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Tag: Indonesia

  • Wildcraft expands out of India

    Wildcraft expands out of India

    As a first step toward growing its international presence, Indian fashion brand Wildcraft has launched into the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

    It has formed partnerships for its foray into the UAE, Oman and Muscat markets, and online partnerships for Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, reports ETRetail.com.

    Wildcraft unveiled a new brand identity last year while expanding its product portfolio into clothing and footwear. It has also added 130 retail outlets in more than 50 cities across India, giving it more than 3000 distribution points in more than 400 cities in India.

    In Southeast Asia, the brand has partnered with Zalora, part of the Global Fashion Group, giving Wildcraft access to the Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan markets. It will use this alliance to initially sell its outdoor gear products.

    Co-founder Gaurav Dublish says the international expansion “is just the start of our growth plans”.

    “The focus, at this point, is to reach countries with similar climatic conditions and geo-proximity.”

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  • Singapore-based ecommerce marketing startup raises $1m to enter Indonesia

    Email and digital marketing startup Ematic Solutions has raised a pre-series A round of close to US$1 million, it announced today. The funding comes from MDI Ventures, a venture capital fund backed by Telkom Indonesia, the country’s major telco.

    The pre-series A round comes just two months after Ematic raised its seed round, worth US$1.07 million, led by Wavemaker Partners and joined by 500 Startups and Convergence Ventures.

    The funding will be used to intensify the Singapore-based startup’s quest for regional expansion. Indonesia was already a priority destination for the company, and it expects MDI’s support to help it further along. It has just opened an office in Jakarta, its first outside of Singapore, and is currently recruiting there.

    Ematic’s products include HiIQ, a tool that figures out when is the best time to reach out to which customer, and ByeIQ, a method for encouraging engagement when a user is about to leave your website.

    Indonesia is a particularly attractive market for Ematic given its mammoth market size and ecommerce potential. The numbers are well known; a population of 250 million, the largest in Southeast Asia, with a recent annual GDP increase of five to six percent. A 65.6 percent growth for retail ecommerce in 2015, according to eMarketer. 73 million internet users – the highest number in Southeast Asia.

    singapore-based-ecommerce-marketing-startup-raises-1m-to-enter-indonesia

    “Indonesia has the largest internet population in Southeast Asia, which is set to grow at a blistering pace,” says Ematic founder and CEO Paul Tenney in a statement. “There has been a huge pull for us from regional and local online retailers to be in Indonesia to help these retailers capitalize on this opportunity.”

    Paul explains that the resources provided by MDI Ventures in terms of investment and market insight will help Ematic to quickly expand in the country. Telkom’s 150 million customer base and network is also an attractive prospect for the startup.

    Even in the event that market enthusiasm isn’t completely warranted, there’s enough of an incentive for ecommerce players to strike while the iron’s hot. Ematic, in turn, wants to be there to offer its services to those ecommerce players. It’s already signed up high-profile clients like fashion estore Berrybenka and lifestyle marketplace Bobobobo. Back in December, the company had more than 50 clients in Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia.

    “Email marketing is the most important channel for digital marketers in Indonesia; we see it contributing between 25 to 35 percent of total sales for the companies we work with,” Paul adds.

    “Our approach allows us to achieve desired long term results and improve all marketing metrics within a short period. But more importantly, our solutions are much more manageable for the small marketing teams that we often see in Southeast Asia.”

  • Indonesia to close down all red-light districts by 2019

    Indonesia to close down all red-light districts by 2019

    Indonesia plans to close down all red-light districts in the country by 2019, media reports said on Wednesday.The plan, under the supervision of the Indonesian Social Affairs Ministry, looks to shutting down a total of 168 such prostitution zones in the country, Efe news agency reported.

    While 68 red-light areas have already been closed down, the remaining will be closed down in the next three years, said Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawasan.The ministry offers programmes for the social rehabilitation of women trapped in the sex trade.According to Unicef, 30 percent of sex workers in the country are minors.

