Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund looks to invest abroad, with sights set on energy assets

Business Times

6 hours ago

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Daya Anagata Nusantara (Danantara), is exploring global investment opportunities as part of its strategy to strengthen the country's position in the international market. And one potential target, said its chief investment officer (CIO), is the energy sector in the United States.
Speaking at the Asia Economic Summit in Jakarta on Thursday (Jun 26), Pandu Sjahrir emphasised that any overseas investment must deliver strategic value to Indonesia, particularly through technology transfer and capacity-building.
'We can invest anywhere in the world, but if it's outside Indonesia, there must be a clear strategic benefit, whether it's knowledge transfer, technology access, or strengthening Indonesia's role in the global value chain,' he said.
He pointed to the energy sector as an example, noting that Indonesia still imports a significant amount of crude oil from the United States. 'So why not own a foreign oil company and buy from ourselves? That could be a strategic move to support our energy security.'
Danantara manages US$900 billion in assets and oversees around 50 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) along with more than 800 subsidiaries. The sovereign wealth fund views global expansion as a key strategy for scaling up and enhancing the competitiveness of Indonesian SOEs, said Sjahrir.
' We can invest anywhere in the world, but if it's outside Indonesia, there must be a clear strategic benefit, whether it's knowledge transfer, technology access, or strengthening Indonesia's role in the global value chain. '
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Pandu Sjahrir, CIO of Danantara
Its CEO, Rosan Roeslani, indicated earlier this month that Danantara planned to allocate up to 20 per cent of its capital to overseas investments, signalling a tactic to capture global assets that align with Indonesian interests.
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In a recent move reflecting this, the fund played a key role in supporting state-owned energy giant Pertamina's acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation, a Philippine renewable energy company, in a transaction valued at US$120 million.
Sjahrir described it as a strategic investment for Pertamina to strengthen its presence in the global oil sector.
More global talent
During the panel, the CIO noted that while Danantara continued to prioritise domestic investments, it also recognised the importance of international opportunities to achieve long-term goals – particularly amid increasing global competition for talent and advanced technologies.
'This is also about human capital development. One of our top priorities is to boost productivity per capita, and that's not possible without knowledge transfer from abroad,' he added.
Danantara has already begun hiring international talent for key positions within the organisation. This move, Sjahrir said, is aimed at accelerating capacity-building and improving the operational efficiency of the companies under its management.
Recently, the fund invited Sunata Tjiterosampurno, managing director and co-CIO at Northstar Group – which is a private equity firm and early backer of Gojek – to join.
The fund also plans to recruit foreign talent to support its flagship airline, Garuda Indonesia, to which it recently extended a US$405 million capital loan.
'We now have a double-digit number of foreign talents working within Danantara. Depending on their roles, they contribute valuable expertise and help with knowledge transfer,' Sjahrir said.