By Danantara Monitor
Indonesia has officially launched a new agency under the sovereign wealth fund aimed at overseeing Indonesia’s natural resources exports called PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia, The Jakarta Globe reported.
Strategic natural resource commodities—such as palm oil, coal, and ferroalloys—are being routed through a state-owned enterprise as the sole exporter. This new policy will be done in two stages. The transitional phase will begin on June 1, 2026, where PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia mainly acts as an appraiser and intermediary, Antara reported.
Starting in January 2027, PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia will transform into a trading company that purchases commodities directly from exporters, holds the goods, and assumes trade risks before selling them to the international market.
Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto told reporters that the government is “fine tuning” the system in the next three months, DDTC News reported. The obligation to export natural resources commodities through state-owned enterprises will be regulated in the Government Regulation on Natural Resources Commodity Export Governance. Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry, Trade Ministry, and Bank Indonesia will also prepare the necessary derivative regulations.
Bloomberg Technoz reported that an Australian citizen Luke Thomas Mahony has been named the CEO of PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia for several reasons, including his track record working for multinational companies, his ability to speak Bahasa Indonesia, and the fact that his wife is an Indonesian.
Targeting Zero Under-Invoicing
The strategy to require strategic mineral exports to be done through a state-owned entity is part of a larger strategy to strengthen national export management, increase state revenue, and maximize the use of foreign exchange earnings, according to a statement by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said, as quoted by CNBC Indonesia, that the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) and the Attorney General’s Office are investigating 10 CPO companies that allegedly have manipulated reports, also known as under-invoicing. Purbaya has yet to name the 10 companies.
CNBC Indonesia reported that the cumulative value of Indonesia’s under-invoiced exports from 1991 to 2024 is estimated to have reached US$908 billion, equivalent to approximately Rp15,980.8 trillion (US$1= Rp17,600). This figure demonstrates the enormous potential wealth generated by unrecorded export activities.