Profiles

Sukanto Tanoto, one of Indonesia’s richest men, has reportedly acquired Tanglin Mall in the famous Orchard Road, Singapore, for US$645 million through property arm Pacific Eagle Real Estate. Five years earlier, Pacific Eagle spent US$230 million in the acquisition of Chinatown Plaza, Singapore.

The Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo is the man of the hour. The train has been moving faster ever since his nomination as presidential candidate. He has already secured the endorsement from two political parties; the ruling party PDIP and the Islamic party PPP. More endorsement may come very soon from some other political parties. 

Visi Asia Media (VIVA), the parent of TVOne, recorded revenues of Rp1.69 trillion in 2022, declined 5.5% year on year, but huge loss on foreign exchange (forex) translation and substantially higher finance costs resulted in widened net loss last year.

In just six years since start-ups in the agritech field have attracted attention, now all these efforts are slowly fading away. Initially, the aspirations of most of the founders were similar, namely breaking the distribution chain from farmers to buyers and strengthening the position of farmers. TaniHub is the one that stands out the most. With confidence, the company created TaniFund, a peer-to-peer lending platform. However, since last year, rumors that TaniHub went bankrupt began to emerge as the founders left. Towards the end of the year, the company finally had to face a PKPU lawsuit. The process is ongoing and meanwhile, the TaniFund license has just been suspended by the Financial Services Authority (OJK). On top of all that, lenders had reported the issue to the POLRI Criminal Investigation Unit (Bareskrim). What a mess.

Laksamana Sukardi, former minister of state-owned enterprises and former treasurer of PDI-P, has decided to return to politics. Laksamana has joined Partai Kebangkitan Nusantara (PKN), a new political party established by loyalists of Anas Urbaningrum, former chairman of Democratic Party.

Businessman Moertomo Basoeki (Tjan Swie Tjong), owner of some toll roads in Indonesia, has on Sunday (Feb 12) passed away. He leaves behind a wife, two daughters, and three grandchildren. 

Juniver Girsang & Partners Law Firm published one full page of announcement at Kompas newspaper this morning related to a court ruling in the case between its client Septanto Probosutedjo and other family members of the late Probosutedjo, half-brother of the late president Soeharto. 

Businessman Robbyanto Budiman, CEO of Wahana Artha Group, one of the largest distributors of motorcycles in the country, has on February 10, 2022 passed away in Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore. The 56 years old leaves behind a wife and three children.

Who’s not in the nickel industry is like who’s not in the coal mining industry many years ago. Almost all major business groups in the country have been involved in the industry, including Djarum Group, which is owned by Indonesia’s richest family the Hartonos.