain sectors are generally required to pass the fit and proper test by the OJK or BI. The parties who are obliged to undertake the fit and proper test include members of the board of directors and board of commissioners, as well as the controlling shareholders. The fit and proper test is conducted by way of (a) administrative research, which consists of the research of required documents, track record and financial reputation; and (b) interviews with candidates who have completed the administrative research.

Capital requirement

The minimum capital requirement will vary depending on the specific sector. For instance, a newly established commercial bank doing conventional banking must have a minimum capital of IDR 3 trillion. The capital must be paid up by the shareholders before the deed of establishment is submitted to the Minister of Law and Human Rights (MOLHR).

Business plan

The applicant should be able to provide the regulator with the business plan of the relevant financial services, including feasibility studies on market and economic potential, business activities, and projected balance sheet.

MOLHR approvals

A limited liability company must be established before obtaining a particular business license for the relevant financial service. This requires executing the deed of establishment before a public notary, injecting the issued and paid-up capital into the company, and obtaining MOLHR approval for the deed of establishment.