A senior official said on Tuesday that Indonesian President Joko Widodo would allow foreigners to own properties in the country, saying that it was intended to encourage national developers to compete in regional business. Teten Masduki, a member of the president's communication team added that the endorsement to own property in Indonesia for foreigners would be conducted by amending the existing government regulation No. 41/1995 on housing for foreigners staying in Indonesia in the near future.

The law bans foreigners from occupying properties in the country.

"The president approved the request of national developer association (REI) to allow foreigners ownership in property sector, " Teten said on the sidelines of accompanying the president to meet REI representatives here.

He, however, said that the endorsement was under a condition that the developers must prioritize property procurement access to the citizens first.

Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said earlier that the policy to allow foreigners occupying properties in Indonesia would be limited in certain conditions.

"One thing for sure, the policy would only be applied for foreigners to own apartment units, not houses built on lands. Besides that there must be minimum price limit of properties that can be acquired by foreigners," the minister said.