Anniversary of the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry: Awaiting mutualism between SOE Ministry and Danantara
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - HUT Kementerian BUMN: Menanti mutualisme Kementerian BUMN-Danantara
14 April 2025
By Surya D.A. Simanjuntak
The Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises celebrated its 27th anniversary yesterday on Sunday (13/4). At this more mature age, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises has gained a partner to manage state-owned enterprises (SOEs), namely the Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency, also known as BPI Danantara.
Under Danantara, SOEs now have a greater responsibility, which is to support the need for direct investment funds. Conversely, Danantara is also expected to accelerate the structural reform of SOEs.
Recently, CEO of BPI Danantara, Rosan Roeslani, emphasised that the funds managed by his agency will come from SOE dividends.
"Every year, the dividends generated by all SOEs will be invested at the Danantara level," he said.
This mechanism was then reinforced in Government Regulation (PP) No. 16/2025. In the regulation issued on 21 March 2025, the Government officially transferred the majority shares of state-owned enterprises to Danantara. The Government provided state capital participation (PMN) to Danantara, originating from the transfer of 99% of state shares in the form of Series B shares at PT Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia (BKI). The value of PMN will be determined by the Minister of SOE.
Currently, the state, through the Minister of SOE, only holds 1% of shares in the form of Series A Dwiwarna shares in BKI. BKI itself is an operational holding that will oversee all SOEs after the establishment of Danantara. This means that in the future, SOE dividends will no longer enter the state treasury or state budget (APBN). Instead, these dividends will go directly to Danantara's treasury.
At present, Danantara holds a portfolio of shares in 13 SOE issuers through BKI. These SOEs include four SOE banks and four SOE contractors, as well as five SOEs in other sectors. The four state-owned banks are PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk (BMRI) with a 52% share, PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBRI) with a 53.19% share, PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBNI) with a 60% share and PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk (BBTN) with a 60% share.
Next, the four SOE contractors include PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk (WIKA) with a 91.02% share, PT Waskita Karya (Persero) Tbk (WSKT) with a 75.35% share, PT Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk (ADHI) with a 64.33% share and PT PP (Persero) Tbk (PTPP) with a 51% share.
Other sectors consist of PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SMGR) with a 51.2% share, PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (TLKM) with a 52.09% share, PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk (JSMR) with a 70% share, PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (GIAA) with a 65% share and PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk (KRAS) with an 80% share.
Homework
President Prabowo Subianto once revealed that Danantara will manage funds up to USD900 billion or no less than Rp14,000 trillion, sourced from all SOEs it will manage.
However, Paramadina University economist Wijayanto Samirin explained that the Rp14,000 trillion assets mostly consist of fixed assets, working capital, third-party funds (SOE banks) and intangible assets (goodwill), which cannot be invested.
Automatically, the liquid assets that can be invested are only the dividends from SOEs. The question is, can Danantara rely on SOE dividend deposits to invest in large Government projects? Moreover, Prabowo has set the initial funding amount for Danantara at USD20 billion or around Rp336.1 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp16,805 per USD). These funds will be invested in 15 to 20 projects that create added value.
The problem so far is that the total net dividends of SOEs cannot be considered large. According to Wijayanto's calculations, the dividends deposited by SOEs to the Government amounted to Rp303.9 trillion during 2020-2024. In the same period, the Government deposited PMN to SOEs amounting to Rp277.2 trillion. This means that the net dividends of SOEs (total dividends minus PMN) only reached Rp26.7 trillion. This figure is far below the initial funding requirement of Danantara, which is Rp336.1 trillion.
"Danantara cannot rely too much on SOE dividends. After SOEs are under Danantara, not only dividends become Danantara's rights, but PMN also becomes Danantara's obligation," said Wijayanto on Sunday (13/4). Moreover, not all SOEs are financially healthy. The special staff of the vice president for economic and financial affairs for the 2014-2019 period is not surprised if in the future Danantara will incur additional costs to 'care for' struggling SOEs such as SOE contractors, SOE pharmaceuticals and Garuda Indonesia.
Wijayanto also suggested that Danantara form a special holding to accommodate troubled SOEs or those undergoing restructuring—not just operational and investment holdings as currently exist. This way, struggling SOEs will not disrupt the operations and investments of healthy SOEs.
"Danantara's leadership needs to be extra cautious. What they hold is a beautiful but very fragile asset. Mishandling can lead to collapse," he said.
Conversely, Wijayanto believes that Danantara can also improve SOE management. According to him, SOE institutional reform will be easier after the formation of Danantara. The Independent Commissioner of PT Indosat Tbk. (ISAT) also encourages Danantara's leadership to take three steps.
First, prioritise meritocracy in the placement of SOE directors.
"Only the best people should be given the opportunity to join, especially to lead SOEs," he said.
Second, stop the practice of politicising SOEs so that company decisions prioritise professionalism.
Third, prioritise good governance and transparency to minimise corrupt behaviour.
"If these three things are implemented, SOEs will transform into credible and well-performing institutions, regardless of their assignments, whether for profit motive, development agent or a combination of both," said Wijayanto.
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