The subsidiary, PT Pelabuhan Investama Indonesia (PII), planned to acquire 30 percent ownership in five undisclosed private companies next year, said its chief investment officer Jeffry Haryadi in Jakarta recently.

“These are big companies, which would cost at least Rp 100 billion [US$6.86 million] to acquire,” he said, adding that the companies provided harbor-related services such as logistics and warehousing.

PII, which is 99 percent owned by Pelindo II, will then leverage its ownership rights to push the private companies to comply with its parent company’s reformation policies for executing the grand plan.

The reformation, which Jeffry described as a “bestowing of corporate culture”, aims to standardize business and operational procedures within all companies operating in Pelindo II-controlled harbors, which line most of western Indonesia.

A case in point, Pelindo II secured last month a loan of Rp 1.3 trillion to operate four of its major harbors using e-payment systems and fully-integrated central control rooms, among other additions.

“The challenge is convincing private companies that our intention is not to take a slice of their pie but to grow their pies together through the grand plan,” said Jeffry.

He added that PII had already acquired two private companies and was in the process of acquiring two more before the end of the year.

Pelindo II’s grand plan, officially launched last year, seeks to improve the competitiveness of Indonesia’s harbors against those of other Southeast Asian countries, which is critical to making Indonesia the maritime superpower envisioned by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

The company has even rebranded itself with an English name, the Indonesia Port Corporation, to attract global interest.

Pelindo II is aiming to push for cargo consolidation in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, especially for goods sourced from ports across the country.

Tanjung Priok Port is set to support the government’s vision to take over transshipment — with an estimated traffic volume of 3 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually — that has been dominated by Singapore.

The company plans to take in at least 800,000 TEUs in transshipment at its ports this year, especially in Tanjung Priok.

To boost the volume of container and non-container cargo at its ports, the company is also planning to make use of its branches, such as in Bengkulu, to specialize in dry and liquid bulk.

In order to execute the acquisitions, PII chief operating officer Sophia Wattimena said her company aimed to secure over Rp 1 trillion next year from Pelindo II. The funds would be five times higher than the Rp 200 billion they received this year.

She noted that the bulk of PII’s funding for this year came from Rp 1.2 trillion in shareholder loans and, therefore, the company was open next year to external sources of funding — including by playing the stock market.

“It’s hoped that, eventually, these acquisitions will translate to ships being able to enter and leave our ports at a faster rate and, therefore, attract more business,” she said.

Pelindo II is the largest of four similarly named state port operators: Pelindo I, II, III and IV. The company, this year, booked a first half net profit of Rp 1.21 trillion, an 8.2 percent increase from the Rp 4.93 trillion in the same period last year.

“In the years to come, we will focus on implementing good governance, increasing revenue and improving cost-effectiveness,” said Pelindo II president director Elvyn Masassya in a press statement. (nor)

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