Finance Minister Denies Legal Immunity for Danantara Bond Investors
Jakarta. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has denied claims that investors in special government-linked bonds issued by sovereign wealth fund Danantara receive legal immunity, saying all investors remain subject to existing laws and regulations.
The clarification comes after concerns over legal and tax incentives attached to two instruments — Patriot Bonds and Merah Putih Bonds — issued by Danantara Investment Management, the state-backed investment entity.
“Money invested in Patriot Bonds is not questioned in terms of its source. But if an investor has other business activities, they can still be investigated,” Purbaya said during a visit to Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The bonds are governed under amendments to the new Financial Sector Development and Strengthening Law (P2SK Law), passed on June 4. The revised law includes provisions offering legal and tax-related incentives for certain Danantara-issued securities.
Under Article 50A, the law provides protection for designated securities from civil and criminal lawsuits, including tax-related criminal proceedings. It also restricts the use of transaction data from primary market purchases as legal evidence or as a basis for taxation.
Another clause treats investors in these instruments as participants in Indonesia’s tax amnesty and voluntary disclosure programs, effectively granting additional fiscal benefits.
However, Purbaya stressed that the protections apply only to funds invested in the instruments themselves, not to the broader business activities of investors.
“The funds placed in these instruments are secure, but if investors own companies, those companies are not immune from legal scrutiny,” he said.
He added that the government designed the instruments to attract capital that might otherwise remain offshore, aiming to deepen domestic financial markets.
“Rather than keeping money abroad, we want it to enter the domestic financial system, even if there is a slight cost. The goal is to bring funds into the economy,” he said.
The clarification comes amid strong international demand for Danantara’s financing programs. The entity recently raised $1.5 billion in its debut global bond issuance, which attracted about $4.6 billion in orders from institutional investors across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The offering included five-year and ten-year tranches with coupons of 5.35% and 5.95%, respectively. Credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings assigned Danantara Investment Management a ‘BBB’ long-term issuer rating with a stable outlook.
Despite strong investor appetite, some market analysts have raised concerns over the preferential treatment given to Danantara bonds compared with other fixed-income instruments, including sovereign debt.
Fikri C. Permana, head of research at KB Valbury Sekuritas, said the incentives could distort market dynamics. “Government support is positive, but there is a clear distinction compared with other debt instruments,” he said.
He added that the extensive regulatory backing may signal underlying concerns about Danantara’s competitiveness as a debt issuer and emphasized that governance transparency remains critical.
“Instead of relying on regulatory incentives, governance should be strengthened to build investor confidence,” he said, adding that Danantara has yet to publish financial statements.
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