Speaking in Jakarta on Thursday, Dony addressed public anxieties regarding the concentration of massive state wealth, clarifying that Danantara isolates state-owned enterprise (SOE) operational assets from high-risk investment ventures.
“Danantara’s institutional structure is designed differently from investment management schemes like 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB),” Dony said in an official statement.
He acknowledged that public concerns comparing Danantara to 1MDB arose due to the consolidation of both SOE asset management and sovereign investment functions within a single agency.
However, he clarified that Danantara utilizes a distinct governance mechanism based on the complete segregation of asset and investment portfolios.
“From the beginning of designing Danantara, we have considered the need for risk segregation between SOE management and investment. Investments can fail, but they can also yield results,” Dony explained.
He maintained that without this strict separation, potential investment failures could directly destabilize the performance of SOEs, which serve as the primary backbone of the national economy.
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“You can imagine if we invest and the investment fails, it could drag down the SOEs. That’s why we designed it that way from the start—we split it up,” Dony said.
To maintain this firewall, Danantara operates through two main pillars. The first is Danantara Asset Management, which functions exclusively as the consolidator and portfolio manager for the nation’s SOEs.
The second is Danantara Investment Management, which serves as the investment arm tasked with deploying funds into productive, high-growth projects.
He further revealed that the capital utilized for investment activities does not draw from the principal assets or core capital of the SOEs. Instead, it relies solely on the dividends generated by the state-owned firms managed by the asset management division.
“What is invested are dividends. So, the dividends generated by Danantara Asset Management are invested productively to accelerate our economic growth,” he explained.
Consequently, Dony emphasized that Danantara’s long-term sustainability depends entirely on the operational quality and financial health of the underlying SOEs. Robust state corporate performance will yield greater dividends to fund national development initiatives.
“What does this mean? SOE management is the key to Danantara’s sustainability. If we mismanage SOEs, Danantara will surely disappear, because the key to investment is the results of SOE management,” he concluded.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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