Indonesian Companies Invest Abroad

[CountStrike]

Pertamina Acquires Two Russian Oil and Gas Blocks
The target is to obtain additional oil production of 35 thousand barrels per day (bpd) and oil reserves of 200 million barrels.

ARIEF KAMALUDIN|KATADATA

Monday, 30 May 2016 | 07:38 WIB

Pertamina has officially signed a framework agreement in the oil and gas sector with Rosneft Oil Company. Under the agreement, Rosneft has the opportunity to build the Tuban Refinery, while Pertamina is allowed to manage oil and gas blocks in Russia.

Pertamina’s President Director Dwi Sutjipto said that the company is exploring the possibility of acquiring at least two oil and gas blocks in Russia. Both blocks are owned by Rosneft. (Read: Tuban Refinery Contract is Signed, Pertamina: 6 Reasons for Selecting Rosneft)

"Under the agreement, within 8 months we will have an exclusive 15 percent stake in each," Dwi said at Pertamina’s headquarters, Jakarta, Thursday (26/5).

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Although the company will only acquire two oil and gas blocks, Pertamina wants to be able to acquire more. The target is to obtain additional oil production of 35 thousand barrels per day (bpd) and oil reserves of 200 million barrels.

Pertamina has set a target that within the next nine years, oil production from overseas oil and gas fields will increase more than five-fold to 600,000 bpd. Currently, the company’s oil production from oil fields in three countries is only 85,000 bpd. (Read: Four Russian Big Companies Convey Investment Interest to Widodo)

The cooperation in the Russian upstream oil and gas sector is crucial to Indonesia’s future energy supply. Dwi hoped that this agreement could resolve the crude oil deficit that has plagued the country. The addition of new overseas oil and gas blocks will strengthen Indonesia's energy security.

Rosneft’sVice-President for Refining Petrochemicals, Commerce and Logistics Didier Casimiro confirmed the agreement disclosed by Dwi. However, he was unable to divulge details of the two blocks that will be worked by Pertamina.

Rosneft has also given Pertamina an opportunity to work on other oil and gas blocks, in addition to the two blocks that are included in the agreement. "If Pertamina wants to get into block development, we’d be open to that," said Casimiro. (Read: Besides Tuban, Pertamina Offers Rosneft to Work on Other Refineries)

This cooperation in the upstream oil and gas sector is part of the partnership between Rosneft and Pertamina to build the Tuban refinery. For this project, the two companies will form a joint venture, in which Pertamina will own 55 percent of the shares and Rosneft will own the remainder.

Pertamina and Rosneft are unable to estimate the total investment needed for Tuban refinery project, because they still have to do more detailed calculations. However, the preliminary estimate is for US$ 13 billion.

According to Dwi, there were several considerations behind the selection of Rosneft as Pertamina’s partner. First, Rosneft has the huge sources of crude needed to supply the project. Second, Rosneft has the financial assets to guarantee the investment.
http://en.katadata.co.id/news/2016/05/30/pertamina-acquires-two-russian-oil-and-gas-blocks

 

[Indos]

Pertamina Acquires Two Russian Oil and Gas Blocks
The target is to obtain additional oil production of 35 thousand barrels per day (bpd) and oil reserves of 200 million barrels.

ARIEF KAMALUDIN|KATADATA

Monday, 30 May 2016 | 07:38 WIB

Pertamina has officially signed a framework agreement in the oil and gas sector with Rosneft Oil Company. Under the agreement, Rosneft has the opportunity to build the Tuban Refinery, while Pertamina is allowed to manage oil and gas blocks in Russia.

Pertamina’s President Director Dwi Sutjipto said that the company is exploring the possibility of acquiring at least two oil and gas blocks in Russia. Both blocks are owned by Rosneft. (Read: Tuban Refinery Contract is Signed, Pertamina: 6 Reasons for Selecting Rosneft)

"Under the agreement, within 8 months we will have an exclusive 15 percent stake in each," Dwi said at Pertamina’s headquarters, Jakarta, Thursday (26/5).

Advertisement
Although the company will only acquire two oil and gas blocks, Pertamina wants to be able to acquire more. The target is to obtain additional oil production of 35 thousand barrels per day (bpd) and oil reserves of 200 million barrels.

Pertamina has set a target that within the next nine years, oil production from overseas oil and gas fields will increase more than five-fold to 600,000 bpd. Currently, the company’s oil production from oil fields in three countries is only 85,000 bpd. (Read: Four Russian Big Companies Convey Investment Interest to Widodo)

The cooperation in the Russian upstream oil and gas sector is crucial to Indonesia’s future energy supply. Dwi hoped that this agreement could resolve the crude oil deficit that has plagued the country. The addition of new overseas oil and gas blocks will strengthen Indonesia's energy security.