    Prostitution is widespread in the Indonesian archipelago, flourishing mainly in big cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung and tourist destinations like Bali and Riau, the last being a hub for visitors principally from Singapore.Theoretically, prostitution is legal in the country as it is not classified under any law in Indonesia — however, the police tends to penalise it by including it among offences related to indecency or outrage to public morality.

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  • Indonesia to Block Line, WhatsApp, Other Unlicensed OTT Apps

    Indonesia to Block Line, WhatsApp, Other Unlicensed OTT Apps

    The Indonesian government plans to block over-the-top (OTT) applications that fail to meet the state regulation on permanent business entities.

    Rudiantara, Minister of Communication and Informatics, said his department is finalizing a bill related to the obligations of permanent business entities for OTT players operating in Indonesia. The bill is expected to be released in March 2016.

    The minister said the rule will stipulate a transition period for these OTT developers to meet the requirements.

    “The punishment is easy technically, they will be blocked by the cellular carrier,” he said on Wednesday, February 24.

    Rudiantara also said that he does not want these OTT developers to only open branches in Indonesia. Instead he wants them to become an incorporated business entity in the country,

    The OTT players, he said, can also opt to establish a joint venture or form a partnership with local cellular carriers.

    According to Rudiantara, this is the government’s way of protecting Indonesian consumers. The regulation, he said, can also pool in tax potentials that Indonesia are losing since the OTTs are not a legal entity working in Indonesia.

    As an example, he said that in 2015 the value of digital ad revenues from Indonesia stood at US$430 million. “If these ad revenues are imposed a 10-percent income tax, the state could get US$43 million,” he said.

    Some time ago, the Indonesian Telematics Society (Mastel) urged the government to block foreign OTTs that have been operating for quite a long time in Indonesia without contributing anything to the state; only making Indonesia a market to rake in profits.

    Mastel Institute chairman Nonot Harsono projects the growth of foreign OTTs in Indonesia will be more significant, as indicated by the rapid growth of the country’s internet and smartphone users.

    “Most of these OTT players are running their business in Indonesia without licenses; like LINE, Whatsapp, Kakao Talk, Netflix, and plenty of others. They should have filed for a license first if they wish to sell here,” he said.

    Of Indonesia’s 255.5 million citizens, 72.2 million are active internet users. Meanwhile, the number of smartphone users in the country has exceeded the population with 308 million.

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  • Panasonic Broadcasts Total Eclipse Live Using Solar Energy

    Panasonic Broadcasts Total Eclipse Live Using Solar Energy

    As Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi plunge into darkness during a rare total solar eclipse on the morning of March 9, 2016, Panasonic will deliver a live broadcast of the approximately 4-minute-long phenomenon from Ternate, an island in eastern Indonesia, using its Power Supply Container, a stand-alone photovoltaic power package.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahltwzTATjA

    To enable live filming and broadcast from the island, the Power Supply Container will be transported from Jakarta to Dodoku Ali of Ternate. 12 Panasonic HIT® solar modules with high conversion efficiency will generate approximately 3kW of electricity by tapping renewable energy from the top of the container, and store the power in 24 built-in lead-acid storage batteries. The stored energy will be supplied to a Panasonic LUMIX GH4 camera attached to a telescope to capture the spectacular moment. Mobile computers, production and editing equipment, internet connection and other supporting technology will also be powered by solar energy.

    The live broadcast of the solar eclipse will begin at 05:00 AM, March 9 in Ternate (08:00 PM, March 8 UTC) and can be viewed on platforms including Ustream, YouTube Live and Periscope (refer to Annex).

    This will be the third time Panasonic is broadcasting a solar eclipse live. Unlike previous occasions where time and effort had to be spent setting up HIT® solar modules on the ground, the process is significantly more convenient this time round due to the portability of the Power Supply Container and its capability to be assembled quickly and easily with minimal construction work.

