Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the 1st Anniversary of Danantara Indonesia at Wisma Danantara, Jakarta
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Good afternoon,
May peace be upon us all,
Shalom,
Salve,
Om swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of virtue.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Leaders of Danantara, Chairperson and all Danantara Supervisory Board members;
Members of the Red and White Cabinet;
All distinguished attendees;
All Danantara officials and employees;
Guests, journalists, and media.
This is Danantara’s first anniversary. We should always be grateful that we are still granted health by Allah SWT, the Almighty God. We are grateful for all the blessings given by the Almighty to our nation and state.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Danantara is a consolidation of all assets owned by our nation and state. This means Danantara has been given a quite heavy task and trust, namely to manage and handle the nation’s wealth. We named it Danantara, which stands for Daya Anagata Nusantara. Daya means power, energy. Anagata means the future. So, Danantara must safeguard and manage our nation’s power and energy for the future. This is how important Danantara is.
I actually wanted to deliver a fairly comprehensive briefing, but I’m worried it might clash with the Maghrib call to prayer and breaking the fast. Therefore, I will continue until the Maghrib azan starts, then we will take a break, and I will continue my briefing on the first floor after breaking the fast. How about it? Agree? Not loud enough? Agree? If not, we’ll just continue here.
Actually, I also want to focus on important matters. We are grateful that we now have an institution that can be equated with sovereign wealth funds in the world. We are grateful that Indonesia now has a sovereign wealth fund, perhaps the 6th or 7th largest in the world.
We are also grateful that this year’s management has proven that with good management, with proper handling, especially with true will, with political will, with the right spirit, the results are already visible. I received a report, hopefully this report is true, do not mess around with me anymore with fake reports, reports to make excuses. I warn everyone here.
I received a report that made me quite happy. The return on assets for 2025, compared to that in previous years, has increased by more than 300 percent. This is quite good and proves our reason in establishing Danantara, that good management is impossible without single control, single hand, single management. It is impossible to manage 250 companies. I even just found out, it is not 250, more than a thousand companies. There is no management lesson anywhere in the world where one management can handle a thousand entities.
SOEs were founded by our nation’s founders. Back then called state companies, operating for decades. We didn’t have a textile industry, then the Government established Patal Senayan. No paper industry, we needed books, children needed to study, the Government built a paper mill. No medicine during independence period, the Government then established pharma companies. But gradually, this good intention led to deviations.
The state, in the early days of independence, established state companies like Pertamina. The good intentions of the nation’s founders eventually created subsidiaries, and more and more subsidiaries companies. I was shocked. Pertamina has 200 subsidiaries and smaller companies. And strangely, there are even stranger regulations. If SOEs can be audited by the state, apparently the small companies cannot be audited. Where did this regulation come from?
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, our premise turns out to be correct. Consolidation, single management with rationality, with the world’s best standards, the return on assets I received is above 300 percent. This is still far from our target.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A good company should have a return on assets of at least 10 percent. If good, 12 percent, if excellent, 15 percent. We must have a good target of 10 percent. But we understand that in the first years, we may not achieve it yet. If only 5 percent return on assets, the Danantara must return US$50 billion to the state every year. US$50 billion is eight hundred trillion rupiah. So, for Danantara leaders, your target is still far. But it’s okay, I believe and trust that the key to good management is in the heart, in the soul.
Therefore, in this first year, although I express grateful, I congratulate you on your achievements, but I remind you, the target is still quite far. You must be able to give at least 5 percent return back to the state, minimum US$50 billion.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is increasingly urgent because we see the world now full of uncertainties, crises are everywhere. But, crises always produce opportunities. Crisis is a test. Crisis is a stepping stone. The strong will survive, the weak will continue to suffer. This is a lesson from history.
I believe and trust that the Indonesian nation is blessed with extraordinary natural wealth, and we are capable of emerging from this crisis. We will emerge from this crisis stronger. This crisis, in my view, is a blessing in disguise. Indeed full of difficulties, full of challenges, but it forces us to accelerate good intentions.
We already have a food self-sufficiency plan. Alhamdulillah, partially achieved. We have energy self-sufficiency intentions, which we are confident will be achieved in four more years. But this forces us to accelerate. We must speed it up. We have many alternatives. We are confident we can overcome this problem.
Many countries are in worse conditions than us. We have a lot of palm oil. We have sufficient cassava. We can get fuel from corn and sugarcane. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have very large geothermal. If I’m not mistaken, the second largest reserves in the world not yet fully exploited.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We will carry out electrification, renewable energy from solar power. In the shortest possible time, we will build 100 gigawatts. That is my order, that is already my decision. And we will prove to the world that we are faster and more effective in this.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Danantara is also proof that Indonesia, with determination, with strong will, is capable of great deeds, capable of keeping up with other countries’ achievements.
I think that’s it from me for now. Congratulations to Danantara. In the first year, you have shown good achievements. I hear from overseas parties, when meeting Danantara people, they are impressed. They are surprised, they see a different face of Indonesia. Smart Indonesian people who understand business, economy, investment, downstreaming. Some people also told me that they are impressed [with Danantara]..
Lastly, I entrust vigilance and aware, guard yourselves. Remember, the hopes of the entire nation, all the people, are on your shoulders. You guard, you manage the wealth of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Always guard it. Many sovereign wealth funds suffer losses. Many sovereign wealth funds in the richest countries even lose due to poor management.
I think that’s from me. We will ensure all supervision. I think Danantara is the most supervised institution in Indonesia. There is a Supervisory Board. I think our Supervisory Board is quite strong. Almost all coordinating ministers are there. Yes, right? I also ask the Audit Agency (BPK) to audit, the Finance and Development Supervisory Board (BPKP) to supervise. Prosecutor’s office, the national police, the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) Commander will participate in supervising. In addition, I have appointed special presidential envoys and may appoint special envoys for each SOE we manage later.
We must supervise because this is the blood of the Indonesian nation. If this blood keeps leaking, our nation will be in trouble. Our future is strong, our future is bright, we face the crisis bravely. Crisis is opportunity. We unite, we harmonize, we work hard. Thank you, that concludes my remarks.
Once again, my appreciation to all your achievements, to all ministers who support, to all supervisors who support. Thank you.
Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
May peace be upon us all,
Shalom,
Salve,
Om shanti shanti shanti om,
And, happy breaking the fast.
Thank you.
(EST/LW)