Danantara Indonesia chief vows to keep politics out of trillion-dollar fund
Chief Investment Officer Pandu Sjahrir is committed to operating the fund with transparency – even if he has to say no to the government
“In the new geopolitical world, every country and every leader uses sovereign wealth funds as a geopolitical tool,” Pandu said at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026 in Jakarta on Tuesday.
“We cannot have politicians in the company. It has to be professional,” he said, adding that the fund had laid rules stipulating that it had to be run for profit.
He acknowledged funds often had to balance national interests while meeting international transparency and governance standards.
“Given where Danantara is today, there’s a lot of pull for us to do things that may be important for the country, but not yet profitable as a project,” he said. “The art of saying no is super important.”