Rosneft’sVice-President for Refining Petrochemicals, Commerce and Logistics Didier Casimiro confirmed the agreement disclosed by Dwi. However, he was unable to divulge details of the two blocks that will be worked by Pertamina.

Rosneft has also given Pertamina an opportunity to work on other oil and gas blocks, in addition to the two blocks that are included in the agreement. "If Pertamina wants to get into block development, we’d be open to that," said Casimiro. (Read: Besides Tuban, Pertamina Offers Rosneft to Work on Other Refineries)

This cooperation in the upstream oil and gas sector is part of the partnership between Rosneft and Pertamina to build the Tuban refinery. For this project, the two companies will form a joint venture, in which Pertamina will own 55 percent of the shares and Rosneft will own the remainder.

Pertamina and Rosneft are unable to estimate the total investment needed for Tuban refinery project, because they still have to do more detailed calculations. However, the preliminary estimate is for US$ 13 billion.

According to Dwi, there were several considerations behind the selection of Rosneft as Pertamina’s partner. First, Rosneft has the huge sources of crude needed to supply the project. Second, Rosneft has the financial assets to guarantee the investment.
http://en.katadata.co.id/news/2016/05/30/pertamina-acquires-two-russian-oil-and-gas-blocks

With cooperation with Rosfnet, Aramco, and Iran in adding current oil refinery and also building a new one (that is planned to finish around 2022), this will potentially cut any oil trader mafia in Singapore that has benefited from us for so long since we dont need their oil market anymore. Every thing will be handled in G to G basis with our best friends (Saudi, Russia, Iran)

 

[CountStrike]

PT Inka will Create Railway carriages for Egypt
May 12, 2016
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REPUBLIKA.CO.ID CAIRO – Indonesia and Egypt are planning to establish cooperation in the field of railway industry. Such cooperation will be carried out by PT Industri Kereta Api (PT Inka) with state-owned companies Egypt which is currently still under negotiation.

“PT Inka planning to hold contract industrial cooperation and trade with one of the state leading in Egypt , for the procurement of railway carriages and trucks heads, as well as building maintenance and repair facilities in Egypt, “said the Director General of Security and Industrial Development International (KPAII) Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono Industry Ministry in a statement on Thursday (12/5).

Sigit added that such cooperation is planned to be realized in the near future. In addition, also carried out cooperation of technical assistance and transfer of technology as an advanced stage of such cooperation aimed at ensuring market access PT Inka to the Egyptian market and the surrounding countries.

According to Sigit, this plan is part of the utilization of cooperation among the developing countries that are members of Developing Eight (D-8). These countries are committed and agreed to increase cooperation in the industrial sector. The agreement is embodied in the implementation of the 9th Working Group on Industrial Cooperation and the 5th D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Industrial Cooperation in Cairo, Egypt

“This meeting focused on the discussion of the industrial sector in cooperation among member countries D- 8, which consists of Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, “said Sigit.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Organization of the D-8 Seyed Ali Mohammad Mousavi said cooperation industry among D-8 member countries should not only be event ceremonial only, but should be incorporated into a variety of real-time collaboration and implementation. According to him, each country should have a particular emphasis on cooperation projects that will be determined later. Thus, each member state has its own characteristics and contributions of different responsibilities to support the development of industrial cooperation among member countries.


Sumber Republika.co.id

 

[somebozo]

Semen Indonesia — the nation’s leading cement manufacturer — has allocated $200 million to acquire a cement factory, while construction company Wijaya Karya has allocated Rp 300 billionSAR 0.08 billion
Exchange Rate: SAR 1 = Rp 3,576 ($26 million) to build a concrete factory.

]

that a lot of semen if you ask me...

 

[CountStrike]

Pertamina to acquire Iran’s oil and gas blocks, Middle East to invest $12.2b in Indonesia



JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) – State owned energy firm PT Pertamina says it plans to invest in four operating oil and gas blocks in Iran. The deal, if goes ahead, would be Indonesia’s first investment in Iran’s upstream oil sector.

President Director of Pertamina Dwi Sutjipto, the deal is expected to be signed after Eid Al-Fitr. He expects the supply of crude oil from Iran will be delivered to the private refinery in Situbondo, East Java. Pertamina would be the off-taker of private refinery products.

“We are interest in 4 blocks, two onshore and 2 offshore. All the blocks are already operating,” he said.

