President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated the bullion business service for financial institutions at Gade Tower, Jakarta, on February 26, 2025. The initiative aims to increase Indonesia's gold reserves to 440 tons by 2030.

Two financial institutions, PT Pegadaian (Persero) and Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), have been assigned to carry out this task. Each is expected to secure 219 tons of gold within the next five years.

Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir highlighted that approximately 1,800 tons of gold are currently circulating among the public but remain outside the formal financial system. "In society, there are about 1,800 tons of gold. Some keep it under their pillows, others hide it behind bathroom bricks. This is the reality today. We want to encourage them to trust a formal financial system," Erick said during the launch event.

To persuade the public to store their gold in Pegadaian, the company's President Director, Damar Latri Setiawan, emphasized two key points: security and profit. "Pegadaian has 100 years of experience with gold. Our security system stores 90 tons of gold across all Pegadaian branches in Indonesia," Damar explained.

He also assured that Pegadaian's employees are skilled in verifying gold authenticity. "All Pegadaian employees are gold experts; they can tell if gold is real just by smelling it. This is true; they have that ability," he added.

Damar further encouraged people to deposit their gold at Pegadaian by highlighting the financial benefits. "You earn service fees and monthly rates in gold. For example, if you have 1 kilogram of gold, you will receive a monthly service fee in gold. It's like saving gold and earning interest in gold," he said.

This initiative is expected to strengthen public trust in the formal financial system while optimizing the management of Indonesia's gold reserves.

PHOTO: ANTARA/RIVAN AWAL LINGGA

This article was created with AI assistance.