Heavyweight Champion

Despite sharing the market with two rivals, Hexindo continues to expand and grow, especially in the niche of large heavy equipment.

By Luis Lady Indez Dominique and Pudji Lestari

The heavy equipment market in Indonesia has long been a three-way battle between a trio of heavyweight companies—the market leader PT United Tractor, owned by Astra International, number two PT Trakindo Utama, owned by billionaire Achmad Hamami, and number three PT Hexindo Adiperkasa, owned by Japan’s Hitachi.

Taking The High Road

The rise of Astra International shows that being a good corporate citizen also makes excellent business sense.

“There is no superman at Astra. We value super teams more than supermen,” says Prijono Sugiarto, president director of PT Astra International. Photos by Ahmad Zamroni

When Prijono Sugiarto, president director of PT Astra International, hands out his card, on the back, in black small letters, it reads “printed on recycled paper.” One of the many differences, some small and some large, that set Astra apart—be it recycled paper for business cards or building dozens of schools in rural communities. As the largest private company in the country by several measures—largest market capitalization, largest profits, largest revenues outside the state firms—Astra is living proof that being a good company doesn’t mean one can’t also be profitable.

The Light Fantastic

The lighting design of Paul Gunawan’s Litac Consultant is brightening up Indonesia’s urban landscape.

Jakarta’s central business district has some iconic buildings such as City Tower, the Energy building, FX mall and Senayan City. At night, these buildings are equally dramatic, with their exteriors lit up in a swirl of colors and patterned lights. The interiors are equally exceptional. The lighting of all these buildings is the work of one firm, Litac Consultant. The firm, whose formal name is PT Litac Konsultan, is run and owned by Paul Gunawan and his partner.

Selective Stock Picking

Plenty of risks remain for equity markets this year, Syailendra Capital sees some selected good buys amidst the volatility.

Last year was a challenging time for stock investors as the European crisis shook the global economy. Most markets were flat or down—with Indonesia one of the few markets showing gains, with the Jakarta Composite Index up 3%. The only other two major markets in the world with gains were the U.S.’s Dow Jones index, up 6%, and the Philippines, up 4%.

With the crisis far from over, the threat is still lingering this year for continued volatility and mixed results in equity markets. So where and how should investors put their money in the local stock market? Lanang Trihardian, Syailendra Capital senior investment analyst, has some ideas for 2012.

The Taste of Toraja

Indonesia, the world’s third largest coffee producer, is developing better coffee to meet global demand—and rising demand at home.

Indonesia is known for its coffee. Among the famous coffee produced here are toraja kalossi, mandheling and gayo. Last but not least is the noted civet coffee or kopi luwak, made famous by Jack Nicholson in the movie The Bucket List. It is the most expensive coffee in the world, sometimes hitting $160 per pound. “Good coffee tastes like fine wine. The better it is the more expensive,” says Pranoto Soenarto, chief operations officer of PT Excelso Multi Rasa, a unit of PT Kapal Api Global, the country’s largest coffee producer by volume.