Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto announces a plan to centralize and tighten state oversight of key commodity exports through a new government entity connected to Danantara, the state’s sovereign wealth fund. Bloomberg reports that the proposal involves creating a new state body to oversee commodity exports, and that even some officials close to the president are surprised by the move. Multiple outlets describe the initiative as aimed at increasing state revenue and strengthening Indonesia’s ability to influence global pricing.
According to South China Morning Post, new export controls unveiled on the same day as Prabowo’s remarks in parliament include measures that require foreign-exchange earnings from exports to be held in Indonesian banks for a specified period, and that producers of commodities including coal, palm oil and ferroalloys route sales through a new state-owned enterprise. Channel NewsAsia and The Diplomat add that the initiative could improve revenue capture while also raising concerns among investors and experts about tighter state control. The Diplomat and Bloomberg also frame the move as part of a broader economic agenda, with some coverage linking the effort to uncertainty in policymaking and broader macroeconomic goals.