Last month, Pertamina and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed liquid petroleum gas (LPG) contracts with a volume of 88,000 tonnes in 2016. Iran is also looking for long-term contract to deliver 500.000 tonnes of LPG to Indonesia with total value of US$60 million..
The signing of the contract was witnessed by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said and Oil Minister of Iran Bejan N. Zanganeh during his visit in Iran. Indonesia needs 6 million tonnes of LPG per annum, half of which are imported.

The signing of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) contract with Tehran is a turning point and the first step towards enhancing cooperation between Iran and Indonesia, Minister Sudirman stated.

Beside LPG’s contract, Pertamina-NIOC also agreed to conduct further discussions regarding the purchase of crude oil and access to upstream investment in Iran. Indonesia imports half of its cured oil needs and it is ready to buy 150,000-200,000 barrels of oil per day of crude oil from Iran.

According to Sudirman, there are seven oil and gas cooperation was agreed such as upstream oil and gas cooperation in Iran, trading oil products, gas projects, oil processing, petrochemical, oil and gas support industry, to increase the capacity of human resources in the field of oil and gas.

He said currently there are some investors who are interested to invest worth $12.2 billion from the Middle East, mostly from oil and gas investments. Sudirman added that there are six investment plans from the Middle East to be realized. The first cooperation project funding is the public private partnership (PPP) with Qatar $1 billion.

Both investment power plant with a capacity of 2×250 of MQ in North Sumatra with Qatar. Currently, the investment process in the stage of formation of a joint venture between Qatar company with a local company, as well as the preparation of funding. The project value is $350 million.

The third is the development master-plan fefinery program (RDMP) Cilacap refinery with the investment value of approximately $5.5 billion. This cooperation is already in the process of signing the contract since May 23, 2016, and start entering the design stage.

Sudirman said the process will continue with the joint venture agreement targeted finished in December 2016. (*)

http://www.theinsiderstories.com/9569-2/

 

[CountStrike]

Business | Mon Aug 1, 2016 6:53am EDT

Maurel et Prom chief sells out to Indonesia's Pertamina
PARIS/JAKARTA | BY BENJAMIN MALLET AND WILDA ASMARINI

A Pertamina refined fuel tanker off Singapore May 27, 2016.
REUTERS/HENNING GLOYSTEIN


Indonesian state energy firm Pertamina plans to buy a one quarter stake in France's Maurel et Prom from its boss and extend the offer to take over the rest of the Africa-focused oil company in a deal that could value it at close to $1 billion.

Pertamina said the acquisition of the 24.5 percent stake from Maurel et Prom (M&P) Chairman and Chief Executive Jean-Francois Henin would fit well with plans to bolster its upstream business globally.

M&P (MAUP.PA), one of many independent oil exploration and production companies suffering from weak oil prices, has been looking for a partner for several years, but may have been able to fetch a much higher price had it agreed to a buyout earlier.

Back in 2013, Henin confirmed he had been in talks with potential buyers for the whole company.

On Monday, he told Reuters Pertamina had been among them, but that discussions had foundered on price. Three years ago the company was worth close to four times more than it is now.

Nevertheless, Henin said he was happy with the deal to sell the company which can trace its roots back to 1831 and the development of shipping lines and trading posts in West Africa.

"They (Pertamina) can achieve something that corresponds with my dreams for Maurel et Prom because they give the company a means for development," he said.

Henin holds his stake through a company called Pacifico, which is selling out for 4.20 euros a share, plus a potential 0.50 euro earnout linked to the price of crude oil next year. P&M's shares closed at 2.85 euros on Friday and were suspended from trading on Monday morning.

The full offer, to be made on the same terms as for Henin's stake, should come later this year, Henin said.

At that price it would value the whole company at up to 891.9 million euros ($996 mln) based on a total 189,764,042 shares in issue. Its market value was about 541 million euros at the close of business on Friday.

M&P refocused on oil and gas exploration at the end of the 20th century. Its production operations are in Gabon oil and Tanzanian gas. It also has exploration assets elsewhere including Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Myanmar, Canada, and Italy.

($1 = 0.8956 euros)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-maurel-prom-equity-pertamina-idUSKCN10C24C

 

[CountStrike]

Indonesia's Bank Mandiri to seek full license in Malaysia
ERWIDA MAULIA, Nikkei staff writer

A bank teller counts rupiah banknotes at a branch inside Bank Mandiri headquarters in Jakarta. © Reuters

JAKARTA -- Indonesian state lender Bank Mandiri is moving swiftly to open branch offices in neighboring Malaysia following the recent signing of a deal between the two countries' financial authorities.

Indonesia's Financial Services Authority, known as OJK, and Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank of Malaysia, on Monday signed an agreement allowing three Indonesian banks to operate branches in Malaysia, and vice versa.



