CSIS Doubts Danantara's IDR 700 Trillion Contribution to the State Treasury: Most of Its Assets Are Third-Party Funds

JAKARTA - The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS Indonesia) doubts Danantara will be able to contribute IDR 700 trillion to the state treasury. This is because most of Danantara's assets come from Third Party Funds (DPK) held in state-owned banks.

Furthermore, not all assets managed by Danantara Asset Management are productive assets.

"If we forced Danantara to disburse up to IDR 700 trillion, would it be possible? Most of Danantara's assets are third-party funds. Second, not all of them are productive assets," said Riandy Laksono, a researcher at the CSIS Economics Department, in a media briefing titled "2026 Draft State Budget: Weighing Political Promises Amid Fiscal Constraints," monitored online on Monday, August 18.

Rather than donating around 5 percent of its assets to the state, according to Riandy, it would be better for Danantara to focus on promoting new business sectors that have not yet been optimized, especially those that are exclusively accessible to the government.

He believes that the added value of investments managed by Danantara can drive higher national economic growth.

On the other hand, Riandy views Prabowo's goal of achieving a 0 percent deficit or a balanced budget in the next 2-3 years as unrealistic. On the contrary, he believes it's perfectly acceptable for the country to still experience a deficit and then have the government cover it with debt, rather than entrusting the government with the task.

"I want to emphasize here that a balanced budget isn't really necessary; we don't need to live without debt, as long as fiscal management remains sustainable," he said.

President Prabowo Subianto has set a target of narrowing the state budget deficit to 0 percent within the next 2-3 years, from 2.48 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026.

Meanwhile, according to data, the state budget deficit in 2024, Prabowo's first year in office, is 2.29 percent of GDP. This figure is an increase from the 2023 state budget deficit of 2.27 percent.

In the 2025 State Budget Law, the government has set a state budget deficit of 2.53 percent of GDP, or IDR616.2 trillion. However, the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) predicts that this year's actual state budget deficit will exceed the target, reaching 2.78 percent, or IDR662 trillion.