Managing Assets of up to IDR 15,000 Trillion, Danantara's Fate in the Hands of a New Captain

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - President Prabowo Subianto has officially inaugurated the Investment Management Agency of Daya Anagata Nusantara, or BPI Danantara, at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Monday (24/2/2025). This institution, which will manage state assets valued at 900 billion US dollars, will be led by three figures who are already well-known to the public.

In the symbolic launch ceremony of Danantara, the President was accompanied by several prominent figures, namely Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo. Also present were the 10th and 12th Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the 11th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Boediono, as well as the 13th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma’ruf Amin.

In addition, the master of ceremonies also invited the Chairman of the BPI Danantara Supervisory Board Erick Thohir, as well as the Head of BPI Danantara to the stage. Once invited, the Minister of Investment and Downstream Rosan P Roeslani also went up on stage to accompany the President.

After inaugurating Danantara, it was reported that the President would also confirm Rosan as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Danantara, Deputy Minister of SOEs Dony Oskaria as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Danantara, and Deputy Director of PT TBS Energi Utama Tbk Pandu Patria Sjahrir as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Danantara.

Previously, the President had inaugurated Muliaman Hadad and Kaharuddin Djenod Daeng Manyambeang as Head and Deputy Head of BPI Danantara at the State Palace, Tuesday (10/22/2024). Based on Kompas' records, there will be a reshuffle in the leadership of Danantara, including Muliaman who is rumored to be replaced by Rosan.

The Minister of Investment/Head of BKPM in the Red and White Cabinet previously served as Deputy Minister of SOEs (17 July-24 October 2023) and served as Chair of the National Campaign Team (TKN) of the Advanced Indonesia Coalition which supported Prabowo-Gibran.

The Oklahoma State University alumnus from the United States began his business career by establishing a financial consulting company called PT Republik Indonesia Funding or Finance Indonesia with Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno in 1997. Five years later, this financial advisory company changed its name to Recapital Group.

In addition, Rosan was also listed as a Financial Advisor to the Indonesian Batik Cooperative Association (1997-2002) and Deputy Treasurer of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (2005-2008). Before sitting in the government seat, he was the Indonesian Ambassador to the United States (2021-2023), and Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2015-2021).

As Danantara's CIO, Pandu will be responsible for the investment holding in BPI Danantara. The nephew of National Economic Council Chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has a background as a professional in the energy sector.

Muliaman Hadad, who previously served as Chairman of BPI Danantara, will become Deputy Chairman of the BPI Danantara Supervisory Board.

According to the official website of Toba Bara Sejahtera, Pandu began his career as an analyst at Lehman Brothers (2001-2002), Principal at Byun & Co, Alternative Energy Fund Asia (2002-2005), and Senior Analyst at Matlin & Patterson (2007-2010). He was also recorded as having been the Chairman of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) during 2018-2021.

In addition, Pandu also holds the position of General Chairperson of the Daily Management Board of the Indonesian Fintech Association or Aftech (2021-2025), President Commissioner of GoTo Financials (2021-2023), and Commissioner of PT Bursa Efek Indonesia (2020-2023). Similar to Rosan who is part of the Prabowo Gibran TKN, Pandu is trusted to be the Deputy Treasurer of the TKN.

Next, there is Dony as COO of BPI Danantara who will oversee operational holding affairs. In addition to holding the position of Deputy Minister of BUMN, he also holds the position of Deputy President Commissioner at PT Pertamina (Persero).

Previously, Dony was the President Director of Injourney or PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia which is a BUMN holding in the aviation and tourism sector. He has also served as Managing Director of Bank Mega (2012-2014), Commissioner of Garuda Indonesia (2014-2019), CEO of AntaVaya (2014-2020), President Director of Trans Studio Mall (2014-2020), and CEO of Hospitality & Entertainment CT Corp (2018-2020).

