Jakarta, June 17 -- For decades, the story of the Indonesian economy followed a predictable, frustrating script.

Deep within the archipelago's soil lay some of the world's richest deposits of nickel, copper, bauxite and tin. Yet, for just as long, the wealth extracted from beneath the earth brought unequal prosperity to the millions living above it.

For too long, Indonesia has exported its raw materials, while the greatest added value has been enjoyed by other countries that process them into value-added products.

As a result, the country has often been a bystander in an industrial chain that could have been built from its own strengths.

Today, that old script is being systematically shredded.

A structural economic overhaul known as ...