Prabowo’s Crackdown on Tin Puts Foreign Buyers on Edge

The Indonesian government’s efforts under President Prabowo Subianto to crack down on illegal mining and tin-smuggling networks are having a broad impact, including on international markets. With access to illegal Indonesian tin supplies cut off, companies overseas are now finding it harder to obtain raw materials.

Former finance minister Fuad Bawazier said overseas industries had knowingly received and relied on smuggled tin from Indonesia. The government’s large-scale enforcement campaign has directly halted the flow of this stolen raw material to global markets.

“First, it looks as though companies overseas are starting to run short of raw materials; the stolen goods are running out,” Fuad said on CNBC Indonesia’s Cuap Cuap Cuan podcast, as quoted on Thursday (22 October 2026).

Fuad said foreign businesses had benefited from weak governance and law enforcement in Indonesia’s tin sector. Illegal tin mined domestically was readily absorbed by overseas industries to meet their production needs.

“Foreign countries have prospered, haven’t they? Other countries accept stolen goods too; they know they are stolen goods from Indonesia. Who says they don’t know? They enforce the law in their own countries, but when smuggled goods come in, they let them in, again and again! That’s how it goes—until it is exposed,” he said.

The crackdown under Prabowo is seen as bringing change to the national tin industry. As well as creating a shortage of illegal raw materials overseas, the closure of around 1,000 illegal mining sites in Bangka Belitung has helped restore the financial performance of state-owned tin company PT Timah.

The clean-up has boosted PT Timah Tbk’s sales and profits by as much as ninefold, while increasing the market capitalisation of the company’s assets by 280%. The enforcement of sovereignty over natural resources is intended to ensure that the economic value of Indonesia’s tin flows into state coffers rather than being captured by international black-market networks.

“Things have improved enormously after the crackdown. People think enforcement is easy? We should be grateful, shouldn’t we? The value of its assets and market capitalisation have risen, sales have increased—everything could be up nine or ten times,” he said.

Prabowo cracks down on illegal tin mining

President Prabowo Subianto has previously said that efforts to tackle illegal mining, particularly tin mining, have produced results.

According to figures he cited, PT Timah Tbk (TINS) recorded a significant improvement in its financial performance, with profit surging by 900%, or ninefold, in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.

Prabowo made the remarks during a discussion with senior journalists and experts at Padepokan Garuda Yaksa in Hambalang, Bogor Regency, West Java, on Sunday (6 September 2026). CNBC Indonesia broadcast the discussion on Wednesday (16 September 2026).

“Tin smuggling from Bangka went on for decades. But with our policies, we have stopped the smuggling and shut down hundreds of illegal mines in Bangka. PT Timah is now making a profit! You may not believe it, but its profit is up ninefold—900%!” Prabowo said, as quoted on Thursday (17 September 2026).

He said PT Timah’s recovery reflected firm law enforcement and the closure of channels through which state wealth had been leaking for decades. Improvements to governance had directly restored the state-owned company’s revenue potential.

“That’s right, because we are enforcing the rules. How many decades has this been going on?” he added.

Prabowo said PT Timah’s financial recovery showed that better governance and clean leadership could quickly turn a state-owned enterprise from loss-making to profitable.

He stressed that the government and state-owned company directors were firmly committed to ending all forms of fraud and theft of state assets.

“Why? Because the directors and all of us do not want to collude; we do not want to steal from the state! That is the point. This has even exceeded my expectations, you know. So I am optimistic,” Prabowo said.

Alongside the tin-mining crackdown, the government is continuing to target thousands of other illegal mines and reform state-owned enterprises to prevent financial leakage and increase dividend revenue for the state.