JakartaGlobe-Oct 16, 2025
President Prabowo Subianto has allowed foreigners to take leadership roles at Indonesia’s state-run enterprises, especially if they are up to the job. Speaking in front of top businessmen from home and abroad, Prabowo said that he had instructed the sovereign wealth fund Danantara to make sure that all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) meet “international standards”. This agency, which is now about 7 months old, has taken at least 1,000 SOEs under its management. “You [Danantara] can look for the best brains and best talents. I have changed the regulations,” Prabowo told tForbes Global CEO Conference in Jakarta on Wednesday evening. “Expatriates and non-Indonesians can now lead our SOEs,” Prabowo said. Earlier that day, two expatriates had joined the national airline Garuda Indonesia’s top brass in a major board shake-up. Balagopal Kunduvara, a former executive at Singapore Airlines, officially became Garuda’s chief financial officer. Kunduvara spent over 25 years in the Singaporean flag carrier. Seasoned aviation professional Neil Raymond Mills, who was once the president and chief operating officer of the Nigerian low-cost airline Green Africa Airways, also got picked as the new director of transformation. Mills also used to be the chief procurement officer at Scandinavian Airlines. Danantara’s boss Rosan Roeslani told the press that Garuda, which had been in the red, needed someone of Kunduvara’s caliber. Read more at: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/indonesia-allows-foreigners-to-take-leadership-roles-at-state-enterprises
