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View all search resultsFewer billionaires in RI due to competition, market slump
Some of Indonesiaâs ultra-rich are seeing a drop in net worth because of the falling rupiah and commodity prices as well as growing business competition, hitting tycoons such as Blue Bird Groupâs Purnomo Prawiro and MNC Groupâs Hary Tanoesoedibjo
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Some of Indonesia's ultra-rich are seeing a drop in net worth because of the falling rupiah and commodity prices as well as growing business competition, hitting tycoons such as Blue Bird Group's Purnomo Prawiro and MNC Group's Hary Tanoesoedibjo.
Twenty Indonesians are on Forbes' 2016 world billionaires list announced Wednesday, compared with 22 last year, with Purnomo, Hary, coal magnates Edwin Soeryadjaya and Benny Subianto and Wings Group's Harjo Sutanto having fallen off the list.
However, there are new Indonesian billionaires on this year's list, namely media and tech mogul Eddy Kusnadi Sariaatmadja who owns SCTV, Indosiar television network and online marketplace Bukalapak.com; Soegiarto Adikoesoemo of AKR Corporindo; and Central Kalimantan timber boss Abdul Rasyid.
Purnomo's wealth declined as his Blue Bird transportation business lost market share to mobile-based taxi apps like Uber and Grab, said NH Korindo Securities head of research Reza Priyambada. 'People now prefer to use mobile apps. It is easier to reach Grab or Uber,' he added.
Conventional transportation like taxis are now facing fierce competition from new enterprises. Justin Doebele, chief editor advisor of Forbes Indonesia, shares this view. 'Blue Bird is not attracting investors, since there are a lot of competitors, such as Uber, Grab and Go-Jek,' he said.
The intense domestic competition goes hand in hand with the weakening rupiah and the decline in commodities prices, which have led to the decline in the wealth of Indonesia's ultra-rich.
Although the recently published list still places the Hartono brothers ' Djarum and BCA owners ' as the first and second richest people in Indonesia (141 and 146 in the world) with a joint wealth of US$16 billion, they too have seen declining wealth. In 2015, their joint wealth was $17.7 billion.
Sri Prakash Lohia, owner of Indorama ' a petrochemical and textile company ' who ranked third richest in Indonesia last year, has also forfeited $500 million, his wealth having declined to $4.2 billion this year.
'When the commodity prices are declining, [businesses] still have to spend on operational needs. Stopping operations to save expenses would only further reduce income,' Reza said on the affect of commodities prices on wealth.
Reza advised business practitioners to eye other business opportunities instead of depending on one venture only. He cited the Hartono brothers as an example.
'The Hartono brothers have many complementary business lines. In addition to Djarum, they also own Bank Central Asia [BCA],' he said.
On the global rich list, Bill Gates remains the world's richest person with a net worth of $75 billion, although his wealth also declined, by $4.2 billion since last year. Zara's Amancio Ortega came second with a net worth of $67 billion and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, the world's most successful investor, came third with a net worth of $60.8 billion. (adt)
