Danantara

KN. When President Prabowo Subianto and the House rushed through revisions to the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Law in February, it cleared the way for the creation of Danantara, a new state asset management fund. SOEs—government-owned companies such as Pertamina, PLN, and Bank Mandiri—play a central role in Indonesia’s economy, generating dividends and managing strategic sectors. Danantara is designed as a super holding company to manage all SOE dividends, approve capital injections, oversee mergers or spin-offs, form new holdings, and even bail out struggling firms—powers that previously required multi-layered approval from ministries and the House.

At the same time, the SOE Ministry has been reduced to a regulatory role. While Danantara mirrors similar models abroad aimed at improving efficiency and maximizing returns, concentrating such vast public wealth in a single body without strong oversight risks corruption and undermines transparency. Safeguarding accountability will be key to ensuring Danantara truly serves the public interest.