Whoosh Debt Eats Into Parent SOE Profits
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Kereta api Indonesia (KAI) should have posted higher profits in the first half of this year. Instead, the state-owned railway operator has been left counting its losses as its earnings are eroded by the financial burden of Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the operator of the Whoosh high-speed railway. “If we hadn’t absorbed KCIC’s losses, our net profit would have increased by 40 percent,” KAI Chief Executive Officer Bobby Rasyidin said at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission VI, which oversees state-owned enterprises (SOEs) among other sectors, on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
KAI leads the Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI) consortium, which controls a 60 percent stake in KCIC. PSBI partners with China’s Beijing Yawan HSR Co Ltd consortium, which holds the remaining 40 percent. Within PSBI, KAI, as consortium leader, holds a 58.53 percent stake. The remainder is owned by Wijaya Karya, with 33.36 percent; Perkebunan Nusantara VIII, with 1.03 percent; and Jasa Marga, with 7.08 percent.
Under this arrangement, KAI must absorb KCIC’s losses from operating the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, eroding its own profits. Excluding Whoosh’s performance, KAI’s net profit should have reached Rp3.4 trillion (around US$189.4 million) in the first half of 2026. But after absorbing Whoosh’s losses through PSBI, KAI’s profit shrank to just Rp300 billion (US$16.7 million). Its earnings also fell 73 percent from the same period last year.
The situation stems from KAI’s obligation to absorb PSBI’s net losses. As of June 30, 2026, KAI had recognized Rp3 trillion (US$167.1 million) in its share of PSBI’s net losses. This reduced the carrying value of KAI’s investment from Rp4.79 trillion (US$266.8 million) at the beginning of the year to Rp1.79 trillion (US$99.7 million). In 2025, the investment was still valued at Rp7.72 trillion (US$430 million). KAI also recorded an impairment allowance of Rp1.55 trillion (US$86.3 million) on its investment in PSBI.