Asian Legal Review

The Indonesian government announced Thursday that the upstream oil and gas sector will be exempted from the controversial single-gate export centralization policy, a significant reversal that underscores the political economy’s sensitivity in a capital-intensive industry reliant on foreign investment.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told delegates at the 2026 Indonesian Petroleum Association Convention and Exhibition in BSD City that the regulation under PP No. 21/2026 will not apply to upstream oil and gas operations. “I bring a special message from the President: the regulation does not apply to the upstream oil and gas sector. So, there is no need to worry, it’s business as usual,” he said.

Under a separate concession, Bahlil also confirmed that oil and gas exporters face different deposit rules than other exporters. Forex retention in the sector will be capped at 10 to 30 percent, reflecting heavy reliance on foreign financing.

The exemptions come days after President Prabowo announced on May 20 that key commodity exports — crude palm oil, coal, and ferroalloys — would be channeled through a single state-owned enterprise, PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI). The government aims to prevent under-invoicing and transfer pricing fraud, which officials said could be costing the state up to US$150 billion annually.

During a June-to-September trial phase, exporting firms will still conduct direct transactions with buyers, but DSI handles export filing. From January 2027, DSI takes full control of export contracts, shipments, and payments. A later phase will expand the list to all strategic natural resource commodities.

The policy has drawn business pushback. The Indonesian Coal Mining Association warned that existing contracts, permits, and shipping schedules complicate any abrupt shift, while industry groups fear a de facto monopoly that could undermine buyer confidence a…

As Singapore considers joining a China-led body on artificial intelligence, analysts say membership would give the city state a bigger say in global governance matters related to the technology but may invite an unfriendly response from Washington.
Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo revealed in parliament earlier this week that Singapore had received an invitation to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico). Singapore would consider the…

Philippine rescuers recovered ⁠30 bodies from a burned-out ferry on Friday, raising the death toll from the blaze to 35, authorities said.
Firefighters found the remains after they gained access to the vessel for the first time, having extinguished a fire that had hampered search and rescue efforts since Wednesday night.
Responders in protective suits were seen carrying black body bags from a small boat onto a coastguard vessel, video footage released by the coastguard showed.
Thick smoke and…

Government proposals to create a more streamlined corporate reporting framework could reduce duplication and make compliance more proportionate, particularly for private and smaller companies, an expert has said.

The ocean looks like peace from afar and truth up close, they say. But beneath the waves, the map of the world’s oceans is far less settled than it looks. Today, dozens of sea borders remain unresolved. Like so many conflicts, they owe their origins to complicated questions of where one country’s territory ends, and another’s begins.
Many involve overlapping claims to areas rich in resources; and a disproportionate number concern the waters of the Global South. Africa’s coastline is a stark…

Individuals and companies that support unlawful mining in South Africa can expect a tougher enforcement environment under proposed amendments to the country’s mining legislation, experts have said.

Six orangutans including two nursing infants have been rescued from fires raging on Borneo island in the past week, Indonesian authorities and rescuers said on Thursday, bringing the total to 15 in a month.
The apes were saved from plantations in deep rural West Kalimantan province, on the Indonesian part of the island, where they got stuck after fires cut off access to their forest home, according to the forestry ministry and the YIARI wildlife rehabilitation foundation.
A large fire was…

Draft legislation aimed at preventing the development of “artificial superintelligence systems” within the UK and beyond has been introduced into the UK parliament.

Indonesia is facing ⁠a surge in emissions from wildfires burning through parched stretches of forest and peatland on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, with carbon dioxide readings currently the highest in the world, data has shown.
Fire emissions from Indonesia from September 1 to September 7 reached 19.7 million metric tons, overtaking Russia this week and making up more than a third of the global total, according to Fire Emissions Watch, a portal developed by the European Union’s Copernicus…

Singapore’s DBS Bank is being sued for an estimated S$1.298 billion (US$1.03 billion) in damages linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, Southeast Asia’s largest lender DBS Group has said.
The claimants include the liquidators of four companies: BlackRock Commodities (Global), Platinum Global ‌Luxury Services, Affinity Equity International Partners and TKIL Global Investments. The liquidators did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for ‌comment.
DBS on ⁠Wednesday rejected the…