Danantara Successfully Prove Performance, Pessimism Turned Optimism

President Prabowo Subianto appreciates Danantara's (doc. President of the Republic of Indonesia) steps.

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto appreciates Danantara's move to streamline the number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). According to him, this step has resulted in overhead cost savings of more than Rp50 trillion.

The savings come from a number of cost components, such as the salaries of directors and commissioners, building rental, vehicle rental, and official travel that are often carried out in the red plate company.

"So, brothers and sisters, for that, I give special appreciation to the leadership of Danantara and all its teams, all its networks," said Prabowo in a State of the Nation Address at the 2026 MPR Annual Meeting and Joint Meeting of the DPR-DPD RI at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Friday, August 14, 2026.

Since it was first formed, the Danantara Investment Management Agency has been shrouded in public doubt. Various questions arise whether state assets can be managed more productively if consolidated under the Danantara umbrella?

Now, a number of performance indicators are beginning to answer this question. The latest data shows that a number of SOEs have recorded significant profit growth in the Danantara era.

Data on the profits of a number of SOEs shows a positive momentum. As stated by President Prabowo Subianto in his annual speech at the Senayan Parliament Building, Friday, August 14, 2026, SOE profits have increased significantly.

This is like PT Timah's profit which increased by 804.7 percent, Pupuk Indonesia (up 253 percent), Semen Indonesia (196.5 percent), Pegadaian (84.6 percent), Pertamina (80 percent), Pelindo (60.4 percent), BTN (40.8 percent), and Bank Mandiri (24.3 percent).

In addition, there is also a record of the turnaround story from two SOEs that were previously in a loss, such as Krakatau Steel and Kimia Farma. Both of them have now managed to record profits. Although the recording period is different, the direction of their performance shows the same trend, namely positive numbers.

Communication observer Hendri Satrio said that Danantara's important role was not only to revive SOEs' performance, but also to restore public optimism.

"So, it is clear that Danantara has taken a very important and central role in the development of Indonesia in the future. At least in the first period of President Prabowo's administration and it is very likely to continue in the future given the important and strategic role that Danantara is currently carrying out," said the man who is familiarly called Hensat, Friday, August 14, 2026.

The improvement in SOEs' performance is not a coincidence, but the result of a number of fundamental changes in SOE management under Danantara. Deputy Chairman of Commission VI of the DPR from the Gerindra Faction, Andre Rosiade, appreciated Danantara's positive performance in reforming SOEs.

"It shows that the partnership between Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives and Danantara Asset Management is successful. How we succeed in partnering, supporting each other to fix existing SOEs," said Andre in Jakarta, Friday, August 14, 2026.

According to him, the partnership starts from the streamlining process that is being worked on by Danantara regarding the reduction of SOEs so that it is more effective and efficient.

"Third, fix how to improve performance. This is basically the change in the BUMN law that we are doing which presents Danantara and both changes to further improve performance. I am very happy that the President appreciates Danantara's performance in partnership with us in Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives," said Andre.

With the presence of Danantara, SOEs are also considered to be more focused on core businesses and reducing activities that do not create value. Streamlining makes the structure, processes, and costs rearranged to be more streamlined and disciplined. In addition, state assets in SOEs are optimized to generate returns, not just recorded in the balance sheet.

"With Danantara, the synergy between SOEs is strengthened to open up opportunities for economies of scale and economies of scope. The point is, state assets are not considered enough to just own, but must generate value. This is where the role of Danantara is considered important. "The reform of SOEs is a bold and important step because too many state companies that are not productive can actually burden the state's finances. SOEs must be filled by healthy, professional, productive companies, and able to create added value."

"However, restructuring must also be carried out transparently, accountable, and professionally so that the ultimate goal is to really increase SOEs' contribution to the economy and state revenues," said member of the DPR from the Golkar Faction Bambang Soesatyo, Friday, August 14, 2026.

BUMN yang moncer dinilai bukan hanya soal aset besar. Ia lahir dari aset yang dikelola disiplin, organisasi yang efisien, dan manajemen yang profesional. Di sinilah Danantara menjadi penting memastikan kekayaan negara tidak sekadar dimiliki, tetapi benar-benar dikelola untuk menciptakan value yang lebih besar.

This change is not merely an administrative restructuring, but a transformation of how to manage state assets to create greater value for Indonesia.

If previously the public's question revolved around what was the difference between Danantara and the past SOEs? Today, several answers are beginning to be seen. SOEs are increasingly focused, efficiency is increasingly driven, assets are increasingly optimized, and profitability is beginning to improve.

The most fundamental change highlighted is the shift in the measure of success from simply who manages state assets, to how productive state assets work for Indonesia.

This reflects a paradigm shift from state ownership of capital to a state that actively manages its wealth capital, which is used to the greatest extent for the prosperity of the people. In line with the President's speech at the Parliament Building.

"The founders of the nation (set) an ideal 81 years ago, a sovereign, just and prosperous Indonesia. Indonesia whose wealth must be used as much as possible for the prosperity of the people and must not only be enjoyed (by) a few people," he said.