For over thirty years I have watched Bali evolve from afar — first as a Singapore-based family office professional making regular trips to Jakarta from 1996, then, since 2020, as a part-time resident of the island itself, including through its worst economic crisis, brought on by Covid-19.
In July 2026, Bali took its most consequential step yet: from holiday paradise toward becoming Indonesia’s first purpose-built international financial centre. For investors — foreign and domestic — this is a moment worth understanding properly, not superficially.
What is being built
The Pusat Finansial Internasional Indonesia (PFII) is Indonesia’s answer to Dubai’s DIFC and Singapore’s financial ecosystem: a dedicated Special Economic Zone for finance (KEK Keuangan) with its own legal framework, independent financial authority, and independent court system. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has confirmed Bali as the priority location, anchored in the Kawasan Ekonomi Khusus (KEK) Kura Kura Bali, with KEK Sanur under consideration as a possible second site.
The legal basis was set by Law No. 4/2026 on Financial Sector Development and Strengthening (P2SK), which permits more than one PFII location; a dedicated PFII bill is being finalised in the House of Representatives, with government regulation (PP) expected to follow shortly after.
The rationale is explicit: Bali offers what Airlangga calls the “lifestyle” dimension of financial centres — international-standard healthcare (KEK Sanur), lower density than Jakarta, and global brand recognition — combined with legal and tax incentives designed to match Dubai and Singapore.
Singapore’s example is instructive here: its financial centre manages roughly US$5 trillion in assets under management, much of which is subsequently deployed across ASEAN.
Indonesia intends PFII to capture more of that flow directly.
This ambition was made public at the inaugural Nusa Dua Forum in Bali on 17 July 2026, where Danantara Indonesia CEO and Minister of Investment Rosan Roeslani set out the government’s intent to build “an independent court system, independent financial authority system, and also independent corporations” to international standard. State capital (Danantara), sovereign funds, and multi-generational family offices — including examples such as the Hong Kong Investment Corporation and Blue Pool Capital — were discussed as the collaborative model PFII intends to replicate.
Why this matters to investors now
- Regulatory certainty is coming, not yet finalised. The PFII bill is still being debated; the implementing regulation has not been issued. Early, informed positioning — understanding the KEK Kura Kura Bali framework, incentive structure, and licensing pathway before it is fully public — is a genuine first-mover advantage.
- Bali is the confirmed priority, but details on location and scope are still being set. Investors should not wait for a finished product; they should be part of shaping their entry now, through the right local relationships.
- State and private capital are being deliberately paired. Danantara’s involvement signals that PFII is not simply a tax-incentive zone — it is designed as a platform where sovereign capital, institutional investors, and family offices co-invest.
A track record built for this moment
BFIAS was established in mid-2020, after a discussion with the then-Chairwoman of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), to help contribute to Bali’s hardest years — the collapse of tourism during Covid-19.
My mandate as it is today is to contribute to a sustainable and inclusive economy of Bali and Indonesia. That work has since grown, through BTIC (co-founded in 2025 at the request of the Ministry of Tourism), into national-level advisory work supporting investors across Indonesia.
Underpinning both is a network built over three decades with Jakarta’s Chinese-Indonesian business community, KADIN Indonesia (Indonesia’s chamber of commerce), and senior women across central government — relationships that, in Indonesia, are frequently the difference between a stalled application and a licensed operation.
That same commitment to inclusive, sustainable growth led me to co-found the Women Investment Entrepreneurs Community Indonesia (WIEC), the Women in ESG and Sustainability Symposium (WESS), and the Single Mother & Children initiative with the IDEP Foundation Bali, built to widen who benefits from real social and environmental impact in Bali, not just who profits from it.
Most recently, following direct engagement with senior leaders at Danantara Indonesia — an institution few foreign investors yet recognise as the central architect of deals like PFII — I have founded Women In Family Offices (WIFO) Indonesia.
WIFO’s purpose is specific: to open a direct channel for women-principal and women-led family offices globally to establish a presence at PFII in Bali and deploy capital into Indonesia, at the exact moment the regulatory window is opening.
The takeaway
PFII will not be finished this year. But the framework, the location, and the government’s intent are now public and confirmed. Investors who engage early — through networks that already sit inside these conversations — will shape the terms they enter on, rather than simply accept them later.
For inquiries on BFIAS, BTIC, or WIFO Indonesia’s role in facilitating investment entry to PFII, contact Bali Foreign Investment Advisory Service below.
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Written by Robert Beard, Founder, Bali Foreign Investment Advisory Service (BFIAS) | Co-Founder, Bali Tourism and Investment Chamber (BTIC) | Founder, Women In Family Offices (WIFO) Indonesia
