Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia \u2014 Efforts by President Prabowo Subianto\u2019s\nadministration to bring illegal mining and national tin-smuggling\nnetworks under control are having a broad impact, including on\ninternational markets. With access to illicit Indonesian tin supplies\ncut off, companies overseas are now finding it harder to obtain the raw\nmaterial.<\/p>\n
Fuad Bawazier, a former finance minister who served in 1998, said\noverseas industries had knowingly received and relied on smuggled\nillegal tin from Indonesia. The government\u2019s current large-scale\nenforcement drive has directly halted the flow of this stolen raw\nmaterial into global markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, it seems companies overseas are starting to run short of raw\nmaterials; the stolen goods are running out,\u201d Fuad said on CNBC\nIndonesia\u2019s Cuap Cuap Cuan podcast, as quoted on Friday (23 October\n2026).<\/p>\n
Fuad said foreign buyers had benefited from weak governance and law\nenforcement in Indonesia\u2019s tin sector. Supplies from unauthorised\ndomestic mining were readily absorbed by overseas industries to meet\ntheir production needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cForeign countries prospered, didn\u2019t they? Other countries accepted\nstolen goods too, and they knew they were stolen from Indonesia. Who\nsays they didn\u2019t know? They enforce the law in their own countries, but\nwhen smuggled goods come in\u2026 in they go, in they go, in they go! And\nthen they break it all down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The enforcement drive under Prabowo is seen as bringing change to the\ndomestic tin industry. In addition to creating a shortage of illicit raw\nmaterials overseas, the closure of around 1,000 illegal mining sites in\nBangka Belitung has helped restore the financial performance of\nstate-owned tin company PT Timah.<\/p>\n
The clean-up has lifted PT Timah Tbk\u2019s sales and profits by as much\nas ninefold, and increased the market capitalisation of its assets by\n280%. The assertion is that enforcing sovereignty over natural resources\nensures the economic value of Indonesia\u2019s tin now flows into state\ncoffers rather than being captured by international black-market\nnetworks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the crackdown, the results have been extraordinary. Do you\nthink enforcement is easy? The value of its assets and market\ncapitalisation have all risen, and sales have increased\u2014everything may\nhave risen nine or ten times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
President Prabowo Subianto previously said that the crackdown on\nillegal mining, particularly tin mining, had produced results.<\/p>\n
According to figures he cited, PT Timah Tbk (TINS) recorded a\nsignificant improvement in its financial performance, with profit rising\nby 900%, or ninefold, in the first half of 2026 compared with the same\nperiod in 2025.<\/p>\n
Prabowo made the remarks during a dialogue with senior journalists\nand experts at the Garuda Yaksa compound in Hambalang, Bogor Regency,\nWest Java, on Sunday (6 September 2026). CNBC Indonesia broadcast the\ndiscussion on Wednesday (16 September 2026).<\/p>\n
\u201cTin smuggling from Bangka went on for decades. But with our policy,\nwe have shut down the smuggling and stopped hundreds of illegal mines in\nBangka. PT Timah is now making a profit! You may not believe it, but PT\nTimah\u2019s profit is up ninefold\u2014900%!\u201d Prabowo said, as quoted on Thursday\n(17 September 2026).<\/p>\n
He said PT Timah\u2019s recovery reflected firm law enforcement and the\nclosure of channels through which state wealth had been leaking for\ndecades. Improvements to governance had directly restored the\nstate-owned company\u2019s revenue potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight? Because we enforce the rules. How many decades has this been\ngoing on?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Prabowo said PT Timah\u2019s improved financial performance showed that\nbetter governance and clean leadership could turn a state-owned company\nfrom loss-making to profitable in a short time.<\/p>\n
He stressed that all government officials and state-owned enterprise\ndirectors were committed to ending every form of abuse or theft of state\nassets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy? Because the directors and all of us don\u2019t want to cheat; we\ndon\u2019t want to steal from the state! That\u2019s the point. This is beyond\neven my expectations, you know. So I\u2019m optimistic,\u201d Prabowo said.<\/p>\n
Alongside the crackdown on illegal tin mining, the government is\ncontinuing to tackle thousands of other illegal mines and restructure\nstate-owned enterprises to prevent budget leakages and increase dividend\nrevenue for the state.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prabowos-crackdown-on-illegal-tin-mining-leaves-foreign-buyers-scrambling-1792738279", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }