Purbaya Signals Shift Toward SOE-Only Resource Licenses Amid Martabe Fallout

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa says new natural resource management licenses will be issued only to state-owned enterprises, a policy aimed at maximizing state revenue while preserving investor confidence after the Martabe gold mine seizure. The shift is expected to tighten state control over strategic assets while limiting future private concessions.

He told a House of Representatives hearing on Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026 that expiring private concessions should not be renewed and new permits should be granted only to government-owned institutions. "I propose that when concessions expire, we simply do not extend them, and new ones are issued only to state institutions. That is what is being and will be done," Purbaya said.

Purbaya described the approach as a "minimum step" compared with a more radical option of fully taking over private resource operations, which he warned would undermine Indonesia’s investment credibility. "[But] that would violate global business practices. We would certainly be seen as not investor-friendly and it would trigger turmoil like we saw recently," he said.

The remarks came as global investors scrutinized Indonesia’s handling of the Martabe gold mine, operated by PT Agincourt Resources, after the government revoked its Contract of Work and prepared to transfer the asset to a new state entity. The case has intensified concerns over due process and contract sanctity in the mining sector.

Speaking at the Indonesia Economic Summit 2026 in Jakarta, Tuesday, Feb 3, 2026, Purbaya pushed back against claims that the government was acting arbitrarily. "In order for you to have a better business climate, you need confidence among businesses. Do not you think I am confident enough," he said.

He acknowledged international criticism that the seizure reflected weak legal safeguards but argued that the government was correcting long-standing abuses. "Due process issues have occurred in our country over the last 20 or 30 years. We are improving. We are removing that bad practice in the mining industry," he said.

Purbaya stressed that license revocations targeted illegal or non-compliant operators, not mining activity itself. "It is not like we are against mining, but we are against illegal mining," he said, adding that affected companies retained the right to seek redress. "They can always complain or file a complaint to our government as long as they conduct their business properly. Our government is very fair."

He also rejected perceptions that Indonesia was centralizing power at the expense of investors following the Martabe case. "It caught investors by surprise, but it is not the end of the game. They can come to the minister responsible and state their case," he said.

At the parliamentary hearing, Purbaya emphasized that any policy shift would respect existing agreements and involve coordination with the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. "We will carry this out by adhering to global investment principles," he said, while urging lawmakers to back the strategy without politicizing it.

The government has repeatedly said it will not breach signed investment contracts, even as it seeks to raise state take from natural resources and channel strategic assets to SOEs under Danantara. The Martabe dispute has thus become a defining test of whether Indonesia’s evolving resource policy represents regulatory reform or a turn toward resource nationalism.