    Prior to this live broadcast project in Ternate, Panasonic has developed and introduced the Power Supply Container to other parts of Indonesia. The first container was installed in July 2014 at the National Elementary School Karimunjawa 01 located on a remote island of Indonesia to improve the educational environment for students and teachers. Following its success, a second container was introduced in July 2015 at another elementary school in the mountainous region of West Java Province to enhance both study and water supply conditions.

    Panasonic strives to extend this technology to other areas without electricity to provide stable power supply and mitigate social challenges towards a better life and a better world.

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  • Facebook Co-Founder Saverin Among Investors in Indonesia’s Orami

    Facebook Co-Founder Saverin Among Investors in Indonesia’s Orami

    Facebook Inc. co-founder Eduardo Saverin, who’s been stepping up his investments in Southeast Asian technology startups, joined a $15 million round of financing for Indonesian e-commerce startup Orami.

    Other investors included the technology-focused investment arm of Indonesia’s Sinar Mas Group, Shanghai-based Gobi Partners Inc., Velos Partners and Ardent Capital LLC, according to a statement Wednesday. Orami is the new brand for the female-focused business formed through the merger of Moxy and Bilna and is led by Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Fichet. It plans to expand to other countries in the region.

    “The Orami team is on top of its game with a laser focus on the intersection of social commerce, content and women,” Saverin said in the statement. “Between Thailand and Indonesia, where more than five million babies are born a year, women not only serve as the gate to the home but are the key drivers of rapidly growing economy and future generation.”

    Saverin’s recent investments include online news site Tech in Asia, car rental service Silvercar, and Hopscotch, a shopping site for Indian moms.

    Orami now has almost 500 employees in Indonesia and Thailand. Some 75 percent of its customers are women and the startup gets about three million visits a month.

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  • Malaysia to Invest in Indonesian Startup Companies

    Malaysia to Invest in Indonesian Startup Companies

    Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad (MAVCAP) held a meeting with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to talk about e-commerce.  With the revision of negative investment list, it is expected to facilitate the state’s investment towards digital business in Indonesia.

    Communications and Informatics Minister Rudiantara appreciates this intention.  However, he asked that Malaysia not only invests in funding, but also request that the cooperation can simultaneously share knowledge.  “So its not just about money, but also on the know how,” he said in Jakarta on Tuesday, Feb 23.

    Rudiantara said that Malaysia’s intention to invest in the e-commerce sector is normal.  Especially when Indonesia is the largest digital economy in ASEAN.  In order to quickly achieve digital economy by 2020, Indonesia needs knowledge and experts.

    Deputy of Investment Implementation Control of the Indonesian Coordinating Investment Board (BKPM) Azhar Lubis says to build a startup company, this type of financing is actually required.  This is supported by the revision of DNI.

    The financing is a solution if a company wants to develop but has difficulties getting a bank loan, especially when bank loan requires collateral.  “Hopefully there will be many startup companies that can be aided,” said Azhar.

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  • Lotte, Salim to set up e-commerce platform solution JV in Indonesia

    Lotte, Salim to set up e-commerce platform solution JV in Indonesia

    South Korea’s retail conglomerate Lotte Group said Sunday that it plans to form a joint e-commerce venture with Indonesia’s biggest conglomerate Salim Group to grab a pie of the rapidly growing e-commerce market in Indonesia.

    According to Lotte Group, its Chairman Shin Dong-bin on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreement with Salim Group Chairman Anthony Salim to establish an e-commerce platform solution joint venture in the first half of this year. They aim to officially launch the company early next year.

    The South Korean retail mogul expects the Indonesian online retail market to grow to 25 trillion won ($20.27 billion) in value by 2020 after the market grew to 3.2 trillion won in 2014. The two companies plan to set up a comprehensive e-commerce platform solution and logistics service that will allow Lotte’s 41 offline retail stores and one department store operating in the Southeast Asian country as well as Salim’s 11,000 offline convenient stores, Indomaret, to sell and deliver products to Indonesian consumers. They will also introduce some popular products of Lotte Mart and Lotte Department Store in Korea through the new platform.

