Can a Singaporean Open a Hotel in Batam? What a Foreign Company May Run

Can a Singaporean open a hotel in Batam? Yes, through a PT PMA, a foreign-owned Indonesian company, but not at the small end. Cooperatives and small local businesses keep one-star and melati hotels, homestays, guest houses and villas. For a hotel, the Rp10 billion investment test also counts the land and the building.

This guide is written 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. BP Batam is the body that licenses businesses in Batam.

The short answer

• Closed to a foreign company: one-star hotels, melati hotels, homestays (pondok wisata), guest houses and villas.
• Open through a PT PMA: hotels above that tier.
• Money test: investment above Rp10 billion, with land and buildings included, plus at least Rp2.5 billion paid-up capital.
• Licences: issued by BP Batam.
• Tax: 10% local tax on hotel services (Perda Kota Batam 1/2024, Pasal 30).

The formats a foreign company cannot run

The list that matters is Perpres 49/2021, Lampiran II, item 48. It allocates these lodging formats to cooperatives and micro, small and medium businesses:

The government licensing portal says the same. The OSS hotel page shows the one-star hotel as allocated to cooperatives and small businesses under Perpres 49/2021.

Why these formats? Perpres 10/2021, Pasal 5(2) sets the tests for a reserved field. One test is business capital of no more than Rp10 billion, excluding land and buildings.

So if your plan is a villa or a guest house, stop here. A claim that a foreigner can own 100% of any hotel ignores this list. Hotels above the reserved tier are open fields under Perpres 10/2021, Pasal 2(1).

The Rp10 billion test, land and building included

Foreign investors may run only large businesses, through an Indonesian PT (Perpres 10/2021, Pasal 7).

The general test in Permen 5/2025, Pasal 26(2) is investment above Rp10 billion, excluding land and buildings. For accommodation, Pasal 26(5) flips that: land and buildings count towards the Rp10 billion. The company must also pay up at least Rp2.5 billion (Pasal 26(10)).

Do not expect priority status. Four- and five-star hotels are priority fields only in regencies named in the Perpres 49/2021 appendix, and Batam is not one of them.

For the company steps, see how to set up a PT PMA in Batam.

Land under the hotel

A PT PMA is a limited company under Indonesian law (Perpres 10/2021, Pasal 7(2)), and such a company is a legal entity (UU 40/2007, Pasal 1). On the BP Batam land portal, legal entities receive HGB or Hak Pakai. HGB runs 30 years at first, then 20 on extension, then 30 on renewal.

That differs from buying a home in your own name, where a foreigner gets Hak Pakai only. See can Singaporeans buy property in Batam. BP Batam land also carries an annual fee (UWT). Its rate per square metre was not published on the pages we read, so we do not give one.

Licences, alcohol and the hotel tax

In the free trade zone, BP Batam issues the basic requirements, the business licences and the licences that support them (PP 25/2025, Pasal 20(2)). The OSS hotel page shows two hotel scopes for a large business. One is rated medium-low risk and the other medium-high, so check your exact scope when you apply.

If guests will buy alcohol, the same OSS page lists the SKPL-A, a certificate for direct sale of class A alcoholic drinks.

Hotel services are taxed under Perda Kota Batam 1/2024. Pasal 21 names hotel services, and Pasal 30 sets the rate at 10%. A bar or spa inside the hotel is taxed at 40%.

The KEK option

A KEK is a special economic zone with its own rules. Inside one, the general Pasal 26(2) test gives way to the Perpres on investment fields (Permen 5/2025, Pasal 26(8)).

KEK Nongsa covers 166 hectares, and tourism is one of its three main businesses. KEK incentives include a tax holiday of 10 to 20 years for main activities, a tax allowance for others, and import duty relief (kek.go.id). Terms apply, so confirm them before you plan around them.

Before you commit

• Check your format against the reserved list first.
• Count land and building inside the Rp10 billion.
• Decide on alcohol and any bar or spa early, since the tax rate differs.
• You cannot work on a visa-free visit; see Batam entry requirements.
• Budget in rupiah; see money in Batam. For what guests already find, browse where to stay in Batam.

Where to file and ask

BP Batam runs a one-stop licensing office (PTSP).

• 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) shows two different times, so confirm on WhatsApp first.

Details are from the PTSP service page (ptsp.bpbatam.go.id). For the other routes, see investing in Batam from Singapore.