Jakarta. US companies have brought multi-billion-dollar worth of innovations to Indonesia in recent years, according to a report, although investors remain hopeful for fewer regulatory hurdles.

In its 2026 BISA report, the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) reviewed 91 publicly reported innovation initiatives undertaken by 43 American companies in Indonesia since 2020. Of these, 28 innovations disclosed a monetary value of up to $24.8 billion in investments, grants, and economic contributions, among others. 

Some ideas have helped boost operational efficiency in sectors like energy and mining. Other examples include sustainable aviation fuel development and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in banking, the report showed. 

Despite the impressive inflows of innovations, USABC executive vice president Marc Mealy admitted on Wednesday that some barriers remained. While countries often require foreign investors to follow certain processes before bringing in their technologies, some sectors find the requirements taxing.

“So if a company has successfully met the regulatory process either in the US or a neighboring ASEAN country, we [hope] the [Indonesian] government will accept the product [as having met their requirement],” Mealy told the press in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Mealy signaled that American firms had approached the Indonesian government to consider such changes. He did not go into detail when asked how Indonesia fares against other ASEAN nations in terms of being the innovation-friendly economy, replying only that the level of difficulty varies.

“[In some countries], they will almost immediately accept a product if it meets a certain international standard,” Mealy said, without naming a specific ASEAN economy.

Having an internationally recognized product go through the whole process to meet the Indonesian standard will also only “take more time and resources”.

The US is in the top 5 of Indonesia's foreign investors. Official data showed US investments totaled $1.7 billion in January-June 2026. Indonesia has been trying to attract foreign investors for its ambitious growth goals.

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