    In Indonesia, Lotte is operating one department store, 41 retail stores (including two grocery stores), 31 Lotteria fast-food franchises, two Angel-in-us cafés and two Lotte duty-free shops (one in airport and the other in downtown). In 2010, the retail group acquired Titan Chemicals, one of the leading petrochemical company in Southeast Asia, to gain a foothold in the petrochemical industry in the region.

    Salim Group, the biggest Indonesian conglomerate, operates a diverse array of business ranging from food, infrastructure, logistics, telecommunications, media and automobile, to real estate.

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  • Hero Supermarket Indonesian retailer unloads convenience stores

    Hero Supermarket Indonesian retailer unloads convenience stores

    Indonesian retailer Hero Supermarket on Wednesday said it will sell its poorly performing Starmart convenience store business to local food conglomerate Wings Group.

    Hero is selling about 80 Starmart outlets to Fajar Mitra Indah, a unit of Wings Group and the franchisee of Japan’s FamilyMart convenience stores in the country. The move follows the closure of 50 Starmart stores in 2015. In a press release, Hero said it will pull out entirely from the convenience store business. The sale will have no material impact on the company’s finances, it added. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

    A Startmart outlet in Jakarta

    Fajar Mitra plans to convert 50 of the Starmart stores to FamilyMarts by the end of the year, which will help raise the number of FamilyMart stores to around 80, according to a person familiar with the matter.

    Starmart has been struggling to compete against the top two local brands, Alfamart and Indomaret, which run about 10,000 outlets each and are expanding aggressively. Hero’s move comes after Supra Boga Lestari, a high-end supermarket operator, recently announced the sale of its Ministop convenience store business.

    Hero’s core supermarket business, which targets middle-class shoppers, has also faced intense competition from hypermarkets, which purchase large amounts of merchandise and sell at low prices. Combined with slowing consumer spending and rising labor costs, the company’s earnings have eroded quickly. Hero’s net profit in 2014 plunged more than 90% from the previous year, and it slipped into a loss for the nine months ended September 2015.

    In addition to Starmart, Hero has also closed some of its Guardian drugstores. Searching for new sources of revenue, the company became the franchisee of Swedish furniture retailer Ikea, opening its first store in Indonesia in 2014. But its prospects have been clouded by a recently published Supreme Court ruling that allowed a local furniture company to use the Ikea trademark.

    Hero is owned by the retail arm of Hong Kong-based conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings. Jardine, which also controls Indonesia’s largest automaker, Astra International, has been increasing its investment in other countries in the region, such as Thailand and Vietnam.

  • BrandOutlet pushes Indonesian style

    BrandOutlet pushes Indonesian style

    Local brands are a focus of a new eCommerce fashion venture in Indonesia.

    Part of the PT Media Nusantara Citra Group (MNC), BrandOutlet features fashion and beauty collections for women, men and children, reports the Jakarta Post.

    Not to be confused with the UK’s Brand Outlet, the new site devotes 6 per cent of its offering to quality local brands such as Damn! I Love Indonesia, Ingrid Husodo and Nikicio. Its international labels include Michelle Worth, Oscar de la Renta and Ted Baker.
    “Most of the branded products are available only at offline shops and boutiques, making them inaccessible to people living outside big cities such as Jakarta and Surabaya,” says BrandOutlet COO Andry Huzain. “We aim to provide anyone anywhere with easy access to buy them affordably.”

    Andry says mobile applications for iOS and Android users will be available in April.
    The company also publishes an eMagazine offering features tips, tricks and updates on fashion trends.
    BrandOutlet’s COO, Valencia Tanoesudibjo, is the daughter of MNC Group CEO and founder Hary Tanoesudibjo.

