Indonesia's President orders closure of more than 750 government-run companies

President Prabowo Subianto announced on Friday that the Indonesian government plans to shut down over 750 state-owned enterprises by the end of the year, and is considering establishing a special court to probe "unproductive" boards.

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Prabowo expressed his concern about the large number of unproductive state-owned enterprises, stating that they often report losses while falsely claiming profits, during his state of the nation address to parliament.

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The president revealed that the discovery of 1,074 state-owned enterprises was made possible by the establishment of Indonesia's Danantara sovereign wealth fund last year, which was tasked with managing state assets.

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Prabowo admitted that he was surprised by the large number of state-owned enterprises, having initially thought there were only 300 or 400, and criticized them for operating without a sense of responsibility to the nation.

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So far, 290 state-owned enterprises have been closed, and Prabowo aims to have no more than 300 remaining by December 31, as part of a massive restructuring effort.

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The president stated that the goal is to retain only the productive state-owned enterprises that create added value for the people, and noted that this may be the largest corporate restructuring in the world.

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The restructuring efforts have already resulted in savings of around 50 trillion rupiah, or over $2.8 billion, in overhead costs such as salaries, building rentals, and business travel, according to Prabowo.

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The target for this year is to save more than 70 trillion rupiah, and Prabowo proposed the creation of a special ad hoc court to investigate the management and boards of state-owned enterprises over the past 30 years.

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Alternatively, Prabowo suggested that lawmakers consider offering a special amnesty to those who repent and cooperate with the investigation.