Oligarch ties, 1MDB spectre hang over Indonesia Inc
Prabowo’s sovereign wealth fund play binds tycoons, politics and power.
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I missed a Southeast edition last week, so I’m making up for lost time.
It’s still Indonesia, since the hottest conversation I’m having right now is about the country’s slush sovereign wealth fund, Danantara.
With the way things are moving over there, it’s not surprising that some are invoking 1MDB vibes.
So much so that contacts in Jakarta are hoping the noise doesn’t culminate in accusations of Arab donation money flowing into President Prabowo Subianto’s bank accounts, or those of his Cabinet members for that matter.
This was a clear jibe at Malaysia’s convicted “hero”, former PM Najib Razak.
The biggest story this week has to be a purported list of tycoons pledging support for Danantara’s Patriot Bonds.
Indonesian media were all over it. Danantara claimed the leaked list wasn’t an official release, yet the SWF stopped short of confirming any names, or calling it outright false.
Today’s newsletter is data-heavy. I’ve reproduced the list of alleged backers with quick commentary.
But I went a step further. I’ve also done an analysis of the tycoons’ interconnectedness and their ties to Prabowo and his Cabinet members.
And, for the first time, I’ve produced a social network analysis. It’s a work in progress that took three iterations.
First, I had to painstakingly collate the data. Then I had major help from a tech guy and a graphic artist to repurpose the map for newsletter fit.
I definitely missed some nodes, but I’ll just publish first. If not, nothing moves.
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Danantara, an amalgamation of 844 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), is one of two major financial tools at Prabowo’s disposal. The other being the Ibu Kota Nusantara (Nusantara) project.
The key point here is that Prabowo sits at the centre of a network of Indonesia’s wealthiest tycoons.
Through the bonds and Nusantara, the Indonesian president is securing financial and political support, offering access and influence in return.
The tycoons with the strongest ties are bound by support for the bonds, campaign loyalty, and sector alignment, particularly in energy and infrastructure.
Prabowo’s Cabinet line-up further amplifies these connections, but public scrutiny and funding challenges loom large.
Is Danantara just piling on more debt to service old obligations, with any excess channelled into flashy projects?
That isn’t far-fetched — since just like 1MDB, a lot of the control rests in executive hands — but it’s still too early to tell.
So let’s get to the list and Danantara’s billionaire backers: