Indonesia’s upcoming minerals and strategic commodity exchange to build trusted infrastructure

Indonesia is preparing to launch a minerals and strategic commodity exchange, Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI), on 1 January, aiming to exert greater influence over commodity prices and strengthen its position in global markets. The initiative is part of the government’s efforts to create a transparent, fair, and liquid market infrastructure that commands trust from industry players and traders.

Sarjito, President Prabowo Subianto’s nominee to regulate commodity trading at Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), emphasised the importance of market integrity during his parliamentary “fit-and-proper” hearing. He said, “People will always assess the market, whether it is transparent, fair, orderly, liquid, or not. If the market is not deep, has no integrity, industry players and traders would not trust it.”

Sarjito, who retired in 2024 as OJK’s deputy commissioner of consumer protection, is poised to become the chief supervisor of commodity trading at OJK, pending parliamentary approval. The financial committee has already endorsed his nomination.

Building market trust from day one

Sarjito highlighted that the exchange does not need to be large at launch but must be trusted from the very first transaction. The initial priority will be to define the commodities that must be traded on the exchange. While trading through the exchange will be mandatory, it remains unclear whether this will apply to export-bound sales, domestic sales, or both.

Currently, Indonesia has two privately owned commodity futures exchanges handling commodities such as gold, tin, palm oil, and foreign exchange. Sarjito expressed his view that Indonesia should have a single commodity exchange and intends to evaluate the future of existing bourses.

DSI: new commodity export entity

DSI will operate under an intermediary model to evaluate and monitor transactions until the end of 2026. A decision on the operational model for 2027 and beyond will be made after the government evaluation.

DSI will focus initially on exports of coal, crude palm oil (CPO), and ferroalloys, commodities with a combined annual value nearing $70 billion. The company’s export-governance platform is scheduled to launch on 1 September, with an exporter portal to be tested with selected exporters by late September or mid-October.

During the initial phase, exporters will maintain their existing buyers and commercial contracts and continue direct exports. 

DSI will evaluate and monitor transactions without taking over existing regulators or creating additional bureaucracy.

Licensing, regulation, and supervision will remain with relevant ministries and government agencies.

Centralised data verification and monitoring

DSI’s platform will consolidate export data, including commercial contracts, and integrate with government systems such as the Minerba Online Monitoring System and electronic non-tax state revenue systems.

Verification will cover commodity quantity and quality, classification, transaction prices, payment settlements, and repatriation of export proceeds.

Since commencing operations on June 1, DSI has analysed approximately 6,500 export declarations representing over $14 billion in value and more than 90 million tonnes of commodities.

The platform aims to build a transaction-level view of commodity exports by tracking prices, volumes, quality, Harmonised System classifications, vessels, and destination markets.

Preventing transfer pricing and under-invoicing

DSI was established to monitor and prevent transfer pricing – selling exports at lower prices to affiliated companies and under-invoicing, reporting export values below actual transaction amounts.

Transactions are compared against benchmark price indices, with prices below benchmarks flagged for further evaluation. Integration of data across government agencies has narrowed discrepancies between declared prices and benchmark indices.

Future role and governance fee considerations

DSI is not intended to act as a middleman buying and reselling commodities. Exporters will continue normal operations during the transition period but must report export activities to DSI through the Directorate General of Customs.

DSI functions as a service provider conducting inspection, verification, and supervision rather than a trader earning margins from commodity sales.

The company will assess whether the intermediary model suffices to curb under-invoicing and transfer pricing or if it should transition to a trading company role after evaluation.

Government Regulation No. 24 of 2026 allows DSI to operate either as a sole intermediary or as a commodity purchaser and exporter. The intermediary model is currently in use through 2026, with a decision on the future model expected by 1 January 2027.