Special Export-Focused State-Owned Enterprise Formed, DPR Member Says Indonesia Has Been in a Price-Taker Position

Indonesia plans to form a dedicated export-focused state-owned enterprise, PT Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia, to tighten governance of natural-resource trade and maximise national gains from strategic commodity exports. Indonesia needs a more integrated national trade instrument so that exports of natural resources are no longer fragmented and prone to revenue leakage. As a result, the value added from national natural wealth has not yet translated into maximum revenue for the state. “The establishment of an export-focused state-owned enterprise under Danantara could be a strategic step to strengthen the national trade system. The presence of a state-owned company that functions as an aggregator and manager of exports of strategic natural-resource commodities is expected to drive the realisation of greater global trade profits for the state revenue,” Labib said in a statement on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. Through a one-gate export mechanism, exports of commodities such as coal, crude palm oil (CPO), nickel and ferro-alloys are expected to operate within a more integrated and coordinated national trade system. Labib explained that this trade model could strengthen Indonesia’s bargaining position in setting export price benchmarks while minimising price manipulation that harms the state. In addition, the state would gain stronger control over trade flows, foreign exchange earnings from exports, and the synchronization of tax data and international transactions in a more transparent and accountable way. “All this time Indonesia has often found itself in a price-taker position because exports have been fragmented. If strategic exports can be integrated through a stronger national mechanism, the opportunities to increase trading leverage, maintain market stability, and minimise under-invoicing practices will be greater,” he said. However, he cautioned that the policy’s implementation must be professionally designed and should not create new bureaucratic barriers for domestic businesses. “The most important thing is how the government can be present through an export-focused state-owned enterprise to strengthen governance of natural-resource wealth in a more strategic, transparent way that benefits national interests, so that Indonesia’s natural wealth can provide greater economic benefits for the country and its people,” Labib added. Earlier, President Prabowo Subianto announced that his administration had issued Government Regulation (PP) on the Governance of Exports of Natural Resource Commodities. Going forward, exports of palm oil to coal must pass through the state-owned enterprise as the sole exporter.