JAKARTA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia has delayed a plan to create a single time zone for the sprawling archipelago this month because of slow-moving bureaucracy.
The government had planned to merge its three time zones into one, eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, to match regional financial centre Singapore and to increase the efficiency of the G20 economy.
"It cannot be implemented since we need the issuance of a decree from the government or president 90 days prior to implementation," Edib Muslim, a spokesman for a committee tasked with accelerating economic development, said on Tuesday, adding no such regulation had been issued.
Indonesia is known for an inefficient bureaucracy and red tape, key challenges for investors in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
Doubts are growing that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono can deliver on promised reforms in his remaining two years in office.
Indonesia's western region, including Sumatra island and the capital Jakarta on Java island, is currently seven hours ahead of GMT. The central region, including Bali, is eight hours ahead while eastern Indonesia is nine hours ahead.
(Reporting by Rieka Rahadiana; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)
((rieka.rahadiana@thomsonreuters.com)(+6221 3199 7170)(Reuters Messaging: rieka.rahadiana.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: INDONESIA TIME/