REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA -- An economist from Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Sri Adiningsih, warned  government to protect locals in fuel business. She said that Indonesia needed regulation to manage foreign gas stations.

"Without the regulation, foreign gas stations such as Shell, Petronas or British Petroleum (BP) will take over the domestic market," she said recently.

The decreasing subsidized fuel will spur foreign companies to aggressively penetrate domestic market, by offering competitive prices and better services. She also warned that foreign companies could take advantages from the fuel price hike in Indonesia. The current Laws on Oil and Gas opens a wide opportunity to foreign oil companies to expand their business in Indonesia and ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015 will open a wider access to enter this country.

Adiningsih urged the state-owned gas and oil company PT Pertamina to elevate its competitiveness while the government must provide incentives to local oil and gas retails. Pertamina and local oil and gas retails must improve their quality in services. 

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