    Meanwhile, a fashion eCommerce app has been launched in Jakarta that enables users to buy products for a range of online shops without having to open each individual site.

    Lyke showcases up to 100,000 products on such platforms as Berrybenka, Bobobobo and Local Brand, as well as smaller businesses that market through blogs or social-media platforms, reportsE27.

    Users can also “follow” their favourite shops and receive recommendations based on their preferences.
    “Lyke is the perfect partner for local fashion brands that want to reach out out their customers via mobile,” says CEO Bastian Purrer, who quit his MBA studies at Harvard Business School to launch the business. Future plans include features that enable social interaction between users, such as sharing the fashion products or celebrity styles they like.
    Online shopping via mobile site or app is starting to gain traction in Indonesia, with companies such as Zalora claiming that most of their sales during the national online shopping day Harbolnashappened on mobile sites and apps.

  • Salim Group backed Indonesian bread maker forays into Philippines

    Salim Group backed Indonesian bread maker forays into Philippines

    Indonesia’s top bread producer Nippon Indosari Corpindo on Monday said it will enter the Philippines bakery market by setting up a joint venture factory with local food company Monde Nissin Corporation.

    A girl looks at breads shaped like roasted pigs, locally known as “Lechon”, sold for $3 at a bakery in Manila December 31, 2012. Lechon is a popular delicacy served during New Year revelries in Philippines. © Reuters

    A girl looks at breads shaped like roasted pigs, locally known as “Lechon”, sold for $3 at a bakery in Manila December 31, 2012. Lechon is a popular delicacy served during New Year revelries in Philippines. © Reuters

    Nippon Indosari will own 55% of the joint venture, Sarimonde Foods Corporation, which will have a total paid up capital of $12.5 million. It plans to start producing white and sweet bread in 2017.

    The Philippines marks Nippon Indosari’s foray into overseas markets. Established in 1995, the company produces the locally well-known Sari Roti branded sweet bread sold in local retail stores and commands a 20%-plus market share. The company logged 1.56 trillion rupiah ($109 million) in revenue for the nine months ended September, a 15% increase from the previous year, while net profit rose 46% to 192 billion rupiah.

    But competition at home is intensifying. A joint venture between Japan’s Yamazaki Baking and Mitsubishi Corp. began producing bread locally in 2014 under a partnership with Sumber Alfaria Trijaya, which runs a network of 12,000 convenience stores and mini supermarkets. Nippon Indosari wants to establish a new source of revenue in the Philippines, a populous and growing consumer market.

    “The Philippines is a very attractive market to serve as the company’s overseas expansion area because it has a very large population,” Nippon Indosari said in a news release. “The Philippines has a demographic profile that is no different from Indonesia, where 60% of the population is aged under 30 years, has a growing middle economic class, and has the trend for healthy and practical food that fits their busy lifestyle.”

    The Philippines is also a core market for Salim Group, which owns 31.5% of Nippon Indosari’s shares through its Indonesia-listed investment vehicle Indoritel Makmur Internasional. The group, controlled by Chinese-Indonesian billionaire Anthoni Salim, has interests in Philippine Long Distance Telephone, the country’s largest telecommunication company, and infrastructure developer Metro Pacific Investments. But its presence in the food industry was small.

    Japan’s Sojitz Corp. and Pasco Shikishima Corp. also have minority stakes in Nippon Indosari.

    Monde Nissin is a major snack maker in the Philippines. The privately held company produces packed instant noodles, biscuits, cookies and yoghurt drink. In most product segments, the company directly competes with Universal Robina, a leading producer of branded consumer foods.

    The 35-year-old company founded by entrepreneur Betty Ang has been expanding aggressively in the last few years by teaming up with other brands and acquiring companies. With vast distribution network and market presence, cereal maker Kellogs partnered with the company last month as its distributor. In October 2015, Monde Nissin signed a joint venture agreement with Thailand’s Malee Beverage Public Co. Ltd., a leading juice and canned fruit manufacturer. In the same year, it acquired British meat substitute maker Quorn and Australian food producers Menora and Black Swan.