During the Jokowi Era, Dony was asked to become a member of the Presidential Advisory Council for Economics and Industry at the National Economic and Industry Committee (KEIN), as the Head of the Working Group for the tourism industry. His job is to be responsible for developing the tourism industry in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Muliaman Hadad, who previously served as Chairman of BPI Danantara, will become Deputy Chairman of the BPI Danantara Supervisory Board. In this case, Muliaman will accompany Erick as Chairman of the BPI Danantara Supervisory Board.

In his welcoming speech at the launch of Danantara, President Prabowo Subianto emphasized that Danantara must be managed as well as possible and with great care, and transparently. Therefore, Danantara must be auditable at any time by anyone.

"Danantara Indonesia is for our children and grandchildren. Danantara Indonesia must be managed as well as possible, very carefully, very transparently, with mutual supervision. It must be auditable at any time by anyone, because this once again belongs to our children and grandchildren, to the next generation of the Indonesian nation," he said.

Overall, Danantara will manage state assets worth 900 billion US dollars or around Rp14,648 trillion. This amount is larger than Temasek in Singapore or Khazanah in Malaysia, making Danantara the fourth largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.

As an illustration, the total investment assets managed by Danantara are almost three times the Indonesian state budget in 2025, which is around Rp3,000 trillion. The total assets managed also reach more than half of Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) which is around Rp23,000 trillion.

Prabowo explained that the results of the budget efficiency that had been carried out by the government amounting to Rp300 trillion or 20 billion US dollars would be allocated to be managed by Danantara. Furthermore, the funds would be invested in more than 20 national strategic projects related to industrialization and downstreaming.

We no longer want to sell our natural resources cheaply. We do not want to be a source of raw materials for other nations. We are determined to become a developed country.

Some of these sectors include nickel, bauxite, copper, artificial intelligence data center development, oil refineries, petrochemicals, food and protein production, aquaculture, and renewable energy. It is expected to create significant added value, create quality jobs, and long-term prosperity for the community.

"We no longer want to sell our natural resources cheaply. We do not want to be a source of raw materials for other nations. We are determined to become a developed country," the President said.

The President hopes that the launch of Danantara marks a milestone in Indonesia's history towards economic independence, resilience, and prosperity. Therefore, BUMN is expected to not only be a business entity, but also a national asset that will become an agent of development and economic growth.

Separately, Economic observer from the Indonesia Strategic and Economic Action Institution (ISEAI) Ronny P Sasmita opined that Danantara will have a great chance of experiencing distortion in the middle of the road. In this case, especially related to political and government interests in the economic arena, which have the potential to disrupt the health of the national economy as a whole.

"It is possible that Danantara will become a political instrument to eliminate market players who are considered to be in a position that is in opposition to the government. In other words, fairness in the market will be lost, because the state with large assets and budgets intervenes in the economy, which is equipped with the capacity of regulators and shareholders," he said in a written statement.

According to Ronny, there is no clarity regarding regulators, supervisors, shareholders, and operators in the establishment of Danantara. In other words, all elements that should be separate are actually merged into one in Danantara.

In fact, the state as a regulator cannot act as a shareholder at the same time. Moreover, by acting as an actor or operator, it will make the state's position as a regulator ambiguous, because it must regulate itself.

"The state as a regulator will issue regulations that will benefit itself when Danantara decides to invest, and will marginalize other market players," said Ronny.

On the other hand, Paramadina University Economist Wijayanto Samirin argued that the application of the Business Judgement Rule principle and making BUMN losses not state losses will provide flexibility to innovate for BUMN and Danantara. In addition, Danantara will have room to be able to be on par with Temasek, or Khazanah.

However, the uncertainty of the business climate, rampant corruption, and the strong politicization of BUMN in Indonesia will actually open up room for abuse for certain groups in the management of Danantara. The only way to avoid such behavior is to implement GCG, both externally and internally.

"External GCG mechanisms are built by prioritizing transparency including in the selection of key figures, the preparation of regulations and strategic decision-making. Let the people, the media, and civil society supervise. Rats like darkness, so create light," said Wijayanto.

On the other hand, the internal GCG mechanism is established by strengthening the roles of supervisors, commissioners, the audit committee, and internal audit. Their positions should ideally be filled by professional, integrity-driven, and non-political individuals.