Indonesia's Finance Ministry to Take 60% Stake in Debt-Laden Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail Operator
Indonesia's Finance Ministry will take over a 60% controlling stake in PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), operator of the $7.3 billion Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, ANTARA News and the Economic Times reported on August 6, 2026, as the government moves to manage the project's mounting debt.
The stake is being transferred from sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia, with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa saying the transaction should be completed by mid-September. Chinese firms will retain a 40% interest in the venture, which operates the Whoosh high-speed service between Jakarta and Bandung.
The move follows years of financial strain at KCIC, which booked Rp4.2 trillion in losses in 2024 and a further Rp1.6 trillion in the first half of 2025. Danantara, which collects roughly Rp80 trillion a year in dividends from state-owned enterprises, has been weighing options including a direct infrastructure takeover or fresh capital injections to stabilise the project.
Once the deal completes, the 142km line will be operated through a special purpose vehicle under the Finance Ministry, structured so that KCIC's debt service and operating costs are funded from the line's own revenue and dividends rather than counted directly against the state budget. The stake currently sits with PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI), a state-enterprise consortium whose assets -- including its KCIC holding -- have been managed by sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia since 2025; Danantara has itself publicly confirmed the planned transfer. Whoosh had carried more than 16.9 million passengers by the end of July 2026 since launching commercial service in 2023, with officials pointing to that ridership growth as evidence the line can support itself financially under the new structure.
For financiers and contractors working on Belt and Road-linked rail projects, the restructuring is a closely watched test case for how governments manage cost overruns and debt on Chinese-financed high-speed lines.