While two Malaysian banks -- CIMB and Malayan Banking -- have already established a significant presence in Indonesia, the same cannot be said for Indonesian banks in Malaysia.

Mandiri, Indonesia's largest lender by assets, is the only Indonesian bank with a presence in the neighboring country, where it maintains a remittance office. The bank has in the past complained about Malaysia's strict regulations on capital requirements, among other regulations for foreign banks wanting to enter the country.

OJK said the new deal is aimed at reducing "inequality of access" in the two markets.

"We will act fast to grab this opportunity," Mandiri's corporate secretary Rohan Hafas told reporters on Wednesday. "We're planning to immediately apply for a full license to operate fully in Malaysia."

Hafas said Mandiri expects to meet Bank Negara Malaysia's capital requirement of 300 million Malaysian ringgit ($74 million) by the end of the year -- 100 million ringgit of which is "to be deposited as soon as possible."

Mandiri is not necessarily eyeing the Malaysian market. Rather, it is targeting more fee-based income from remittance services for Indonesian migrant workers, as well as from trade activities involving Indonesian businesses.

There are nearly 800,000 registered Indonesian workers in Malaysia -- mostly employed as domestic helpers or in plantations. Migrant workers remitted $979 million from Malaysia to Indonesia in the five months to May, according to data from Indonesia's migrant worker placement agency.

"We will only open branch offices in several locations -- where Indonesian migrant worker communities are concentrated, and perhaps in a central business district where there are a lot of trade activities involving Indonesian businesses," Hafas said.
Another state-owned lender, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, said it will also consider establishing a presence in Malaysia. This may not happen until next year, however, because the bank is currently focused on expanding its business in East Timor, director Haru Koesmahargyo said.

"BRI will make the most of this relaxing of regulation; we will not miss it," he said.

OJK said the signing of the deal is part of the implementation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Banking Intregration Framework.

Under the scheme, ASEAN member states -- including Indonesia and Malaysia -- have agreed to allow local banks greater access and flexibility in the region, as long as they meet the criteria to be classified as Qualified ASEAN Banks.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/AC/Indonesia-s-Bank-Mandiri-to-seek-full-license-in-Malaysia?page=2

 

[CountStrike]

Pertamina Finalizes Acquisition of Maurel & Prom

ARIEF KAMALUDIN|KATADATA

Monday, 29 August 2016 | 09:57 WIB


State-owned energy company Pertamina has completed the acquisition of French oil and gas company Maurel & Prom. Pertamina acquired Maurel & Prom after buying 47,916,026 units (24.53 percent) of the company's shares from Pacifico.

The acquisition process began in 31 July 2016, when Pertamina and Pacifico signed an acquisition deal. The takeover of Pacifico's stake in Maurel et Prom was completed on 25 August, with a transaction value of € 201.2 million.

(Read: Pertamina Acquires Stake in French Oil Company)

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Pacifico sold its stake in Maurel & Prom for 4.20 euros per share. But Pertamina must pay an additional 0.50 euro of earn-outs per share, if from 1 January to 31 December 2017 the Brent price goes above US$ 65 a barrel for 90 consecutive trading days.

For the acquisition, Pertamina appointed Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank as the executive financial advisor and Hogan Lovells as their legal advisor. Meanwhile, BCTG Avocats acted as Pacifico's legal counselor.

Maurel & Prom's executives are also offering their entire shares to Pertamina Internasional Eksplorasi dan Produksi (PIEP). The offering is made through the French stock exchange authority with two schemes. The first is to offer under the same conditions as the deal with Pacifico, and the second scheme is to issue bonds with the same value of the shares plus the interests paid in 2019 and 2021. (Read: Pertamina's First Half Profit Soars 221% on Efficiency Measures)

The offering process is expected to be completed at the end of this year. Maurel&Prom's board of directors have agreed to support the offer and plan to recommend the shareholders to tender their shares to Pertamina as well.

In accordance with applicable regulations, Maurel & Prom's board of directors will deliver its definitive opinion on the tender offer once it has obtained the fairness opinion from Ledouble, the company's appointed independent expert.

Pertamina Finance Director Arief Budiman said the company has earmarked € 1 billion to increase its stake in Maurel & Prom. "It is our entrance to Gabon, Tanzania and African countries that still have a lot of potential," he said in Jakarta, Thursday (25/8).

