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First the good news. Foreign investors are still keen to participate in Indonesia’s economic growth and are more than willing to take the long view on the country. Having recently returned from a visit to Australia, the chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BPKM), Gita Wirjawan, says that four Australian companies have agreed to invest more than $1 billion (Rp 9 trillion) in Indonesia over the next few years.

These companies are household names, and the fact that they are willing to build factories and toll roads, as well as invest in health care and finance in this country, speaks volumes of their confidence in Indonesia. Indeed, Australian companies have long played a constructive role in the nation’s economy.

The investments will create jobs and improve the lives of Indonesians. It’s well known that the country needs significant foreign investments to boost economic growth, upgrade its economy and improve the living standards of its people.

It is thus disturbing to note that on the same day that Wirjawan revealed his good news, the central government backtracked on plans to open up part of the country’s telecommunications industry to foreign investors. It had said in January that it would revise its “negative list” to open five new sectors to foreign investors, including the telecommunications towers industry.

Indonesia will need to build between 150,000 to 200,000 new towers over the next five to seven years to meet rising demand. This will cost $7 billion to $8 billion, a figure many times higher than domestic investors can meet. Local funding sources can raise at most $300 million a year, which would mean that we will underinvest in this vital infrastructure.

By closing off the telecommunications tower sector to foreign investors, the government has put a brake on the growth of the sector and the economy as a whole. Without adequate communications, we cannot hope to achieve gross domestic product growth of more than 5 percent to 6 percent annually.

The government needs to take a clear view on where it wants the economy to be in the next five to 10 years. If we want to double the size of our economy from the current level of $514 billion, we must be willing to fight narrow economic interests for the greater good of the country.

If we are to develop the economy to its full potential, the government cannot be halfhearted in its efforts. As a nation, we must be clear about whether we welcome foreign investors and what role we expect them to play in developing the economy. The decision to block foreign investments in the telecommunications tower sector sends the wrong message and will hamper growth going forward.

And more importantly, it will prevent Indonesians, especially in remote areas, from enjoying world-class communications services.