Danantara’s potential Blackrock tie faces backlash over clash with Indonesia’s Gaza stance
Critics say partnering with a firm that invests in arms suppliers to the Israeli military risks undermining Indonesia’s pro-Palestine stance
Daya Anagata Nusantara, or Danantara, was launched in February to manage nearly US$900 billion in state assets, increase dividend yields and attract foreign capital.
As part of that effort, Danantara chief executive Rosan Roeslani met senior BlackRock executives, including president and founding partner Raj Rao and senior managing directors Bayo Ogunlesi and Charles Hatami, in New York on May 13.
The potential tie-up “reflects the synergy between Indonesia’s development priorities and BlackRock’s global strengths in asset management, energy transition financing, and digital infrastructure”, Rosan, who is also Indonesia’s minister of investment and downstreaming, said in an Instagram post on May 14.
“As the world’s largest investment firm with total Assets Under Management of more than US$11 trillion, [the partnership with] BlackRock demonstrates global investors’ confidence in our strong economic prospects, while also opening up opportunities to attract more foreign investment to Indonesia.”