Maurel & Prom's Board of Directors have also appointed Denie S Tampubolon to represent Pertamina as the company director. Denie replaces former director Emmanuel de Marion de Glatigny, who resigned. (Read: Pertamina Joins Hands with Petronas for Exploration, LNG)

 

[CountStrike]

Telkom International strengthen telecommunications business in Timor-Leste

Jakarta, 28 Agustus 2016 - Direktur Enterprise & Business Telkom, Muhammad Awaluddin melakukan kunjungan ke Timor Leste untuk melakukan eksplorasi bisnis dengan perusahaan di Timor Leste. Dalam kunjungan tersebut, Awaluddin menyaksikan penandatanganan nota kesepahaman antara anak perusahaan Telin di Timor Leste yaitu Telkomcel dengan lima mitra penting di Timor-Leste yaitu Telemor, Banco Nacional de Comercio de Timor Leste (BNCTL), Bank Mandiri, Grupo de Media Nacional (GMN) Holding dan Sriwijaya Group. Kelima mitra selama ini telah mempercayakan solusi telekomunikasi kepada Telkomcel.

http://www.telkom.co.id/telkom-eksplorasi-bisnis-di-timor-leste.html


Telkom eyes 60% market share in Timor Leste

• Mariel Grazella
  The Jakarta Post
  

Dili, Timor Leste | Sat, January 19 2013 | 06:28 pm
Topics


State-owned telecommunications company, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) expects to control up to 60 percent of the mobile phone market in Timor Leste in five years through its newly established subsidiary Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin).

Telin’s operation in the former Indonesian province was officially inaugurated in Dili on Thursday with the presence of PT Telkom’s president director Arief Yahya and State-Owned Enterprises Minister, Dahlan Iskan.

Telin, which offers mobile communication services under the brand Telkomcel, will spend up to US$50 million to build the relevant infrastructure, Arief said. He added that a majority of the funds would establish the necessary infrastructure, from base transceiver stations (BTS) to setting up customer service call centers.

“To date, we have set up 30 BTS, all in Dili,” he said, adding that the company would increase the number of BTS to 110 units to cover 95 percent of Timor Leste by the end April.

“Our BTS are equipped with 2G and 3G services,” he said.

Mobile penetration in Timor Leste is 54.9 percent. The country has around 602,481 mobile phone subscribers, only 4,456 of them subscribe to mobile Internet services. Before Telin’s entrance, the Timor Leste market was served by Timor Telecom, a Portuguese telecommunication company.

Arief added that Telkom targeted to acquire at least 4,000 subscribers this year. “However, 20,000 subscribers have signed up with us when we offered the service for free during the pre-launch period,” he said, adding that the company expected 80 percent of subscriptions to be non-data.

The company aims to obtain around 60 percent of the Timor Leste market by 2018.

“Generally, telecommunication companies reach break even point [BEP] in five years,” Arief said.

He added that Telkom would be able to win competition in the market because the company, unlike their competitor, could provide stronger telecommunication networks. “We could connect our network to our network in Nusa Tenggara Timur, linking Timor Leste to networks in Indonesia,” he said.

Arief said that the company saw potential in garnering income from operations in the country, given that the monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) of $10. “Indonesia’s ARPU is only Rp 35,000.”

He added that the company expected mobile phone subscriptions to increase as more of the country was covered by telecommunication services. Through Telin, Telkom would expand their services to Australia in the following week. However, he declined to reveal any more details.

Telkom has expanded to Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

The population of Timor Leste, currently at least 1 million, grows by a rate of 2.4 percent annually.
Sam Saba, the president director of Ericsson Indonesia, added that Timor Leste was a potential market as it undergoes growth. Ericsson is supplying Telkom with the equipment for its operations in Timor Leste.

“We have clear evidence that every new expansion in the mobile industry adds to development of an economy,” he said.

Dahlan said that the investment marked the “tightening of relations between Indonesia and Timor Leste”.

“The entrance of Telkom into Timor Leste has augmented the number of Indonesian state-owned enterprises with operations here,” he said.

He noted that construction companies, PT Wijaya Karya and PT PP, in addition to Bank Mandiri, ran business in Timor Leste.

“The entrance of Telkomcel will also enable Bank Mandiri to expand their presence here, given that the necessary infrastructure to conduct banking services is now available,” he said.

Furthermore, Timor Leste Transportation and Communication Minister, Pedro Lay da Silva, said that investment in telecommunications was an integral part of accelerating the economy of Timor Leste.

“These networks improve our country’s connectivity not only within, but also outside,” he said.

Timor Leste, which proclaimed their independence from Indonesia in 2002, has a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $4,315 in 2011.

“We are looking forward to new services on offer to our people,” he said, adding that having a second telecommunication operator in the country would allow competition resulting in providers offering better services at lower prices for the people.

