Four Countries Granted Exemption from Natural Resource Export Proceeds Repatriation Rule

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has revealed that four countries are exempt from the new regulation on the placement of Natural Resource Export Proceeds (DHE SDA). The decision was made following a coordination meeting with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, Investment Minister Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, and representatives from Bank Indonesia on Thursday morning, 23 July 2026. According to Airlangga, the four countries were selected due to their substantial bilateral cooperation with Indonesia. “Several countries with which we have considerable bilateral ties, such as China, the United States, then Australia and Canada,” he stated at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs office in Jakarta on Thursday, 23 July 2026. The new DHE SDA regulation mandates that exporters bring their foreign exchange earnings back into the country. The aim is to strengthen national foreign exchange reserves and maintain the stability of the rupiah exchange rate. This provision is stipulated in Government Regulation (PP) Number 21 of 2026, which came into effect on 1 June 2026. Under this rule, natural resource exporters are required to repatriate 100 percent of their DHE. Meanwhile, non-oil and gas sector exporters must place 100 percent of their natural resource DHE in special accounts domestically for a minimum of 12 months. This placement must be made through state-owned banks. Despite the strict regulation, the government may grant exemptions or relaxations for certain trading partner countries. PP 21 of 2026 stipulates that exporters bound by bilateral agreements are permitted to place a portion of their DHE SDA in special accounts outside the general provisions. They may place a minimum of 30 percent of the foreign exchange funds for three months and conduct foreign exchange conversions at banks other than state-owned banks. Deputy for Economic Cooperation and Investment Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Edi Prio Pambudi, stated that the exemption for these four countries remains subject to review. The review will be conducted every three months. “We will see how effective it is. We must not let there be a reaction that then creates a problem,” he said. Edi stated that today’s DHE meeting was only to gather input from all relevant agencies. The relaxation percentage granted may also change. He said the government will be very cautious because the main objective of this policy is to prevent the rupiah from continuing to depreciate.