Jakarta - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia) has welcomed President Prabowo Subianto’s call for Danantara and national private entities to play a stronger role in driving the country’s economy. Kadin also expressed full support for the government’s eight priority programs for the 2026 fiscal year. The President’s emphasis on implementing Article 33 of the Constitution was both inspiring and worthy of broad support in order to realize social justice for all Indonesians.

"President Prabowo Subianto's two recent speeches have provided clear direction for us as a nation, particularly for the business community," said Kadin Chairman Anindya Novyan Bakrie on Monday (August 18, 2028).

Anindya commonly known as Anin was responding to two speeches delivered by President Prabowo on Friday (August 15, 2025). The first was the President’s address at the Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) and the Joint Session of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) and the Regional Representative Council (DPD RI), marking the 80th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence. The second was the President’s presentation of the 2026 State Budget (APBN) and Financial Note before the House plenary.

In his remarks, the President stated that to improve the people’s welfare, the state budget must prioritize basic needs. Meanwhile, investment must be driven by Danantara and the private sector. Indonesia’s economic growth cannot rely solely on household consumption and government spending. To achieve the government’s ambitious 8% growth target, a surge in productive investment both domestic and foreign is essential. Investment is crucial for job creation, expanding the production base, boosting exports through downstreaming, and strengthening global competitiveness.

The National Investment Management Agency, Danantara (BPI Danantara), is envisioned as a professional and transparent sovereign wealth fund (SWF) modeled after those in developed countries. If Danantara can operate effectively, state budget funds can focus more on public services, including basic infrastructure, education, healthcare, social assistance, and subsidies. Danantara is tasked with managing state-owned enterprise (SOE) assets, attracting foreign capital, and channeling it into productive sectors such as mineral downstreaming, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, and public housing.

“Kadin is ready to be Danantara’s partner,” Anin affirmed.

He explained that Kadin members operate across diverse sectors agriculture, energy (including renewables), trade, finance, downstream industries, AI, and data centers and are present in every district and city throughout Indonesia. This nationwide presence makes Kadin an ideal partner for Danantara in accelerating investment across the archipelago.

Indonesia, like China, has the potential to raise its investment-to-GDP ratio above 40%. Currently, investment contributes only around 28-32% to GDP, while household spending remains the biggest contributor (52-56%). In Q2 2025, investment contributed 27.8%, household spending 54%, and government spending 6.9%.

“Together with Danantara, Kadin can significantly contribute to accelerating investment in all sectors,” Anin added.

However, he noted that successful investment requires a conducive environment, including efficient licensing, regulatory clarity, and support from law enforcement authorities across Indonesia.

“We’ve received many complaints from regional Kadin offices,” Anin revealed.

Kadin has long focused on promoting both domestic and foreign investment. It frequently works with the government to establish international cooperation in investment, trade, and tourism.

“If investment activity slows, production suffers, which in turn impacts employment,” he explained.

Kadin praised the investment realization of IDR 942 trillion in the first half of 2025 up 13.6% from 2024 which created 1.2 million jobs despite global uncertainty and geopolitical tension. While some layoffs occurred, new job creation far outweighed them.

In his state budget speech, the President emphasized that Danantara’s role should be optimized to promote high-value-added economic activity with strong commercial returns. Danantara is expected to collaborate synergistically with both national and global private investors.

Quoting the President, Anin said that while the state budget acts as a catalyst, Danantara and the private sector must become key engines of the national economy. Through Danantara, the government seeks to scale up productive investment and strengthen Indonesia’s position in global supply chains. Kadin supports the government’s efforts to promote innovative financing mechanisms by empowering Danantara and private entities as primary economic drivers. This collaboration, Anin said, is an opportunity for Indonesia to become a globally respected economic power.

Realistic Targets

Anin described the government’s assumptions for the 2026 budget as “realistic.” These include an economic growth target of 5.4%, inflation at 2.5%, government bond yields at 6.9%, and an exchange rate of IDR 16,500 per US dollar.

“Given global uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, the arms race, and trade wars, the 5.4% growth target is quite realistic,” Anin said.

He also expressed appreciation for the government’s commitment to improving public welfare and economic transformation. Key 2026 targets include reducing open unemployment to 4.44%-4.96%, poverty to 6.5%-7.5%, the Gini ratio to 0.377-0.380, and the Human Capital Index (HCI) to 0.57. The Farmer Welfare Index (previously NTP) and formal job creation are also expected to improve.

As reported, government spending in the 2026 draft budget is projected at IDR 3,786.5 trillion (up 7.3%), with revenue targeted at IDR 3,147.7 trillion (up 9.8%), resulting in a deficit of IDR 638.8 trillion or 2.48% of GDP. Anin believes the 2026 budget reflects a serious commitment to fiscal credibility, with prudent, innovative, and sustainable financing that still supports economic growth.

Tax revenue is projected at IDR 2,692 trillion (up 12.8%), while non-tax revenue is expected to decline by 4.7% to IDR 455 trillion. The government plans to reduce new debt to IDR 638.8 trillion—a 3.8% drop.

“This aligns with President Prabowo’s pledge to gradually reduce public debt to zero,” Anin said.

The relatively small 2026 budget deficit (2.48% of GDP) reflects the increased role of Danantara and the private sector in supporting domestic investment.

Eight Priority Agendas

Kadin fully supports the government’s eight priority agendas for 2026, which build upon those implemented in 2025.

“Kadin has already been working on four of these programs and adopted them as quick wins,” Anin noted.

These include The Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG), Construction of 3 million housing units, Free medical check-ups, and Protection for migrant workers.

According to the President, the eight priority agendas for 2026 are Achieving food security to ensure national self-sufficiency, especially in rice and corn, to stabilize prices and improve farmer and fisher welfare.

Strengthening energy resilience to enhance national sovereignty, increase oil and gas output, stabilize energy prices, and support the clean energy transition.

Building a superior generation via the MBG program for 82.9 million students, pregnant women, and toddlers.

Providing quality education as a key to developing globally competitive human capital. The education budget will be 20% of total spending (IDR 757.8 trillion) the largest in Indonesia’s history.

Ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare, including full health insurance coverage for 96.8 million low-income and vulnerable citizens. The 2026 health budget is IDR 244 trillion.

Reviving the people’s economy through the "Merah Putih" village and urban cooperatives over 80,000 of which have been established to improve access to food, logistics, fertilizers, and financial services.

Strengthening national defense, not just militarily but also economically, socially, and politically.

Accelerating investment and global trade, with Danantara and the private sector as key drivers of economic momentum.

The Principle of Mutual Cooperation

Kadin is the sole business organization recognized by Law No. 1 of 1987, representing private businesses, cooperatives, and SOEs, including Danantara.

“Business actors include not only corporations but also micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Indonesia,” Anin stated.

With its diverse membership base, Anin said Kadin has long embraced the family-based economy envisioned in Article 33 of the Constitution. However, President Prabowo’s speech on Independence Day sparked renewed awareness.

The President underscored that economic policy must align with the Constitution, particularly Article 33:

“I firmly believe that our Constitution, especially its protective clauses Articles 33 Paragraphs 1 through 4 is the cornerstone of our economic resilience,” Anin quoted. “Paragraph 1 clearly states: ‘The economy shall be organized as a joint effort based on the principle of family,’ not conglomeration.”

Article 33 also states that natural resources are controlled by the state for the benefit of the people, and that the national economy shall be organized on the basis of economic democracy with fairness, sustainability, environmental stewardship, independence, and balanced development.

Failure to implement Article 33 has caused economic distortion, where high growth benefits only a few and leaves much of the population behind. The President