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  • Indonesia to expand seafood market to England

    Indonesia to expand seafood market to England

    Indonesian government, through the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Resources, will work to expand the seafood market to England and North Ireland as part of an MoU for maritime cooperation signed by the two countries in July 2015.

    “The UK is the biggest seafood market for Indonesia, and the European Union accounts for 60 percent of our total seafood market,” Deputy Minister for Maritime Sovereignty Arif Havas Oegroseno said on the sidelines of the “Bilateral Maritime Workshop” here on Monday.

    With a large market, Great Britain is considered as setting the standards in the seafood market in the world.
    “Through our collaboration with the British, we could manage our shrimps, fishes, or other seafood species to meet the world standards as well as increase the production,” Havas stated.

    In addition, he said, cooperation on marine fisheries between the two countries was also considered as an opportunity to introduce Indonesian seafood products which were free of any illegal practices, including slavery.
    Indonesia and the UK have initiated maritime cooperation through the Bilateral Maritime Forum, a meeting of which would be held in London next April.

    The UK was one of the maritime countries, known for its experience and high end technology in the field.
    Therefore, the workshop held in Jakarta was expected to focus on some maritime issues which would be later discussed in the forum in London.

    Besides expanding the seafood market, the Indonesia-UK cooperation would also involve education, maritime investment in the shipbuilding field and exchange of information on international maritime law.

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  • BKPM Launches Easy Investing Service

    BKPM Launches Easy Investing Service

    The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has launched two investment services for the convenience of investors. The first service is called KLIK, which is short for Kemudahan Investasi Langsung Konstruksi, a.k.a. simplicity in direct investment for the construction sector. The second is a three-hour service for permit upgrade in the infrastructure sector.

    In the launching ceremony at the Mercure Hotel in Jakarta, Monday, February 22, BKPM chief Franky Sibarani said the KLIK facility is a convenience provided by the government to companies willing to invest in specific areas. There are 14 industrial areas in six provinces and nine regencies/cities established to implement this service. The areas cover 10,022 hectares of effective land from a total land size of 17,154 hectares.

    With KLIK, Franky said, investors can immediately build their projects after obtaining the principle license.

    The launching ceremony was also attended also by officials from relevant ministries including the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Transportation Ministry, and the Ministry of Communication and Information. Also present were officials from the Attorney General, the Indonesian National Police, and representatives from provinces associated with the KLIK program: North Sumatra , Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, and South Sulawesi.

    In a press conference held at the same day, Franky said the investment facilities are given as a way to enhance Indonesia’s competitiveness and help meet the government’s investment target of Rp 594.8 trillion in 2016.

  • Garuda Indonesia Attains “5-Star Airline” Award for second year running

    Garuda Indonesia Attains “5-Star Airline” Award for second year running

    National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has been awarded the ultimate “5-Star Airline” rating from Skytrax for a second year running. This year’s award was presented to the President & CEO of Garuda Indonesia, M. Arif Wibowo, by Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, at the Changi Exhibition Center during Singapore Airshow 2016.

    Indonesian Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Soemarno, Indonesian Ambassador for Singapore I Gusti Ngurah Swajayam, and President Commissioner of Garuda Indonesia Jusman Syafii Djamal were present during the ceremony. Minister Rini Soemarno expressed her highest regards “for all Garuda management and staff, their hard work, and their success in maintaining the quality and standards that exemplify a “5-Star Airline”.”
    “We believe that recognition of Garuda Indonesia as a “5-Star Airline” for consecutive years will not only help to strengthen Garuda Indonesia as a global brand, but also support our efforts at “Nation Branding”, as laid out in the Indonesian government’s strategic program,” Rini added.

