Indonesia’s newest sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, is making a bold entrance onto the world stage with ambitious plans ranging from bidding to construct a haj village in Mecca to launching one of the world’s largest waste-to-energy initiatives.
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At the heart of these ambitions is Pandu Sjahrir, chief investment officer of the state-backed fund established by President Prabowo Subianto in February to manage strategic investments and improve governance across public assets.
In an interview with This Week in Asia, Pandu outlined the fund’s dual priorities: improving the haj experience for Indonesian Muslims while simultaneously reducing the country’s reliance on imports in key sectors, such as healthcare. Another core aim is attracting global partnerships that will deliver technology transfers and create jobs back home.
Among Danantara’s first overseas initiatives is a bid to develop a haj village in Saudi Arabia to serve the world’s largest national contingent of haj pilgrims – Indonesia’s own.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of bidders. So we’re really trying to put our best foot forward,” Pandu said, describing the project as both a logistical solution and an opportunity to showcase Indonesia’s cultural presence abroad.
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With more than 242 million Muslims, Indonesia is the world’s largest Islamic nation by population, a fact that closely ties national sentiment to the success of Danantara’s bid.