Opportunities Amid the Iran War: 4 Sectors Become Targets for Danantara Investments

Over a year since the establishment of the Badan Pengelola Investasi Daya Anagata Nusantara (BPI Danantara), the government has been able to boost domestic economic growth through investments in various business sectors. However, these efforts are not without challenges, especially amid global economic uncertainties resulting from the war between Iran and the United States (US) and Israel in the Middle East region. Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Danantara, Pandu Sjahrir, stated that his team is continuously reviewing the investment portfolio currently held by BPI. This step is intended to ensure that all BPI’s investment portfolios can generate profits amid the conflict. ‘This morning, we just conducted a stress-test on our portfolio. Because the uncertainty in the Middle East is not just an issue for Indonesia, but all neighbouring countries are experiencing the same,’ said Pandu at the Outlook Indonesia: The Role of National Economic Drivers event at the Auditorium of Menara Bank Mega, South Jakarta, on Tuesday (7/4/2026). In this regard, Pandu acknowledged that the Middle East conflict has a significant impact on increasing the cost of capital and investment risks both globally and domestically. However, he believes that behind every crisis, there are always new investment opportunities that can become ‘targets’ for Danantara. According to him, there are currently at least four business sectors being studied by Danantara for development, namely food security, downstream processing, healthcare, and digital infrastructure. ‘I’ll just mention the sectors we’re currently studying. One in energy security, second on the downstream processing side which we’re looking at now, third we’re also looking at healthcare, and fourth on digital infrastructure,’ Pandu continued. According to him, these four sectors are interconnected, especially energy security and digital infrastructure. This is because technological advancements and the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) require vast resources to operate. ‘When you talk about artificial intelligence and all the opportunities that will come, there is one thing that actually becomes their backlog, which is energy. Energy is AI. AI requires energy,’ he said. ‘Cheap energy sources and also access to clean water. One of the richest countries in this regard. So how can we utilise our energy usage or energy capabilities to obtain sources from the AI side, which is digital infrastructure. That is the opportunity that I find very interesting,’ Pandu added. Beyond that, Pandu also reported that in the past week, his team has established two new investment collaborations. First, Danantara with SMBC Aviation Capital formed an aviation leasing investment platform, Mandiri Aviation Leasing Fund. Second, Danantara also recently reached an agreement with the Qatar Investment Authority regarding investments in building tourism facilities in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, to encourage national tourism sector growth while strengthening the local economy. ‘One with SMBC, which is the largest aircraft leasing company in the world. This is the first for us to do, to make us smarter about aviation, and second, we’re also doing a deal with the Qatar Investment Authority. This is the first time Qatar is at war, yet still ready to invest in Indonesia entering Labuan Bajo,’ he said.