Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto on Friday told parliament that Indonesia’s newly established sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, will play a pivotal role in creating millions of “quality jobs” through strategic investments, while managing one of the largest asset portfolios in the world.

Delivering his inaugural state address at the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) since taking office in October, Prabowo said Danantara now oversees assets worth more than $1 trillion.

“In our efforts to accelerate investment in the industrialization of natural resources and other strategic sectors, and to create quality jobs, we -- together with the House of Representatives -- have established Danantara. It’s an investment management entity that manages assets totaling more than $1 trillion,” Prabowo said. “Danantara will create millions of quality jobs, especially in the downstream industry.”

He added that industrializing mineral and mining products will substantially boost the added value of Indonesia’s exports and make a major contribution to the national economy.

The president also claimed that unemployment has dropped to its lowest level since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

As part of broader job-creation efforts, the government has launched 80,000 Merah Putih Cooperatives to strengthen rural economies. These cooperatives focus on small-scale businesses for farmers and fishermen, while also supplying affordable basic goods such as rice, cooking oil, cooking gas, and fertilizer with government subsidies.

“The presence of cooperatives in every village will boost rural economies and create millions of jobs,” Prabowo said.

Prabowo noted that in the first half of 2025, investment surged 13.6 percent year-on-year to Rp 942 trillion ($58.3 billion), generating 1.2 million new jobs. Despite global economic and geopolitical tensions, Indonesia’s economy grew 5.12 percent in the second quarter of 2025, and “several economists have expressed confidence” that growth will accelerate in the coming years, he said.

In another part of his address, aired live by BTV, Prabowo claimed his administration had saved Rp 300 trillion ($18.6 billion) in state funds previously vulnerable to misuse and corruption. Austerity measures targeting non-essential trips and meetings, he said, have freed up “hundreds of trillions of rupiah” for more urgent and productive spending.

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