OJK Moves to Support Tax Amnesty by Relaxing Disclosure and Tender Offer Rules

In recognition of the reality that a taxpayer’s disclosures made in the context of the Tax Amnesty could reveal that they are in fact the controlling shareholder of a public company, thus automatically triggering the need for a mandatory tender offer under the provisions of Capital Markets & Financial Institutions Supervisory Board Rule IX.H.1, the Financial Services Authority (“OJK”) has issued a Circular to exempt an amnesty participant from the need to conduct a tender offer in the case of a (de facto) acquisition that becomes apparent as a result of Tax Amnesty disclosures.

Further, a public company that becomes aware that it has a new controlling shareholder as a result of disclosures made under the Tax Amnesty is exempted from the requirement to disclose material information and facts under OJK Regulation No. 31/POJK.04/2015.

New Patents Law Enacted by DPR

The House of Representative (“DPR”) passed the Patents Bill into law on 27 July 2016. The new legislation (“2016 Patents Law”) is aimed at stimulating innovation and growth in the number of patents granted to Indonesian inventors from both the public and private sectors, while placing an express obligation on patent holders to use their patented processes or manufacture their patented products in Indonesia. The 2016 Patents Law further streamlines the patenting process and introduces the possibility of engaging independent experts as patent examiners in anticipation of rapid developments in the technological, communications, information and health sectors. As of the time of writing (2 September 2016), the 2016 Patents Law had yet to be gazetted and provided with a reference number.