Definitely interesting for those doing, or wishing to do, business in Indonesia.
From Channel News Asia, February 24:
At the launch of the Danantara fund on Feb 24, Indonesian officials also sought to address some concerns on transparency and financial audit raised by observers, including some interviewed by CNA earlier.
JAKARTA: A new Indonesian sovereign wealth fund aims to manage the assets of all state-owned enterprises in the country worth more than US$900 billion, with President Prabowo Subianto saying that the fund will invest in 20 or more high-impact national projects this year.
At the launch of the Daya Anagata Nusantara - or Danantara - fund on Monday (Feb 24), Indonesian officials also sought to address some concerns on transparency and financial audit raised by observers, including some interviewed by CNA last week.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy saw a wave of student protests in major Indonesian cities last week as a result of the government’s budget cuts to fund Prabowo’s flagship programme - the free nutritious meal initiative for students - and Danantara.
The government’s recent state budget cuts enabled it to save about US$44 billion, about US$20 billion of which will be used for Danantara.
Speaking at the launch on Monday, Prabowo said that Danantara's first wave of investments worth US$20 billion would be used for “strategic projects” involving nickel, bauxite, copper, food production, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, oil refineries and petrochemical plants.
“These are the sectors that will determine our future, our resilience and our nation's independence,” said Prabowo.
When assuming office in late October, Prabowo had set a target annual economic growth of 8 per cent. It currently is at about 5 per cent.
Prabowo on Monday said Indonesia is ready to collaborate with everyone, including foreign partners, to make Danantara a success story and create new jobs.
“Indonesia sends a clear message to all friends and partners worldwide (that) Indonesia is open for collaboration, open for business, open for investment, and open to shared prosperity,” he said.
“Danantara Indonesia will allow us to expand our international cooperation, and I hope that all global partners will recognise Indonesia’s potential not just as an emerging economy but also as a pillar of regional stability and shared progress.”
The president added that Indonesia is determined to become a developed country, and the establishment of Danantara is another step towards that aim.
“We have already proven our commitment to managing Indonesia’s wealth and assets with very careful financial discipline and responsible governance in our first 100 days.”
QUESTIONS ABOUT TRANSPARENCY
Danantara is headed by Investment and Downstreaming Minister Rosan Roeslani, who was also the head of Prabowo’s presidential campaign team during last year’s election.State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, who also campaigned for Prabowo last year, is the chairman of the supervisory board of the fund.
Prior to Danantara’s official launch, some experts had raised concerns about issues of transparency as it was unclear how the new sovereign wealth fund would be audited.
Analysts told CNA that the country’s audit board (BPK) and financial and development supervisory agency (BPKP) could only audit Danantara with Parliament's approval, which is dominated by Prabowo’s coalition - the Advance Indonesia Coalition.
This came after Parliament amended a law regarding state-owned enterprises on Feb 4.
“Previously, the BPK could audit financial reports of the state-owned enterprises through various methods, but now it can only be audited through examinations with a specific purpose to detect whether or not there is state loss,” said Yassar Aulia, a researcher with non-governmental organisation Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW)....
....MUCH MORE
Also at CNA, 25Feb2025:
Indonesia arrests top executive of state-owned oil and gas firm, 6 others in US$12 billion corruption scanda