 

[CountStrike]

Indofood commissions instant noodle factory in Serbia
Minggu, 4 September 2016 19:17 WIB | 815 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT. Indofood Sukses Makmur, the largest instant noodle producer in Southeast Asia has expanded operation to Europe setting into operation its factory in Serbia.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic officially commissioned the factory in Indjija, around 80 kilometers from Beograd on Friday, the Indonesian embassy in the Serbian capital city said.

The factory, which produces ready for consumption Indomie noodles, was already operational in August opening hundreds of jobs for the Serbians .

Construction of the factory in Serbia, would be the first step of the company in market expansion in Europe, an embassy official said.

The factory, occupying a five hectare plot of lands was built with an investment of 11 million euro. It has a production capacity of 500,000 carton boxes per month for distribution not only in Serbia but also to other countries Europe.

Free trade adopted by Serbia with various other countries in Europe would facilitate the company in market expansion giving it greater optimism in its ambition to dominate the European market of instant noodle.

The official commissioning ceremony was attended by other Serbian leaders, members of the diplomatic Corps , business leaders and local journalists.

Support shown by the Serbian government is a big factor in the success of the Indofood investment in that country.

President Tomislav Nikolic said he appreciated and supported the Indonesian investment in Serbia as a concrete step to expand economic cooperation between the two countries.

Indonesian Ambassador Harry R.J. Kandou said the presence of Indofood in Serbia constituted a concrete proof of Indonesian initiative in strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.

Anthony Salim, the Executive Director of the Salim Group, which owns Indofood, said he hoped that factory would provide gateway for the Indofood to reach the rest of Europe.(*)
http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/106576/indofood-commissions-instant-noodle-factory-in-serbia

 

[CountStrike]

September 19, 2016 11:30 pm JST
Indonesia's Mitra Adiperkasa takes Zara into Vietnam
ERWIDA MAULIA, Nikkei staff writer

A Zara store in Jakarta

JAKARTA -- Indonesian retail operator Mitra Adiperkasa has marked its entrance into the Vietnamese market with the opening of its first Zara outlet outside Indonesia.

The company -- which also franchises other international brands such as Starbucks, Burger King and Topman in Indonesia - said the new Zara store occupies 2,400 square meters in Ho Chi Minh City.



Mitra already runs 15 outlets selling the Spanish clothing line in Indonesia. The company operates nearly 2,000 retail stores or more than 150 brands in 66 cities in the archipelago.

Corporate Secretary Fetty Kwartati said Mitra, through a Vietnamese subsidiary it fully owns, is planning to open several other Zara stores in Vietnam next year, as well as stores of other brands under the Spanish clothing group Inditex, such as Bershka and Massimo Dutti.

She said Vietnam has recently opened up more to foreign retailers, so Mitra is quickly grabbing the opportunity.

"Vietnam is a very potential market," Kwartati said. "And the Inditex Group has given us an opportunity to open Zara and other Inditex brands there."

The expansion in Vietnam was revealed after Mitra announced in June its partnership with U.S. investment company General Atlantic. Mitra had been hit hard by the slowing economy and the weak rupiah, which have seriously squeezed its profits over the past few years.

In the first half of 2016, net profit rose 78% to 46 billion rupiah compared with the same period the year before. Kwartati attributed the rise to investments that strengthened the company, including through the development of Mitra's e-commerce platform, Mapemall.com.
http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/AC/...perkasa-takes-Zara-into-Vietnam?n_cid=NARAN11

 

[CountStrike]

Go-Jek acquires Indian home healthcare marketplace Pianta
With this deal, the Indonesian ride-hailing startup aims to bolster its foray into the healthcare space
By Anisa Menur A. Maulani27 Sep, 2016

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Image Credit: DailySocial

Indonesian ride-hailing startup Go-Jek has acquired Bangalore-based online marketplace for home healthcare services Pianta, says an Economic Times report. The financial details were not disclosed.

The move is aimed at bolstering Go-Jek’s foray into the healthcare sector, according to this report.

“GO-JEK is moving to launch an on-demand healthcare product which might have delivery and logistics’ issues. This is where Pianta’s forte is,” said Sidu Ponnappa, Managing Director, Go-Jek Engineering India.



Also Read: [Updated] Go-Jek joins the fray, closes US$550M in Asia’s ride-hailing war, led by global consortium

Founded in 2015 by Swaminathan Seetharaman, Ganesh Subramanian and Nitin Agarwal, Pianta allows customers to book home visits for physiotherapy, nursing and lab sample collection. It received an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Freecharge founders Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon earlier this year.

