Improving Commodity Export Governance Can Strengthen Economic Sovereignty

The establishment of PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI), a state-owned enterprise formed to improve the management of strategic national commodity exports, is viewed as a crucial structural reform to strengthen economic sovereignty. Transparency, accountability, data integration, and professional management are key to DSI’s success in ensuring that natural resources, which have long been the backbone of the national economy, deliver tangible benefits to all citizens. Economist and Public Policy Expert from UPN Veteran Jakarta, Achmad Nur Hidayat, stated that Indonesia’s issue is not a lack of commodities but a loss of value from them. DSI, as a state-owned enterprise for strategic commodity exports, can be likened to a dam’s sluice gate, with natural wealth being the water. ‘If the sluice gate is managed well, water flows to rice fields, electricity, industry, and public welfare. If it leaks, water still flows heavily, export ships still sail, and the trade balance appears active, but the value that should enter the national coffers is lost along the way,’ Achmad said on Thursday (28 May). According to Achmad, DSI must serve as an instrument of economic sovereignty, not merely a rebranding of old trade systems. Therefore, the first indicator DSI must demonstrate from the outset is transparent export pricing. DSI’s success is measured by data: recorded export value, volume, foreign exchange inflows, deviations from benchmark prices, additional tax revenue, royalties, and Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP). The second indicator is compliance with foreign exchange earnings. He noted the government has strengthened the Natural Resource Export Foreign Exchange (DHE SDA) policy through Government Regulation No. 8/2025, amending Regulation No. 36/2023 on natural resource export foreign exchange. This regulation mandates the placement of DHE SDA within domestic financial systems to maximise export benefits for national liquidity. ‘Here, DSI must function as an execution engine, ensuring export foreign exchange is received, recorded, monitored, yet still available for legitimate purposes such as tax payments, PNBP, debts, dividends, raw materials, and global obligations,’ he added. Achmad explained that one of the most sensitive challenges DSI faces on the ground is under-invoicing. Thus, he urged DSI to implement a risk scoring system for transaction monitoring. Price variations can legitimately occur due to quality, moisture content, or long-term contracts. Strict monitoring should prioritise transactions with large, recurring price deviations involving foreign affiliates, while safeguarding business interests. Companies selling to related entities in low-tax jurisdictions at prices significantly below market rates must be prioritised for scrutiny. With a focus on business interests, he stressed the importance of the right of reply and legal certainty for exporters to ensure compliance measures maintain a conducive investment climate. Cross-agency data integration is key for DSI to effectively plug leakage gaps,’ he said. Moreover, Achmad stated that DSI’s success in mandating strategic export revenue flows into domestic financial systems would strengthen macroeconomic foundations. He hopes DSI’s management of strategic commodity export foreign exchange will provide deeper foreign currency liquidity for national banks. DSI could be a crucial structural reform if it operates with transparency, data integration, real-time audits, and clear authority allocation,’ he concluded. Previously, Chief Investment Operating (CIO) of Danantara Indonesia, Pandu Sjahrir, affirmed DSI would operate transparently. The main challenge for DSI lies in execution and corporate governance moving forward, so Danantara aims to build openness from the company’s inception. DSI enforcement is projected to redirect 10%-20% of potential under-invoicing funds back into the country. This surge in natural resource revenue will directly secure funding for national development programmes, including the MBG initiative. An economist from Andalas University assessed that PT DSI’s establishment by Danantara Indonesia effectively curbs under-invoicing and strengthens national economic sovereignty. The government has mandated coal, palm oil (CPO), and ferroalloy exports to be channelled exclusively through DSI starting September 2026 to strengthen foreign exchange reserves.