Last month, Indonesia launched its new sovereign wealth fund, Danantara Indonesia, with more than $900 billion in assets.
It is not just a new force in global finance and investment, it is a statement of intent—Indonesia will fully control its wealth, manage its resources with strategic foresight, and invest in its future.
My country is blessed with extraordinary resources, including abundant mineral wealth, fertile land, vast seas, and, above all, the nation’s most valuable asset: our people.
Yes, Indonesia has all the assets to continue its global rise. However, history has shown that nations blessed with abundant natural wealth all too often fail to translate this into lasting prosperity.
Many have extracted and spent their resources without ensuring that their people benefit in the long term. These nations find themselves vulnerable when global markets shift, when reserves run out, and when commodity prices fall.
President Prabowo Subianto will not allow this to happen to Indonesia.
In the past, we have not always made our resources work for us—our state assets have been too scattered, too mismanaged, and operated in too much isolation. Despite the immense value of Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises, many have also struggled to modernize and expand beyond domestic markets. At the same time, revenue from industry and natural resources have been spent, rather than reinvested—locking Indonesia out of sustained economic strength.
When President Subianto came to office, it was clear that something had to change. Danantara Indonesia is that change. Through it, we will harness our national wealth, strengthen our economy, modernize our country, and ensure that future generations inherit a more prosperous Indonesia.
Economic transformation
But Dantantara Indonesia was not created overnight.
It is the result of careful planning and strategic reform; it builds on a process that began when Indonesia invested in developing downstream industries, ensuring that minerals were refined, processed, and transformed into high-value products within our borders. That step created jobs, increased revenues, and strengthened our industrial base.
But today, we must go further.
Danantara Indonesia is the next stage of our economic transformation. It will add value to our resources and reinvest our wealth into sectors that will make Indonesia a global leader.
But Danantara Indonesia is not just a rebranding, or just the formation of a new bureaucracy. It has been purposefully designed to be free from short-term political cycles, to be governed with transparency and accountability, and to operate with strict financial discipline and world-class investment standards.
It will have a clear and non-negotiable mandate to generate long-term economic benefits for Indonesia.
President Subianto’s administration has brought back highly skilled Indonesians from around the world to lead in government and to ensure Danantara Indonesia is run by the best professionals with global expertise in finance, investment, and strategic asset management. The individuals employed by and leading this initiative are not just guardians of our current economy, they are safeguarding the future of millions of Indonesians for generations to come.
Danantara Indonesia does not belong to the government—it belongs to the Indonesian people. It is an expression of Article 33 of our Constitution, which mandates that Indonesia’s natural wealth must be managed for the greatest prosperity of its people.
Make no mistake: We will get this right, and in doing so, we welcome constructive criticism and questions. A transformation of this scale deserves scrutiny, and the best ideas are always strengthened through open discussion.
This is an ambitious idea—but it is an idea whose time has come.
A strategic sovereign wealth fund
For international investors, Danantara Indonesia is a signal that Indonesia is no longer just an emerging market—it is a rising economic power, one that is serious about managing its resources responsibly and strategically. We are a country that is charting its own course, and we welcome with open arms all investments, collaborations, and partnerships that are mutually beneficial.
This fund will finance the infrastructure that will connect us, ensuring that our ports, roads, and digital networks form the backbone of a modern economy.
It will invest in renewable energy, AI, and high-tech industries, positioning Indonesia as a leader in the economies of the future.
It will support the expansion of agriculture and food security, turning Indonesia into an exporter of essential goods and strengthening our resilience in a volatile global market.
It will also invest in health-care industries, making sure we can contribute to delivering first-class health services to our citizens.
We have already earmarked $20 billion for the first 20 projects under Danantara Indonesia—projects that will range from refineries and petrochemical plants, to smelting facilities and data centers; from aquaculture to the biotechnological process of generating proteins, a process with myriad applications.
Indonesia today stands on the edge of something extraordinary, ready to unleash its full potential and claim its rightful place in the region and the world.
We are already one of the world’s largest democracies and one of the great nations of the world. But now, we are ready to become one of the world’s economic powerhouses—and Danantara Indonesia will play a defining role in this transformation.
We do not take this responsibility lightly. The burden on our shoulders is not the usual responsibility that weighs on politicians and leaders. It is something greater. It is the weight of history, the weight of a moment that will shape the future of Indonesia for generations to come.
And we are ready to meet it.
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