JAKARTA (April 9): Indonesia's industry ministry has issued a regulation restricting imports of electronic goods including air conditioners, refrigerators and laptops, a move it said aimed to improve investment certainty.

If follows a regulation late last year by Southeast Asia's biggest economy tightening monitoring for many imported goods, from food ingredients and electronic items to chemicals.

Authorities said the regulation, dated Feb 1 but announced on Monday, was in response to complaints from business associations about the impact on local markets of an influx of imported goods.

The aim was to develop the domestic electronics sector, it said. Certain products would require import permits and a surveyor report, it said.

"This regulation doesn't mean that the government is anti-import, but rather maintains a conducive domestic industrial business climate, especially for products that have been produced domestically," industry ministry official Priyadi Arie Nugroho in a statement.

Priyadi said in 2023, Indonesia's electronic industry produced 1.2 million units of air conditioners, while it has installed capacity of 2.7 million units. Indonesia imported 3.8 million AC units last year.