Only Two of 13 Major Indonesian Coal Producers Show Material Diversification
Only two of 13 major Indonesian coal producers have made concrete progress in building material non-coal businesses, according to the Energy Shift Institute. Harum Energy now derives 69% of revenue from nickel, while waste management contributes 41% of TBS Energi Utama’s revenue.
Diversification remains concentrated
Business diversification among Indonesia’s major coal producers remains limited and uneven, despite growing uncertainty over the commodity’s long-term outlook. Of 13 leading producers assessed by the Energy Shift Institute, only two have demonstrated concrete progress in developing non-coal operations at a scale large enough to make a material contribution to their businesses.
Another six companies remain at a stage where diversification is driven more by corporate narratives than significant implementation, according to the institute’s report, “Diversification Gap in Indonesia’s Coal Sector.” The assessment highlights a wide difference between companies that have announced ambitions outside coal and those already changing their revenue mix.
ESI Senior Analyst Idham Muhammad Fachri said the sector’s diversification strategies remain highly uneven. Some companies are building convincing non-coal businesses, while others have announced ambitions without showing meaningful progress, he said in a written statement dated August 20, 2026.
Harum and TBS alter their revenue mix
ESI identified PT Harum Energy Tbk and PT TBS Energi Utama Tbk as the companies with the most visible diversification. Both have relatively low coal reserves compared with their peers and have directed investment toward non-coal businesses instead of continuing to expand their coal operations.
The shift is already visible in their financial profiles. In 2025, nickel accounted for 69% of Harum Energy’s total revenue. At TBS Energi Utama, waste management generated 41% of revenue. These contributions indicate that diversification at the two companies has moved beyond investment announcements or passive ownership of assets in other sectors.
The figures also distinguish revenue-producing diversification from the broader practice of setting targets or acquiring assets without materially reducing dependence on coal. ESI’s analysis focused on whether new businesses could change a company’s revenue base and lower its exposure to coal income.
Export, policy and cost risks persist
ESI used a seven-step framework to evaluate each company’s level of diversification. The institute considers diversification increasingly important as Indonesian producers face dependence on major export markets, uncertainty over domestic policy and rising cost pressures. Those risks remain relevant even though coal market conditions have recently improved.
Business diversification can reduce reliance on coal revenue while operating alongside efforts to diversify sales markets and improve operational efficiency, according to ESI. For producers, the distinction matters: geographic diversification may spread demand risk, but it does not remove exposure to the long-term prospects of coal itself.
Other producers have established goals for increasing revenue from non-coal activities. PT Bumi Resources Tbk, for example, is targeting a 50:50 split between coal and non-coal revenue by 2031. The target signals an intention to rebalance the business, but ESI’s findings suggest that stated ambitions should be assessed against execution and the actual contribution of new operations.
The cases of Harum Energy and TBS Energi Utama provide the clearest evidence in the group that non-coal investment can become material to revenue. For the remainder of the sector, the central test will be whether announced projects develop into operating businesses capable of changing earnings composition before long-term coal-market risks become more acute.