Indonesia to Boost R&D Spending Like Norway

Kusmayanto Kadiman, Indonesia’s State Minister for Research and Technology has cited Norway as a good example for Indonesia to follow when it comes to allocation of funds for Research & Development.
In Norway more than 4 percent of GDP is spent on research and development, which is one of the highest levels in the world. Much of this is spent by the business sector, which is what Kusmayanto would like to see also in Indonesia.
Kusmayanto made his statement on 24 July when commenting on the new R&D committee to be appointed by the Indonesian government. The task of the committee is to formulate guidelines for the implementation of a new regulation offering tax and customs incentives, as well as technical assistance, to businesses that invest in R&D.
The new regulation specifies that businesses whether private companies, state-owned companies, or cooperatives that allocate a portion of their profits to research will be able to get benefits from incentives including tax incentives, customs incentives, or technical assistance as well. As the regulation would leads to the making of products that would support national development, strengthen competition and give rise to national pride.
Indonesia is lagging behind in terms of its annual spending on research with an average of some US$300 million per year – compared to US$2 billion in Singapore, US$1.2 billion in Malaysia and US$76 billion in China.
In Indonesia, the allocation on R&D is only 0.04 percent of GDP; hence, its long term goal is to see 3 percent of GDP being spent on research.