JAKARTA. President Prabowo Subianto has announced a new regulation governing the export of Indonesia's natural resource commodities. The policy will be issued in the form of a Government Regulation (GR).
Under the new rule, companies will no longer be allowed to export certain commodities directly. Instead, exports must be conducted through a state-owned enterprise (SOE) appointed by the government as the sole exporter.
Prabowo made the announcement during the 19th Plenary Session of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Wednesday (May 20).
According to Prabowo, the policy is intended to strengthen oversight and monitoring of commodity exports while addressing underpayment of taxes, under-invoicing, profit shifting, transfer pricing, and the outflow of export proceeds.
He described the measure as a strategic step to improve the governance of Indonesia's natural resource exports.
Under the proposed regulation, exports of commodities such as crude palm oil, coal, ferroalloys, and iron alloys will be required to pass through the designated state-owned exporter.
"We will require these exports to be carried out through a state-owned enterprise appointed by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia as the sole exporter," Prabowo said.
Prabowo said the policy is ultimately expected to optimize tax collection and increase overall state revenue. He cited countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, and several Southeast Asian nations that have successfully increased government revenue from natural resources.
According to Prabowo, Indonesia's state revenue-to-GDP ratio remains relatively low compared with other G20 countries. Citing data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he noted that Indonesia's ratio stands at around 11%–12% of GDP, compared with 25% in Mexico, 20% in India, 21% in the Philippines, and 15% in Cambodia.
