By Stefanno Sulaiman and Stanley Widianto
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Latest sovereign fund Danantara Indonesia unveiled on Monday what it called a “dream team” to chart its strategy, including ex-presidents in addition to advisory roles for hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, economist Jeffrey Sachs and former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Danantara, launched last month, is Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s major vehicle to attain his 8% economic growth goal by 2029 by managing all shares of state-owned enterprises and reinvesting the dividends in business projects.
The fund is slated to eventually manage greater than $900 billion value of assets and has been described by officials as Indonesia’s version of Singapore’s Temasek.
Former Indonesian Presidents Joko Widodo and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were named members of the fund’s steering committee, while Dalio, founding father of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater, will assume the advisory role alongside Thaksin, a billionaire who spent 15 years in self-exile avoiding jail for abuse of power and is the daddy of Thailand’s current premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Reuters couldn’t immediately contact Widodo and Yudhoyono for comment, while Bridgewater and Thaksin’s representatives didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
Media reports said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair can also be set to turn out to be an advisor to Danantara. When asked whether Blair will join, Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani would only say that the fund will announce more names later.
Sachs in an email told Reuters he had been appointed Prabowo’s special adviser.
“And on this capability (I) will serve on the advisory board of Danantara,” he said. “My work is entirely voluntary, to support Indonesia’s sustainable development, and is with none compensation.”
These advisers will offer guidance on managing the impact of worldwide risks from intensified financial volatility and geopolitical aspects, Danantara’s Chief Investment Officer Pandu Sjahrir said on the appointment ceremony.
‘POSITIVE SIGNAL’
In its first wave of investment value $20 billion, Danantara will goal projects in natural resources processing, artificial intelligence development, and energy and food security.
The establishment of Danantara and concerns in regards to the state’s substantive role within the economy were among the many causes of a market selloff last week in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, based on some analysts, when the major stock index fell as much as 7%, triggering a trading halt.