COO Emphasizes Danantara’s Distinct Governance from 1MDB

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The institutional structure of Indonesia’s Investment Management Agency, Danantara, differs significantly from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Since its inception, Danantara has prioritized a clear separation between State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) management and investment activities to mitigate risk.

Launched in February 2025, Danantara serves as Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund. It acts as a strategic investment management institution designed to consolidate and optimize government investments and assets in major SOEs to drive national economic growth.

Chief Operating Officer Dony Oskaria explained this during the Bukit Kaleng Kaleng podcast on Friday, June 12, 2026. He acknowledged public concerns about similarities between Danantara and 1MDB, noting that these perceptions stemmed from the consolidation of SOE assets and investment functions within a single entity.

Dony stressed that Danantara has a distinct governance system that separates asset management from investment functions. “From the outset of designing Danantara, we considered the importance of separating the risks of SOE management and investment. Investments can fail or even yield negative results,” he said.

He warned that without this risk separation, investment failures could directly affect SOE performance. “If we make an investment and it fails, the SOEs could be impacted. Therefore, from the outset, we implemented a form of separation,” he explained.

Dony outlined that Danantara is built on two main pillars: Danantara Asset Management, which consolidates and manages SOE portfolios, and Danantara Investment Management, which invests in various projects.

He emphasized that investment funds are not taken from SOEs’ primary assets but from dividends generated by the enterprises managed under Danantara Asset Management.

“What is invested are dividends. Therefore, dividends from Danantara Asset Management are invested for productive purposes to accelerate economic growth,” he said.

He added that the quality of SOE management is a key factor influencing Danantara’s success and sustainability. Strong SOE performance yields higher dividends, which can be reinvested to support national economic growth.

“SOE management is a key factor in Danantara’s sustainability. If SOEs are mismanaged, Danantara will inevitably disappear. This is because investment sources come from SOE management,” Dony stated.

He concluded that Danantara is designed with a risk-segregation system aimed at safeguarding SOE assets and performance while enabling productive investment to support Indonesia’s economic growth agenda. (Misni Parjiati)