Indonesia’s US$52 billion fund to invest 5% of assets abroad

[JAKARTA] Indonesia’s largest social security fund is poised to invest as much as 5 per cent of its nearly US$52 billion portfolio in overseas assets, according to its investment director.

BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, or BPJS TK, has secured approval from the Ministry of Finance for the offshore allocation under a new regulation to be introduced by the government, said director of investment development Edwin Ridwan. Details of the final asset allocation will be discussed under separate guidelines by the ministry, he said.

Capital deployment in the local market has become a challenge as the fund has grown “enormously, so we need another outlet to invest”, Ridwan said. “We are like a tanker in the domestic markets. But we will probably be a speedboat in the overseas markets, which will allow us to manoeuvre more easily.”

The plan marks a key shift for BPJS TK, whose US$51.56 billion in assets under management as at end-September, has outgrown Indonesia’s shallow capital markets. With annual growth of about 13 per cent, half of which comes from mandatory contributions, the fund has long sought to diversify its holdings to other markets.

“We keep raising this matter to the finance ministry as the need for offshore investment is getting more urgent as time goes by,” Ridwan said.

While Indonesia’s benchmark index has risen more than 18 per cent this year, that still trails the performances of tech-heavy markets and even regional peer Vietnam. The country’s total market capitalisation stood at US$911 billion as of Thursday (Nov 20), according to data compiled by Bloomberg that shows the combined value of companies with a primary listing in the country.

Under Indonesian law, employers are obliged to register employees into BPJS TK’s social security programmes that cover workplace accidents, pensions and cash benefits for workers who have lost their jobs. The fund manages more than 40 million accounts for employees in the South-east Asian nation as at September.

BPJS TK will likely carry out the investment through third parties as it currently does not have the capacity to do direct offshore investment, Ridwan added. BLOOMBERG