Danantara invites former Prime Minister Paul Keating to become a strategic adviser to the fund
Indonesian sovereign wealth fund Danantara has invited former Prime Minister Paul Keating to be a strategic adviser to the newly established $1.4 trillion fund.
Keating confirmed the invitation to the Australian Financial Review, but did not elaborate on whether he had accepted the role.
The former Prime Minister was given a personal letter delivered by Sugiono, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, when he visited Australia in March, the AFR said, citing unnamed sources.
If he accepts, then Keating would joining Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio, economist Jeffrey Sachs and former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who were announced as advisers to the fund in March.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has confirmed he will be joining the Danantara Supervisory Board.
Establishing a Growth Engine
Danantara – whose full name is Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency – was established in February 2025 and is modelled after sovereign wealth funds such as Singapore’s Temasek or Malaysia’s Khazanah.
Its mission is to function as an economic growth engine and invest more efficiently in sectors that have been deemed a national priority, including infrastructure development, food security, energy security, industrial downstreaming, import substitution industries, and digital transformation.
It is the country’s second sovereign wealth fund, after the Indonesia Investment Authority.
Much of Danantara’s assets will consist of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), seven of which will be moved out of the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises into the new fund.
The seven SOEs include Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Mineral Industri Indonesia, Pertamina, Perusahaan Listrik Negara and Telekomunikasi Indonesia.
It will also manage dividends from the SOEs, which have so far been treated as non-tax state revenues in the country’s state budget.
The SWF’s initial funding is $30 billion, which comes from 2025 national budget savings, but would eventually grow to IDR 14,674 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in total assets under management, making it one of the world’s largest SWFs.
Although operatinal responsibilites will lie with the Danantara Investment Management Agency, the fund is under direct authority of President Prabowo Subianto, while the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir, will serve as chair of its supervisory board.
Thohir is also a member of the Supervisory Board of the Indonesia Investment Authority.
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