Can foreigners lead Indonesia’s state firms and make them world-beaters?

While a new law allows foreigners to assume top positions in such firms, there are concerns about governance and conflicts of interest

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A Garuda Indonesia plane undergoing maintenance in Tangerang, Indonesia. The airline has appointed a Singaporean as chief financial officer and a Briton as director of transformation. Photo: AP

Published: 6:20pm, 22 Oct 2025

Indonesia is opening the door for foreigners to lead state-owned enterprises (SOEs), a landmark move that President Prabowo Subianto has said will bring international expertise to the country’s corporate sector, even as critics warn about a lack of oversight and accountability.

Speaking during the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Jakarta last week, Prabowo said a law on SOEs had been revised to allow non-Indonesians to assume top positions in the sector with roughly 1,000 state firms.

“I’ve changed the regulations. Now, expatriates, non-Indonesians, can lead our state-owned enterprises. So, I’m very excited,” Prabowo told the conference on October 15.

The president said he had instructed state asset fund Danantara, which controls the operations of all Indonesian SOEs and invests their dividends on the government’s behalf, to “find the best minds and the best talents” to sit on SOE boards.

On the same day, flag carrier Garuda Indonesia said that it had appointed Singaporean Balagopal Kunduvara as chief financial officer and Neil Raymond Mills, who is British, as director of transformation.

Kunduvara previously spent 25 years in Singapore Airlines, while Mills is an aviation expert who has worked with multiple airlines, including Scandinavian Airlines and Philippine Airlines.

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