    As the national flag carrier, Rini said, Garuda Indonesia was succesfully representing the Republik of Indonesia with this achievement. “But success also brings a larger challenge for Garuda Indonesia, to continuously improve the quality of their service, and deliver this service to all customers on the ground and in the air.”

    The Minister finished by suggesting that the global achievement would be followed by better financial results, and extended her appreciation for Garuda Indonesia’s turnaround financial results which ended in net profit for 2015.
    M. Arif Wibowo, President & CEO, Garuda Indonesia, expressed that “The 5-Star rating reflects the hard work and deep commitment from both management and staff at Garuda who continuously deliver their best efforts to maintain and improve the company’s performance in all business aspects.

    “This achievement will be an important milestone for Garuda Indonesia in 2016, as well as being a challenge for everybody in Garuda Indonesia Group to constantly improve performance and deliver service excellence to all customers,” Arif said.
    The “5-Star Airline” certification was awarded following the ongoing Skytrax Audit, with comprehensive points covering all service aspects; pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight, including ground handling services, lounge, seat and cabin comfort, inflight meals and inflight entertainment.

    Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said that the “5-Star Airline” rating awarded to Garuda Indonesia for two years consecutively was a result keeping consistently high service standards.
    “In the globally competitive airline industry, Garuda Indonesia proved that they can survive and even perform to the highest values and service standards. The consistency of product and service quality is the most important part in a 5-Star certification audit, and we proudly announce that Garuda’s aircraft are offering the variety of classes that is a requirement of a 5-Star Airline,” Edward added.

    Spurred on by a strong commitment from the airline’s management and staff to deliver best service, Garuda Indonesia’s performance continues to earn global recognition. In 2013, Skytrax awarded Garuda Indonesia for “The World’s Best Economy Class”. This continued in 2014, with recognition as “The World’s Best Cabin Staff”, a “5-Star Airline”, and 7th rank in “The World’s Top 10 Airlines”.

    At the World Airline Awards, Paris Airshow 2015, Garuda Indonesia was once again named “The World’s Best Cabin Staff”, based on a global customer satisfaction survey conducted by Skytrax of more than 18 million passengers. The survey, which covers 245 international airlines, is held every year and measures standards across 41 key performance indicators of airline products and services.

    As part of a fleet revitalization program throughout 2016, the Garuda Indonesia Group will receive 16 new aircraft in total; 1 Boeing 777-300ER, 4 Airbus A330-300, 4 ATR72-600, and also 8 Airbus A320 to be operated by Citilink. By the end of 2016, Garuda Indonesia Group will operate a total of 188 aircraft; 144 aircraft for Garuda Indonesia and 44 aircraft for Citilink.
    To continue the positive growth achieved during its “Quick Wins” program in 2015, Garuda Indonesia will enter a “Sky Beyond” program for 2016 aiming at rapid company expansion, focusing on three ‘core strategies’ – company group synergy, effectiveness and efficiency, and service enhancement – to accelerate company achievement and performance.

    As part of its company synergy, the Garuda Indonesia Group joined Singapore Airshow, Asia’s largest aerospace and defence event. This was Garuda Indonesia’s first participation as a Group, as only a subsidiary, the Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia, had participated in the past.

    The presence of Garuda Indonesia Group at the Singapore Airshow follows Group strategy to develop brand image, to elaborate potential business, to enhance business relations with stakeholders, and to boost up the awareness to Garuda Indonesia Group’s strategic role as Indonesia’s trade envoy in international level.
    At Singapore Airshow 2016, the Garuda Indonesia Group, through Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia, looks to several short- and long-term business contracts, with a value of nearly USD 100 milion.

