How to Invest in Batam from Singapore: The Four Rules That Decide Your Plan

Can you invest in Batam from Singapore? Yes. A Singaporean who wants to own a business there does it through an Indonesian company with foreign shareholders, called a PT PMA. Four official rules then decide almost every plan: the company form, two money tests, BP Batam as the licensing body, and the land title a foreigner can hold.

This guide is built from the regulation texts, checked on 4 November 2026. BatamGems is an independent guide, not an agent or a law firm. We take no fee and file nothing for you. BP Batam is the body that licenses businesses in Batam.

The short answer

• Business: a foreign owner must use a PT PMA. A small solo business is usually ruled out by the money tests.
• Money: the company must invest above Rp10 billion (land and buildings usually excluded) and pay up at least Rp2.5 billion.
• Licences: in the Batam free trade zone, BP Batam issues business licences, not the city.
• Land: a foreign person holds Hak Pakai, a right of use for a fixed term. Not freehold, and not HGB.
• A home only: you can buy one in your own name without a company, above a minimum price.

The four rules that decide your plan

Most plans pass or fail on these four rules. Check them before you pay a notary.

The starting point is generous. Under Perpres 10/2021, Pasal 2(1), every business field is open to investment unless it is closed or kept for the central government. The limits come from the size test and from a list of fields reserved for small local businesses.

One warning. If a setup page quotes BKPM Regulation 4/2021, it is out of date. Permen 5/2025, Pasal 398 revoked it, and the new rule took effect on 2 October 2025. The current text sets two separate money tests.

Why Batam is different: the free trade zone and BP Batam

Batam is a free trade zone, known in Indonesian law as a KPBPB. Under PP 41/2021, Pasal 1, the zone sits outside the customs area. That brings three practical effects:

• Goods supplied inside the zone are exempt from VAT (Pasal 49).
• Goods brought in through the zone's ports get an import duty exemption (Pasal 58).
• BP Batam, the zone authority, issues the licences (PP 25/2025).

What the zone does not change is the size of the company. We found no Batam-specific change to the Rp10 billion or Rp2.5 billion tests, so the national rule applies here too.

Setting up a company (PT PMA)

A foreign-owned business must be a limited company under Indonesian law, based in Indonesia (Perpres 10/2021, Pasal 7(2)). It must clear two money tests under Permen 5/2025: investment above Rp10 billion, and paid-up capital of at least Rp2.5 billion.

The tempting shortcut is to put the company in a local friend's name. Do not. UU 25/2007, Pasal 33 bans agreements that hold shares on behalf of someone else, and makes them void by law. You would have nothing to enforce.

Read the full steps in how to set up a PT PMA in Batam.

Opening a restaurant or food stall

Restaurants are open to foreign owners. They are not on the list reserved for small local businesses. The hard part is size: for food and drink, the Rp10 billion test is counted per 2-digit business code per city (Permen 5/2025, Pasal 26(3)–(4)). One small stall run by a foreigner alone does not fit that.

Once open, a restaurant pays Batam's 10% local tax on food and drink (Perda Kota Batam 1/2024, Pasal 30). It also has a halal duty to plan for.

See opening a restaurant in Batam.

Opening or buying into a hotel

Do not assume a foreign company can run any kind of lodging. Cooperatives and small local businesses hold the reserved formats: one-star and melati hotels, homestays, guest houses and villas (Perpres 49/2021, Lampiran II). A PT PMA cannot take them.

Above that tier, a hotel is possible. For accommodation, the Rp10 billion test counts land and buildings too (Permen 5/2025, Pasal 26(5)).

See opening a hotel in Batam.

Buying a home or land

You do not need a company to buy a home. A foreigner with a passport can own one (PP 18/2021, Pasal 69). The title is Hak Pakai, for 30 years, then 20, then 30 (BP Batam land portal). Indonesian citizens and legal entities are the ones who get HGB.

There is also a price floor. For a landed house in Kepulauan Riau, the province that includes Batam, it is Rp2 billion (Kepmen ATR/BPN 1241/2022). The ministry's regulation index lists that decree as in force. Land managed by BP Batam also carries an annual fee called UWT (PP 41/2021, Pasal 17).

See can Singaporeans buy property in Batam.

Visas: what lets you stay and work

A visa-free visit cannot be used for work or trade. Our Batam entry requirements guide covers that rule.

To live in Batam as an owner, the investor stay permit (E28A) asks for shares worth at least Rp10 billion in the sponsoring company. The stay is 1 or 2 years (Imigrasi, E28A). That is a third Rp10 billion, separate from the two company tests.

For investors who do not set up a company, the Golden Visa asks you to place US$350,000 for a 5-year stay or US$700,000 for 10 years. Founders who set up a company invest US$2.5 million (5 years) or US$5 million (10 years) (Imigrasi press release, 2 September 2023).

Where Batam's investment comes from (2025 data)

BP Batam publishes two totals for 2025, and they use different counting methods. Its own method gives Rp69.30 trillion of real investment. The national-report figure is Rp44.01 trillion (BP Batam, 20 January 2026). The same release puts foreign investment at Rp25.58 trillion.

Singapore stays the top source country, ahead of Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Hong Kong. You would not be the first Singaporean to try.

Before you start: three checks

1. Name your goal. Company, restaurant, hotel or home. Each has a different rule that can stop it.
2. Run the money tests. If the plan is far below Rp10 billion, a PT PMA is the wrong vehicle.
3. Plan the visa with the company. The E28A share test and the company tests are separate.

Every payment in Batam is in rupiah, as our money in Batam guide explains. For trips to the PTSP office, see the Singapore to Batam ferry guide and getting around Batam.

Where to start: BP Batam's PTSP

BP Batam runs a one-stop licensing office (PTSP). It answers licensing questions and handles applications.

• Counter: Mal Pelayanan Publik Kota Batam, Batam Centre, Batam 29400.
• Licensing WhatsApp: +62 855-6670-011.
• Email: tuptsp@bpbatam.go.id.
• Online: apply through OSS (oss.go.id) or I-BOSS (iboss.go.id).
• Hours: Monday to Friday. The PTSP site (ptsp.bpbatam.go.id) lists two different times, so confirm on WhatsApp before you go.

Contact details are from the PTSP service page (ptsp.bpbatam.go.id). BatamGems is not an agent and gives no legal advice; for your own case, ask PTSP or a licensed professional.