The large funding successfully obtained by the Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara) is considered not just a matter of the amount of funds, but more about how the funds are invested to encourage national economic growth.
BUMN observer from NEXT Indonesia, Herry Gunawan emphasized that Danantara's assets are currently within the national investment capacity.
However, to encourage the economy, what is needed is additional investment capital so that the investment ratio to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increases.
"Danantara's investment should be able to attract the involvement of private investors, especially foreign ones. That way, the capacity of domestic investment capital can increase and also boost economic growth," Herry told KONTAN, Sunday (6/7).
He emphasized the importance of Danantara's focus on the real sector, not portfolio investment. According to him, portfolio investment only functions as a support for strengthening capital, not the main goal.
Herry also highlighted the sector that needs Danantara's attention, namely the intermediate processing industry which produces raw materials for production.
This is considered crucial because currently around 70% of Indonesia's total imports come from auxiliary raw materials, which reflects the high dependence on imports.
"If Danantara wants to make a real contribution to economic growth, investment in this sector must be prioritized. This sector also has a high labor absorption capacity," he said.
Since its launch on February 24, 2025, Danantara has established international investment cooperation worth US$ 7 billion from partners in Qatar, Russia, China, and Australia.
Most recently, Danantara obtained an investment commitment worth US$ 10 billion or around Rp. 162.36 trillion from ACWA Power, a water desalination company and green hydrogen pioneer from Saudi Arabia.
"Danantara and ACWA have established an investment cooperation worth US$ 10 billion for the development of major projects in the clean energy sector," said Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani via a post on his official Instagram account, Saturday (5/7).
In line with Herry, Paramadina University Economist Wijayanto Samirin also emphasized the importance of Danantara's focus on long-term, strategic investments, not tactical or short-term oriented ones.
According to Wijayanto, the experience of the global Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) shows that success is achieved through consistent long-term investments.
"In the Indonesian context, the downstream sector, energy transition, electric vehicles (EVs), and infrastructure are promising strategic areas," he said.