Danantara Issues USD 1.5 Billion in Bonds. What Are the Risks?
The Centre of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) has criticised the inaugural bond issuance by PT Danantara Investment Management, valued at US$ 1.5 billion or approximately Rp 26.5 trillion. There are concerns that Danantara’s global bond issuance could create an interest payment burden that drains dividends from State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and acts as a shadow burden on the state treasury.
Celios Executive Director Bhima Yudhistira responded to the issuance of Danantara’s debt securities, which were intended as a solution to increase funding for programmes that cannot be covered by the State Budget (APBN). “The National Strategic Projects (PSN) are partially charged to Danantara rather than the APBN, and this creates a quasi-fiscal risk,” he stated in an official statement released on Saturday, 20 June 2026.
According to Celios, large-scale debt issuance by Danantara, particularly in foreign denominations, brings concerns regarding exchange rate or liquidity risks when issuing short-term tenors, while the resulting investments or portfolios are long-term in nature. Furthermore, there is the risk of Danantara becoming a ‘shadow APBN’.
Concerns have also arisen regarding the transparency of the use of such debt. “Government obligations, such as maintaining low energy prices and subsidising price differences, could be transferred to become the burden of SOEs. For example, when the government holds fuel or electricity tariffs, Pertamina or PLN will pay that compensation first,” said Bhima.
As Danantara issues large amounts of debt, Bhima questioned whether there are guarantees that these funds will not be used to inject capital into energy SOEs burdened by government compensation debts, or to cover cash requirements that actually stem from government energy compensation obligations.
Celios also expressed concern over how Danantara manages capital with excessive debt. Danantara’s current assets, stated at US$ 1 trillion, are also described as unverified claims regarding asset liquidity and the level of risk per asset type. As a result of the large-scale debt issuance, interest payment burdens may emerge, draining dividends from State-Owned Enterprises.
Danantara has yet to explain in detail the use of funds from the US dollar-denominated bond issuance, or Danantara’s Global Bond. The Chief Executive Officer of Danantara, Rosan Roeslani, stated that the proceeds from the bond issuance are divided into 5-year and 10-year tenors, with each absorbing US$ 750 million.
He stated that the Danantara Global Bond issuance in US dollar denomination was oversubscribed by more than three times. According to Rosan, this also demonstrates that global investor interest in Indonesia remains high.
Danantara initially targeted an inaugural issuance of US$ 1 billion. However, after Roeslani conducted a series of roadshows to several of the world’s financial centres, investor demand rose to reach US$ 4.6 billion or approximately Rp 81.5 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp 17,725 per US dollar). Consequently, the decision was made to proceed with an inaugural bond issuance of US$ 1.5 billion, or approximately Rp 26.5 trillion.