The government has ensured that the policy requiring the placement of foreign exchange earnings (DHE) from natural resources in state-owned banks has been in effect since the beginning of this year. Business circles, especially exporters of natural resources, have responded to this policy in various ways.
At the APBN KiTA press conference for December 2025 in Jakarta on Thursday (January 8, 2026), Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa revealed that the government regulation (PP) replacing PP No. 8 of 2025 concerning Amendments to PP No. 36 of 2023 regarding DHE had been signed by President Prabowo Subianto on the previous Friday.
"So it'sclear, all that's left is the promulgation process. This means that this policy will definitely be implemented," he said.
He explained that the main objective of revising the DHE regulation was to strengthen foreign exchange reserves, which had not been reflecting the size of Indonesia's trade surplus.
In fact, Indonesia has recorded a trade surplus for 67 consecutive months since May 2020. The trade surplus throughout 2025 reached USD 38.5 billion.
This trade surplus achievement is not reflected in Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves. In December 2024, foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 155.71 billion. A year later, this figure only increased by around USD 800 million, bringing Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves in December 2025 to USD 156.47 billion.
"From there, our suspicion that the previous DHE regulations still had many loopholes appears to be correct," he said.
Purbaya emphasized that foreign exchange earnings from exports do enter the domestic financial system, but they do not stay there for long. So far, foreign exchange earnings that enter the domestic financial system have the potential to leave again within hours.
This situation prompted the government to tighten its policy by requiring foreign exchange reserves to be placed in domestic banks, particularly those belonging to the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara).
The placement is mandatory for one year to ensure that foreign exchange is properly recorded and contributes to national reserves.
"That way, we can see the actual condition of foreign exchange reserves, which is normal," said Purbaya.
Entrepreneurial aspirations
Responding to the latest DHE regulation, Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) Eddy Martono believes that the revision of the DHE regulation does not fully accommodate the palm oil industry.
The main issue that remains burdensome is the obligation to retain 50% of foreign exchange earnings for one year. To date, his party has not even received an official copy of the regulation and is still referring to information circulating in the media.
"To be honest, we have not yet received a copy of the official ruling. We only read about it in the news," Eddy told SUAR Jakarta (January 9, 2025).
Eddy emphasized that Gapki, in principle, does not take issue with the revision of the DHE regulation as a whole. The palm oil industry's objection lies only on one crucial point, namely the amount of DHE withholding.
He also has no problem with the obligation to place DHE in Bank Himbara. "We have no objection whatsoever to placing it in Bank Himbara. There is no issue there," explained Eddy.
The main issue remains the amount of funds that must be withheld and the duration of the withholding. Eddy also emphasized that Gapki members' compliance with DHE obligations has been very good so far.
"Almost all major exporters are members of Gapki. We can monitor them, and so far there have been no problems," he said.
He admitted that he could not say much about non-member exporters, given that the DHE policy applies to all natural resource sectors, not just palm oil.
Eddy explained that the 50% withholding of DHE has the potential to trigger a long domino effect. If operational funds are insufficient, companies will be forced to seek additional financing.
Eddy presented a simple simulation. A company that exports 10,000 tons per month at an average price of USD 1,000 per metric ton will incur additional costs of around Rp9.9 billion per year if it is subject to a 1% interest rate difference from the back-to-back financing scheme.
These additional costs could ultimately affect the price of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) for farmers. Currently, farmers are already burdened with an export levy of around Rp 250 per kilogram of FFB.
Another concern is the weakening of Indonesian palm oil's competitiveness in the global market. Palm oil prices are determined by international prices, so there is very limited room to raise prices.
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The Chairman of Aspebindo (Indonesian Energy, Mineral, and Coal Suppliers Association) Anggawira supports the Natural Resource Export Proceeds (DHE) regulation, but the requirement to retain 100% of DHE for one year could increase operational costs.
Aspebindo proposed the implementation of dynamic policies and exemptions for certain industries, and requested that the government include more national banks in the DHE deposit regulations.
"We support the principle of DHE management, recognizing the importance of DHE for the country's foreign exchange reserves, but it must be more flexible," he told SUAR Jakarta (January 9, 2025).
On various occasions, Benny Soetrisno, Chairman of the Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI), has stated that the rule requiring foreign exchange earnings to be deposited in the domestic financial system is not appropriate for exporters of manufactured goods. This policy is more suitable for exporters of natural resources.
He explained that domestic manufacturing still relies heavily on imported raw materials. Foreign exchange earned from manufacturing exports is immediately reinvested in the purchase of imported raw materials. The cash flow in manufacturing companies does not allow them to keep their money in the domestic financial system for long.
