Indonesia's state-owned PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI) will launch a natural resource export governance platform on September 1 to consolidate data and commercial contracts for exports of strategic commodities including coal, as the government moves to tighten oversight of natural resource shipments.

The platform is part of Indonesia's plan to make DSI the country's sole intermediary for exports of strategic natural resources, initially covering coal, crude palm oil and ferroalloys, according to Indonesian financial news outlet detikFinance.

DSI Finance Director Sinthya Roesly said the platform would collect and consolidate export data, including commercial contracts submitted by exporters. The system is integrated with seven government ministries and agencies, including the Minerba Online Monitoring System, e-PNBP, INATRADE, CEISA 4.0, Coretax, SiMoDIS, the Legal Administration system and the Online Single Submission platform.

The systems will also be connected to Indonesia's National Single Window, which electronically handles customs and trade-related processes.

"On September 1, the platform can be launched," Sinthya was quoted as saying by detikFinance in late August. She said an exporter portal would subsequently be developed.

DSI has signed a memorandum of understanding with several industry associations to form a task force that will test the platform around late September or mid-October, and provide input to identify and resolve potential issues before wider implementation. The company has stated it will honor existing contracts and will not set commodity prices, but will instead compare transaction prices against market-based indices and benchmarks. 

The launch marks the next stage of a broader reform announced by President Prabowo Subianto to centralize the export governance of key commodities and improve monitoring of transactions.

DSI was established on June 1 as part of the government's effort to address discrepancies in trade data and concerns over practices such as under-invoicing and transfer pricing. Reuters reported in July that DSI planned to begin processing export data through an integrated national governance system in September as a "soft launch" of the new regime.

Under the transition arrangements, exporters can continue dealing with their existing overseas buyers, while DSI acts as an intermediary and governance facilitator. The Indonesian government has said the system is intended to improve transparency without disrupting existing contracts or trade flows.

The launch comes as coal miners and traders are still seeking clarity on the new system's operational details. The Indonesian Coal Mining Association has earlier called for a phased implementation, urging the government to ensure the new platform does not add unnecessary complexity to existing export processes.

President Prabowo previously indicated that DSI had already monitored more than 6,500 transactions for the three key commodities in its first two months of operation, overseeing $14 billion worth of exports. This monitoring is expected to expand to cover 50 ports in the near future.

Besides, DSI said in late August that it also plans to charge a fee for its export-governance services. Sinthya said the company was calculating a "reasonable" margin under the regulations, while seeking to ensure the charge would not add to exporters' costs.

The immediate impact of the policy is expected to be more on export administration, transaction transparency and compliance than on physical coal supply. The longer-term impact will depend on how DSI's intermediary role develops after full takeover, including whether it eventually takes a more direct role in purchasing and marketing Indonesian coal overseas.