Single-Door Export Through Danantara Hinders Downstream Coal Investment: PERHAPI

The single-door export policy through PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (PT DSI), which comes into effect in June 2026, is considered to be hindering investment in the national downstream coal sector. The statement was made by Hary Kristiono, an official from the Indonesian Mining Experts Association (PERHAPI), at a recent event in Jakarta. “The problem is not the [coal] buyer, but the investment, which has already become bad news,” Kris revealed. He explained that investment certainty has been disrupted due to this regulatory change, especially following a meeting between the association and the Investment Association of China (IAC). “They [Chinese investors] submitted applications from 17 companies. However, a week ago they told me they are afraid of the uncertainty,” Kris stated. According to him, the withholding of capital from these investors directly impacts high-value-added projects in Indonesia. “They are the owners of high-value-added technology, such as gasification, to the point where they can make plastic from coal,” he explained. Kris assessed that Danantara’s involvement as the single export gateway will automatically overhaul the commercial contract governance that has been running previously. “So if there is an export change, for example being transferred to Danantara, the clauses will change. There is a possibility of penalties and cancellations,” he explained. As a result of this contract overhaul, business actors now have to repeat the business-to-business (B2B) negotiation process to adjust the new commercial aspects. On the government side, the policy is claimed to aim at improving the export governance of national strategic commodities through state-owned enterprises. “This policy follows up on the President’s directive in his speech at the DPR RI plenary session on the 20th, the essence of which is that the government will fundamentally improve governance for the export of strategic natural resource commodities, which will be conducted through a BUMN export company,” said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga. He added that this single-door mechanism also serves to enhance quality supervision and the validity of commodity shipment data abroad. The government targets that this regulatory tightening can minimise the risk of financial misappropriation in international trading activities. Airlangga continued that this arrangement would strengthen export supervision and governance. He stated that the policy is to prevent under-invoicing practices, transfer pricing, and related issues concerning the flight of export proceeds. The government’s optimism is based on the significant contribution of coal, crude palm oil (CPO), and ferro alloy commodities to the domestic economy. The three strategic commodities mandated to go through PT DSI recorded an export value of US$66.13 billion, equivalent to 23.4% of total national exports throughout 2025. The mandatory export implementation, starting with the first phase on 1 June 2026, will proceed to a second transition phase on 1 September 2026 before being fully implemented by 1 January 2027.