    Garuda Indonesia currently has 6 subsidiaries with diverse business sectors; Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia, specialized in integrated aircraft maintenance, including engine and aircraft components repair service; Citilink, a low cost carrier (LCC) airline projected for budget traveller; Aerowisata, specialized in hospitality, transportation, catering and travel agent service; Gapura, specialized in ground handling service, supoorted by cargo and warehousing service; Asyst, specialized in IT and consultation service; and Abacus – which now has transformed to Sabre Travel Network Indonesia – specialized in technology provider service for global travel and tourism.

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  • Game changer for Maybank Islamic

    Game changer for Maybank Islamic

    Malaysia’s biggest Islamic lender, Maybank Islamic Bhd, says the investment account (IA) business is set to be a game changer for the group in its effort to boost earnings growth amid the subdued banking landscape.

    The Islamic lender, which has total assets worth close to RM147bil, will focus on its new mudarabah (profit-sharing) investment fund launched in July last year in view of the Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA) 2013.

    Describing the IA business as “the evolution of the next phase of growth”, Maybank Islamic chief executive officer Datuk Muzaffar Hisham told StarBiz that demand for the IA business has shot up significantly, as the value of its mudarabah fund rose to RM18bil in the last six months of 2015.

    “Judging from this figure, we are confident that the fund will continue to grow, underpinned by strong demand from the Muslim and non-Muslim population as well as the benefits it offers.

    “We have a customer base of about 4.5 million, of which 50% comprises non-Muslims,” explained Muzaffar.

    The value proposition offered by the mudarabah IA is that MayBank Islamic could provide steady returns of between 4% and 5% per year to its customers.

    “We are confident that this fund will be a growth driver for us, moving forward,” he added.

    He pointed out that “the bank has put in place an effective and robust risk management framework for all of its products, including the new IA, which aims to provide capital preservation, financial security and steady returns through low risk and low to medium-risk investments.”

    Under the IFSA 2013, all banks are required to distinguish IA and Islamic deposit. This means that products with mudarabah (profit sharing) or wakalah (agency) features are considered IAs and are not-principal guaranteed and hence not protected by the Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corp.

    The classification aims to provide greater legal clarity on the types of syariah financial contracts. Customers will have a choice and will be able to differentiate between products that are principal guaranteed and those which are not that provide potentially higher risk returns like mudarabah.

    Besides garnering a pole position in terms of asset size, Maybank Islamic’s market share in the country is also the biggest in terms of financing at 33.6% and deposit at 27.9%.

    At group level, Maybank Islamic’s contribution to the Maybank Group is also significant, accounting for close to 30% in revenue and 48.7% in total loans and financing.

    All these figures were for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (Q3’15).

    Muzaffar said the bank is also looking to grow its Islamic banking business in the region, adding that the business in Singapore and Indonesia each accounted for about 5% of Maybank Islamic’s revenue.

    Although Indonesia has the highest Muslim population in the world, he noted that syariah banking was relatively still at its infancy stage unlike commercial banking.

    “The Islamic banking business in Indonesia accounts for close to 9% of the total banking business there.

    “In Malaysia, it is 25%. Hence, there is plenty of room for growth and we intend to grow and take advantage of this situation,” he added.

    According to Muzaffar, the challenge for the bank in venturing overseas will be the regulatory framework, in which Maybank Islamic has to operate in, as well as the uncertainties in the Basel III rules pertaining to its implementation in Islamic finance.

    On the corporate investment business, he said it would be dependent on the country’s economic growth, adding that the bank would continue to look at opportunities in the debt and initial public offering markets.

    As for its fourth-quarter results, he said Maybank Islamic hopes to maintain its performance in the preceding quarter, although much will be dictated by the external economic environment and market conditions.

    For Q3’15, the bank recorded a 13.2% year-on-year growth in pre-tax profit to RM1.23bil from RM1.09bil. The growth in earnings was on the back of strong financing growth, which grew by 23% to RM127bil.

    Total income for the period stood at RM2.98bil as opposed to RM2.46bil. Total capital ratio and return on equity for the period stood at 15.18% and 16.14%, respectively.

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