JAKARTA, INDONESIA / RankWire.AI / – Indonesia has expanded coordination between its investment and sports ministries to develop investment in the national sports sector. Investment and Downstreaming Minister Rosan Perkasa Roeslani and Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir signed a memorandum of understanding on August 28. The pact covers risk-based business licensing and investment development across sports-related activities. Officials cited a global sports industry worth about US$521 billion as the wider market surrounding the initiative.
The agreement brings the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming together with the Ministry of Youth and Sports on business licensing. It also covers investment promotion and services for companies operating in sports-related fields. The ministries will coordinate through Indonesia’s Online Single Submission system, known as OSS. Their cooperation also includes compliance monitoring, regulatory coordination and data sharing. The framework applies to investment development across Indonesia’s sports sector rather than establishing a US$521 billion domestic industry target.
Thohir said the global sports industry is valued at about US$521 billion, equivalent to roughly 8,000 trillion rupiah. He said the industry records annual growth of about 8%. The figure does not include sport tourism, which he valued at nearly US$600 billion globally. Indonesian officials have identified both sports and sport tourism as areas with economic activity linked to events, travel and supporting businesses. The agreement provides an administrative framework for investment activity in those sectors.
Licensing framework supports sports investment
Government Regulation No. 28 of 2025 forms part of the licensing framework behind the new cooperation. The regulation governs risk-based business licensing and replaced an earlier regulation issued in 2021. It also strengthened the use of service deadlines within the OSS system. Under the positive fictitious approval mechanism, the system can issue eligible permits when authorities do not act within specified time limits. Applicants must still satisfy the required conditions and procedures before that mechanism applies.
Roeslani said the investment ministry has issued more than 250 permits through the positive fictitious approval mechanism since the provision took effect. That total covers the broader licensing system and is not limited to sports businesses. He said the government wants clearer licensing procedures for companies and investors operating in the sports economy. Roeslani also identified tourism and other industries among the sectors connected with sporting activity. The memorandum places those licensing functions within a formal structure for interministerial coordination.
Sports agreement expands government coordination
The memorandum also covers workforce capabilities and the interoperability of licensing data between the two ministries. Officials included investment opportunity development and investment promotion among the areas covered by the agreement. The ministries will also coordinate monitoring of business compliance through OSS. These measures connect sports investment with Indonesia’s existing national licensing infrastructure. They also give the two ministries a defined basis for exchanging information and handling regulatory matters related to sports-sector business activity.
Indonesia’s latest sports investment agreement therefore centers on licensing, investment facilitation and coordination between the two government bodies. The US$521 billion figure refers to the estimated value of the global sports industry cited by Indonesian officials. It does not represent the current size of Indonesia’s sports economy. The government has paired that global market context with domestic licensing reforms under Regulation No. 28 of 2025. The August 28 memorandum now formalizes cooperation on sports investment within that regulatory system.
