Ex-KKR executive to lead Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund

President Joko Widodo unveiled Wirakusumah and four additional board members of the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA). They include Deputy CEO Arief Budiman, previously CEO of local financial group Danareksa, CIO Stefanus Ade Hadidjaja, currently Indonesia head at Creador, and CFO Eddy Porwanto, a former Northstar Group executive and CFO of Garuda Indonesia.

Wirakusumah’s most recent role was as CEO of Bank Permata, which Standard Chartered and Jardine Matheson-owned Astra International sold to Bangkok Bank last year. He joined KKR’s Southeast Asia team in 2011, having previously led the Asia consumer finance units of GE and AIG. Wirakusumah departed KKR in 2014.

Plans to establish INA were announced last year as part of a package of reforms intended to attract foreign investors to the country. While most sovereign wealth funds are set up to manage national oil revenues or foreign exchange reserves, INA has actively courted international backers.

Widodo said he believed the sovereign wealth fund could emulate foreign peers, while gaining national and international trust, Antara, Indonesia’s national news agency reported. He added that INA could optimize the long-term value of state assets, offering alternative development financing, and “reduce the gap between domestic funding capacity and development financing needs."

Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia’s chief economic minister, said last month that global investors had committed up to $10 billion to the vehicle. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and APG agreed to put in $2 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, according to a presentation by the minister, Reuters reported. GIC and Macquarie were also listed as prospective investors.

The Indonesian government previously stated that the US International Development Finance Corporation and would contribute $2 billion and Japan Bank for International Cooperation would invest $4 billion. The government is expected to provide up to $6 billion in seed capital.

Widodo observed that INA could eventually have $100 billion in assets. Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance said in a statement that the government contribution to INA was IDR15 trillion ($1.1 billion) in the 2020 financial year, with a similar sum expected to be committed in 2021. The goal is to reach IDR75 trillion by the end of this year, it added.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• LPs
• People
• Indonesia
• Sovereign wealth fund
• Appointments
• KKR
• Northstar Group
• Indonesia Investment Authority (INA)