Can a sovereign wealth fund do more than generate investment returns? Can it also accelerate national development while maintaining commercial discipline?Indonesia sought to answer those questions when it established the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA). Unlike many sovereign wealth funds created primarily to preserve national wealth or stabilize fiscal revenues, the INA was designed to mobilize long-term institutional capital into strategic sectors that support Indonesia's sustainable economic development.
Five years after its establishment, the INA offers an opportunity to evaluate whether this model is delivering on its promise.
According to Wijayanto “Wija” Samirin, a senior economist at Paramadina University, Indonesia requires substantial high-quality investment to sustain long-term economic growth. Given the country's fiscal limitations, foreign investment remains an important source of development financing.
Wija spent 15 years early in his career working in investment banking, private equity and the hedge-fund industry. He is also a public policy practitioner, having served as special staff to the vice president of Indonesia for economic and financial affairs from 2014 to 2019, senior economic advisor to the Jakarta governor from 2019 to 2022, and an independent commissioner at several companies.
