Minister Ferry Juliantono: Cooperatives Permitted to Manage Mining Operations

Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono stated that the government is expanding the role of cooperatives into various strategic business sectors, including mining, energy, and processing industries. He said the move is part of efforts to strengthen the position of cooperatives as a pillar of the national economy alongside state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the private sector. “Allowing cooperatives now to enter various sectors, managing people’s oil wells or idle wells. Cooperatives are now permitted to manage mineral mines,” Ferry said at the peak celebration of the 79th Cooperatives Day at Indonesia Arena, Gelora Bung Karno, Central Jakarta, on Sunday, 12 July 2026. Ferry conveyed that the government has opened opportunities for cooperatives to manage people’s oil wells that are no longer producing optimally and to operate mineral mines. He said the expansion of business space is expected to increase cooperatives’ contribution to the economy while opening new sources of income for their members. In addition, the government is encouraging cooperatives to enter the downstream sector. Ferry mentioned that the Cooperatives Ministry will inaugurate a crude palm oil (CPO) mill owned by Koperasi Unit Desa Sejahtera in Musi Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra, this coming August. In the same period, the government will also inaugurate a solar power plant with a capacity of 0.5-1 megawatt managed by a cooperative in Sembur Laut, Galang Baru Island, Riau Islands. According to Ferry, these projects demonstrate that cooperatives are no longer limited to savings and loans or trading, but are beginning to engage in managing productive sectors. To support this expanded role, the government is also preparing a new Cooperatives Law. Ferry said the regulation will serve as a legal umbrella providing certainty for cooperatives in developing businesses across various sectors.