PT DSI Not Just a Monopoly on Indonesia's Natural Resource Exports

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – President Prabowo Subianto’s economic-political policy of single-channel exports via PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI) is not merely a monopoly on exports. Economist and Paramadina University Rector Professor Didik J Rachbini believes the policy could boost national industrialisation and government revenue from the industrial and trade sectors. “It is not merely about controlling raw material trade, but rather about making Indonesia stop relying on raw and semi-processed materials, and to revive dynamic industrialisation and significant government revenue from the industrial and trade sectors,” Didik told Kompas.com on Monday (25 May 2026). Therefore, the government must push for reindustrialisation to significantly increase state revenue and achieve economic growth above the moderate 5 per cent threshold. “How can entrepreneurs navigate the new natural resource export regulations by adding value, processing domestically as much as possible, or implementing downstreaming,” he added. The former director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) from 1995 to 2000 believes the new monopoly regulations also present both opportunities and challenges for businesses. He said the regulations could prompt natural resource sector entrepreneurs to focus on downstreaming rather than exporting raw materials. “This is the silver lining of the new monopsony or monopoly regulations on coal and palm oil exports. The government is providing strong encouragement and incentives for the industrial sector to revive reindustrialisation,” he added. On the other hand, he cautioned that dozens of downstream products from natural resources should not fall under government monopoly regulations. The government should only manage the export of raw and semi-processed products. “The industrial sector can revive through this approach. However, the government must not take over the export of finished downstream products, so industrialisation can progress rapidly instead of the current stagnant growth (deindustrialisation),” he said. If this design is implemented, he said, the new regulations could drive natural resource downstreaming and maximise added value. “This will also increase tax revenue from an industry expected to grow rapidly following the new regulations,” he added.