Jakarta. Indonesian businesses are setting high expectations for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s upcoming visit to Jakarta, including possible partnerships involving the Indonesian sovereign fund Danantara.

Albanese is about to make his first overseas trip of his second term, fresh off his re-election. His first stop: Indonesia. The Australian politician will meet President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Thursday local time. Strengthening bilateral economic ties is set to be on the agenda.

Shinta Kamdani, a seasoned businesswoman who chairs the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), recently commented on what the private sector expected from the upcoming visit. Shinta admitted that Albanese making Indonesia his first foreign stop had sent off a “very positive signal”.

“Our economic ties with Australia are already quite advanced, thanks to the bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement [CEPA], which has boosted trade. … Australia also has an investment deal team specifically dedicated for its investments in our country,” Shinta told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday evening.

Shinta then pointed out Australia’s interests in Indonesia’s energy transition, healthcare, education, and digital sectors. The global economic uncertainties -- worsened by US President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz -- could also prompt the close neighbors to pursue stronger trade, according to the entrepreneur. 

A 10 percent tariff is already in place for all US imports. But Trump wants to impose higher tariffs of 32 percent on imports from Indonesia -- about threefold of the import tax that Australia will get, starting early July. Trump's tariffs on Australian goods will stay at the 10 percent baseline rate by then.

"Indonesia and Australia have an opportunity to further increase trade, especially with the current situation with the US,” Shinta said.

Shinta believed that the upcoming bilateral talks could move the needle on Danantara’s attempt to gain an international partner. Danantara has repeatedly said it would welcome foreign investors with open arms, thus opening up the possibility for the super-holding to work with Australia’s Future Fund. 

Danantara has already taken over the assets of all 844 Indonesian state-run enterprises -- including its sub-subsidiaries -- under its wings. Work is underway for Danantara to invest in Indonesia’s highly strategic projects, including enabling the country to turn its minerals into more sophisticated finished goods. Danantara’s boss Rosan Roeslani not long ago claimed that the holding had been in discussion with two other foreign funds, although he did not say their country of origin. So far, it managed to strike a deal with Qatar Investment Authority agreed to establish a $4 billion joint investment fund. 

“Let’s see the announcements made at [Prabowo-Albanese] talks. … We believe Danantara will hold a pivotal role here. The fund’s presence has become a game changer. Perhaps [there will be an announcement] related to the Australian sovereign fund or even its pension fund, of which we [Indonesia] have long been discussing,” Shinta said. 

She was alluding to Indonesia’s wish to set up a system akin to Australia’s superannuation -- a plan that Jakarta was mulling back in 2022. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said at the time such a scheme could help stabilize the national economy. Australia reported that its superannuation assets reached A$4.2 trillion (about $2.7 trillion) as of December 2024. This superannuation scheme places a portion of the money earned by an employee into an investment fund. The chosen super fund will invest and manage the money before making them available when the worker retires.

The government reported that Indonesia’s overall trade with Australia had risen from almost $12.3 billion in 2023 to nearly $15.4 billion the following year. Indonesia ran a deficit of about $5.5 billion in 2024. The Indonesia-Australia CEPA entered into force in July 2020. The agreement eliminates nearly all tariffs of goods traded between the neighboring economies. Data showed that Australia had invested $141.3 million in Indonesia in the first three months of 2025 with the money going to 4,028 projects. These figures made Australia Indonesia’s eleventh-largest source of foreign investment that period.

Early this month, Prabowo wrote Albanese a “heartfelt” congratulatory message for his re-election on social media.

“I look forward to continuing and strengthening our partnership with Australia under Prime Minister Albanese’s leadership. We will work together to address shared challenges and pursue mutual goals in the region and beyond,” Prabowo posted on his X account.

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