Swan.my.id - Jakarta, Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara says dividends from state-owned companies managed by the Indonesia Investment Authority, known as BPI Danantara, are not included in the state budgets for 2026 or 2027. The funds are instead intended to support investment, while the State Budget, or APBN, finances public services and other government priorities.
Suahasil made the statement while discussing the completion of the 2026 budget’s implementation and preparations for the 2027 budget. He said the dividends had not been counted as state revenue in either year.
“I am finalizing the implementation of the 2026 budget and preparing the 2027 budget. So, those dividends are not in the 2026 or 2027 State Budget,” Suahasil said in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Television journalist Haslinda Amin, aired on Friday (2/10).
Danantara dividends are directed toward investment
Suahasil described the dividend arrangement as part of a division of responsibilities between Danantara and the APBN. Danantara retains dividends from the state-owned companies under its management and uses them for projects and further investment, he said.
By contrast, the government uses the APBN to fund public services, infrastructure and social protection. In Suahasil’s explanation, these are distinct functions: Danantara manages state assets and investment, while the budget remains the government’s instrument for meeting public needs.
This distinction also clarifies what the exclusion means for the two budget years. The dividends are not being treated as revenue available to the APBN for 2026 or 2027, according to Suahasil. Instead, the stated plan is for Danantara to retain the proceeds and direct them toward its investment activities. He did not describe a transfer of those funds to the state treasury as part of either budget.
“Danantara is doing something good for the country. They retain dividends from state-owned companies and use them for projects and further investment,” Suahasil said.
He also expressed hope that Danantara would manage those funds efficiently and attract investment from the private sector. Suahasil said the institution’s role as a sovereign wealth fund and investment fund could help it engage with the investment community.
“We hope that because they are also a sovereign wealth fund and an investment fund, they can speak the same language as the investment community,” he said.
His comments therefore describe both the destination of the dividends and the intended role of the institution holding them. Retention is linked to projects and further investment, while the APBN continues to serve as the channel for the public services and other priorities he identified. Suahasil did not set out particular projects or provide details about how the retained funds would be allocated.
Possible contribution to the 2028 budget remains uncertain
When asked whether Danantara dividends might contribute to the APBN in 2028, Suahasil did not confirm that they would. He characterized the possibility as hypothetical, distinguishing it from the firm position he stated about the 2026 and 2027 budgets.
“Well, a possibility is something different. That is still hypothetical,” he replied.
As a result, Suahasil’s comments establish that the dividends are excluded from the two budgets under discussion, but do not settle whether any contribution could be made in a later year. He offered no certainty about the 2028 question.
The distinction between the two budget years and the 2028 question is important: Suahasil gave a direct answer about the 2026 and 2027 APBN, but treated a later contribution as an open possibility rather than a settled arrangement. His remarks do not provide a timetable for a transfer or indicate that a future contribution has been approved.
Suahasil illustrated the government’s approach by describing the APBN and Danantara as two instruments available to Indonesia and President Prabowo. The budget pays for public priorities, while Danantara consolidates state assets and directs them toward investment and development.
“Imagine Indonesia and President Prabowo have two weapons. One is the State Budget, and the other is Danantara,” Suahasil said. He added that Danantara is “a consolidation of state assets that must work for the country and drive development.”
Earlier debate over a proposed Rp120 trillion transfer
The treatment of dividends from state-owned companies managed by Danantara has previously prompted debate. In late August, Purbaya, who was serving as finance minister at the time, said a transfer of around Rp120 trillion from Danantara would be recorded as other non-tax state revenue, or PNBP.
“It has been discussed—the proposal to return part of the dividends as an APBN reserve has been settled. Now it is just a matter of deciding when they will send it. Around Rp120 trillion,” Purbaya said at the Finance Ministry in Central Jakarta on Friday (28/8).
Purbaya said President Prabowo Subianto had decided on the Rp120 trillion figure. He also said Danantara had expressed concern about the plan to transfer dividend proceeds to the state treasury.
The earlier remarks and Suahasil’s more recent explanation describe different positions on whether dividend proceeds would flow into the budget. Suahasil’s statement is specific about the 2026 and 2027 APBN: Danantara dividends are not included in state revenue for either year. His response about 2028, meanwhile, leaves that possibility unresolved.
The earlier account concerned a proposed transfer and its possible recording as PNBP, while Suahasil’s statement addresses the treatment of dividends in the 2026 and 2027 budgets. The two sets of remarks should not be read as confirmation that the proposed amount will be included in either of those budgets. Suahasil did not say that the earlier proposal had become a plan for those years.
Fiscal discipline remains a separate commitment
Suahasil also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to keeping the APBN deficit below 3 percent of gross domestic product. He described the limit as one of the symbols of Indonesia’s fiscal discipline.
That commitment sits alongside the division of roles he outlined. The APBN remains responsible for financing public needs, while Danantara manages assets and directs retained dividends toward projects and investment. Suahasil did not present a possible future budget contribution from Danantara as a confirmed plan.
His remarks link the budget’s role in financing public priorities with the government’s stated deficit commitment, but he did not say that excluding Danantara dividends was itself a measure to meet the deficit limit. The two points were presented separately: the dividends are retained for investment under Danantara’s role, and the APBN deficit is to remain below 3 percent of GDP. The 2028 question remains open, with no confirmed contribution described.