Post acquisition, Pianta’s is eight-member team will merge with Go-Jek’s engineering team in Bangalore. In total, there will be 60 people assisting Go-Jek’s operations in the region.

There have been rumours about Go-Jek launching healthcare services, with the reported testing of medicine delivery service Go-Med. The company recently invested in Indonesian health-tech startup HaloDoc, which allows patients to connect with doctors via an app. HaloDoc’s sister company, ApotikAntar, is a home delivery service for prescription medicine.

• 
  Go-Jek IndonesiaGO-JEK is Jakarta's personal time-saver. They are an all-in-one convenience service: Your driver, your courier, and your personal shopper. You name it, they'll do it, INSTANTLY!Funding: Undisclosed Venture RoundInvestors: NSI Ventures Sequoia Capital

• 
  Pianta IndiaPianta is a mobile platform that connects customers with service providers in realtime.Funding: Undisclosed AcquisitionInvestors: Go-Jek

http://tech.economictimes.indiatime...etplace-for-home-healthcare-services/54529186

 

[CountStrike]

Indonesia to open 5,000 Alfamart Stores in the Philippines
Monday, September 26, 2016 ASEAN , Business , Economy , Indonesia , Investment in the Philippines , Philippines

Alfamart targets 400 stores in Philippines next year

Mini market chain Alfamart aims to increase the number of its outlets in the Philippines from the current 185 to 400 next year and add one distribution point to complement the existing one in Greater Manila.

The company expanded into the Philippines in 2014, teaming up with local company SM Investments Corporation.

"We expect to reach break-even point by the middle of 2017, after three and half years of investment," Alfa Group chairman Djoko Santoso said after an AlfaLand press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta on Friday.

He said the business climate in the Philippines was good and processing licenses and arranging land acquisition were easy there. After 2017, the company will be more aggressive by doubling the number of its stores every year.

"After five years of investment, we want to have at least 5,000 stores in the Philippines," he said. (evi) – The Jakarta Post
http://www.pesoreserve.com/2016/09/indonesia-to-open-5000-alfamart-stores.html

 

[CountStrike]

October 3, 2016 8:27 pm JST
Emtek eyes wider Indonesian role for BlackBerry Messenger
LEIGHTON COSSEBOOM, Contributing writer

Representatives of Kreatif Media Karya portfolio companies gathered to share innovative developments in Jakarta in August. (Courtesy of KMK)

JAKARTA -- The heyday of BlackBerry smartphones and apps may be long over in the rest of the world, but not in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, the messaging network built by the Canadian smartphone company, remains Indonesia's most popular messaging service despite growing competition from rivals such as Facebook's WhatsApp and Naver's Line. Indonesia is home to some 60 million of BBM's 200 million worldwide users. Emtek, one of Indonesia's largest tech and media investors, is betting it can bolster BBM's leading position by turning it into an all-purpose mobile platform along the lines ofTencent Holdings' WeChat service and integrating it with other portfolio companies.

Telekomunikasi Indonesia.

The acquisition of BBM is the latest in an aggressive series of internet investments for Emtek which has included taking stakes in Indonesian online marketplace Bukalapak, regional video streaming service iFlix and Kudo, a service which helps rural Indonesians to shop online. Emtek shares rose 5.3% on the Indonesian Stock Exchange in the days following the BBM announcement, to a high of 10,000 rupiah on July 1, but have since slipped back.

"BBM fits perfectly within our 'mobile first' strategy," Adi Sariaatmadja, chief executive of Kreatif Media Karya, or KMK Online, Emtek's investment arm, told Nikkei Asian Review. "We are seeing a convergence in communications, entertainment, commerce and financial services on mobile platforms. BBM is especially important to Indonesians because we grew up using it as the primary messaging platform."

Ni Putu Kurniasari, head of research at investment service Bareksa Portal Investasi, said that Emtek subsidiary Surya Citra Media is likely to benefit even more than its parent from the BBM deal through greater content revenues. "SCMA may also benefit from higher viewership and other synergies created through the BBM app."

BBM's popularity in Indonesia is directly linked to BlackBerry's general acceptance with consumers in the country, not just business users as elsewhere. Via BBM, Indonesian BlackBerry users could trade messages for free at time when the main alternative was to pay a mobile phone company for the sending of a text message.

BBM was opened to smartphones running Google's Android or Apple's iOS operating systems in 2013. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, also owned by Facebook, trail BBM with about 50 million users each in Indonesia. BBM was the most downloaded app among Android users in Indonesia in early 2016 according to digital marketing research company eMarketer.

An Indonesian WeChat

Sariaatmadja sees room to turn BBM into a platform to access a broad range of services including games, financial services and shopping. "We want BBM to be on every Indonesian smartphone as the first place that a user goes to access messages, share content and conduct commerce," he said. "Users will be able to watch TV and videos, follow celebrities, play games, listen to music, shop and more. One day, [BBM] will also enable mobile payments for everything from shopping at Bukalapak to topping up pre-paid phones or transferring money."
Sariaatmadja says the grand plan is to make BBM so ubiquitous that it will be involved with almost every facet of life in Indonesia, not just content and businesses owned by Emtek. But even for a media company with the size, scale and reach of Emtek, this won't be easy with Line, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger gaining users in Indonesia.

Analysts call Emtek "the largest media, content and technology group in Indonesia." Its holdings include pay-television service NexMedia and three entertainment channels SCTV, Indosiar, and O Channel. KMK's holdings include popular internet news outlet Liputan6, sports news site Bola, celebrity news portal Bintang and job search site. Karir. Under the impact of currency shifts, Emtek profits fell 70% in the first half of 2016 to 343.63 billion rupiah ($26.5 million). Revenues, though, rose 10.4% to 3.5 trillion rupiah.

"BBM is a really good platform to advertise on," said Aryo Ariotedjo, managing partner of local venture capital firm Grupara. "Some of our portfolio companies tried it and they achieved good customer acquisition costs." He added, "The deal was pretty cheap and decent" for Emtek.

Business links

Emtek is already building up linkages between BBM and its other internet services. Vidio, a video streaming service like Google's YouTube, has been integrated into BBM and BBM users will soon also be able to shop on Bukalapak via the app.

Kudo, another Emtek-backed company, provides online shopping access to rural Indonesians through a network of 100,000 agents at food stalls and grocery stores and is expected to be linked to BBM soon. Sariaatmadja says Emtek is looking to guide middle- to low-income Indonesian consumers further into online shopping. "Given the Indonesian archipelago's geography, wireless and digital are the way to go," he said.

"Emtek has been instrumental in making things happen for us through collaboration," said Agung Nugroho, Kudo co-founder and chief operating officer. He echoed Sariaatmadja on the business potential of integrating BBM and his app. "Emtek's media power also becomes important in helping us deliver [our] message to millions of Indonesians hungry for opportunities."

BlackBerry's decision to put BBM into Indonesian hands may prove a wise one. Shinta Dhanuwardoyo, head of digital business at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is cautiously optimistic about BBM's competitive prospects in the country, in part because of its popularity with small companies as a marketing platform.

"Despite its waning popularity among middle-class and upper-class consumers, BBM is still signing up new daily active users in the middle and lower [class] segments," she said. "Given the right execution and strategy, this is a great opportunity for Emtek to lead an all-in-one platform like what WeChat did in China."

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Com...donesian-role-for-Blackberry-Messenger?page=2

 

[CountStrike]

BNI to expand in Malaysia by first half of 2017
Kamis, 13 Oktober 2016 23:36 WIB | 881 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) has submitted an expansion proposal to the Indonesian and Malaysian regulators to establish a network branch in Malaysia.

The target is to have the branch working by the first half of 2017.

Chairman of PT BNI Achmad Baiquini said in Jakarta on Thursday that the Financial Services Authorities (OJK) signed a reciprocal bilateral agreement with the Malaysian Central Bank in August.

Since then, the bank began putting together documentation to execute an expansion in Malaysia.

"We should be able to establish a network there within the first semester of 2017," he added.

Once the bank explores the sector, he noted, it will delve into the remittances business, which will allow Indonesian laborers in Malaysia to send money to their families back home.

The bank is also looking at trade financing in Malaysia.

Remittances, he observed, will also act as a good start to initiate a digital banking business in Malaysia.

In the future, the banking services would shift solely to digital platforms in Malaysia.

As for capital funds prepared by the bank, Baiquini was reluctant to reveal the details.

"We will surely follow the agreement signed by the Authority and Malaysia, and will follow all their guidelines," he remarked.

Indonesia and Malaysia had signed a bilateral partnership agreement on August 1 as part of the ASEAN Banking Integrated Framework.

As part of such cooperation, which emphasizes the principle of reciprocity, Indonesias bank will receive a cost reduction incentive for network expansion in Malaysia, including admission fee and payment system fee.

The Financial Services Authoritys Deputy Supervisor, Mulya Siregar, pointed out that the admission fee for Indonesia has been reduced from 10.4 million Ringgits to 5.2 million Ringgits.

"Costs regarding payment systems, including Automatic Cash Machines, also went down from 4 Ringgit to 1 to 2 ringgit per transaction," informed Siregar.(*)