The sustainability of Indonesia’s current economic growth will depend on the country increasing its capacity to educate its youth while simultaneously encouraging research and development initiatives – and PT
Astra International is fully committed to the pursuit of both goals. The 165 companies that make up Astra employ 176,436 people, and have provided financial support to 120,000 students and 10,000 teachers. “Through the six core business lines we operate within, Astra is present across the archipelago. It is therefore our duty to dedicate ourselves whole-heartedly to nation building,” expressed the President Director, Prijono Sugiarto.
As Indonesia’s most valuable publicly-traded company – reporting 2011 revenues of Rp 162.6 trillion (EUR 13.75 billion) and as a group boasting 14% share of the IDX’s around Rp 280 trillion market capitalisation – Astra understands the importance of innovative human capital. Mr Sugiarto lived in Germany for eight years, during which he time he earned two diplomas and worked as a trainee at Mercedes-Benz. “Astra is one of the best universities I have attended,” he said. “In my 22 years with the company I have learnt what works and what doesn’t; who succeeds and who fails.”
The calibre of those associated with Astra speaks for itself, with former board members including Minister for Tourism Mari Pangestu, Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Chatib Basri, and Sri Mulyani Indrawati – known for roles such as Managing Director of the World Bank Group, Indonesian Minister of Finance, and Head of BAPPENAS.
“Our dream is to establish Astra as the pride of the nation. Astra will personify Indonesia.”
Prijono Sugiarto, President Director of PT Astra International |
“I put our success down to three factors. We are blessed with good people who are young and professional. We have always established the right partnerships – the most obvious being with Toyota in the 4W segment, Honda in the 2W segment, and Komatsu in the field of heavy equipment. Finally, we have managed to diversify in the right directions,” Mr Sugiarto explains.
The Astra Group encourages substantial foreign investment, with Toyota and Daihatsu alone investing EUR 1.6 billion in Indonesia. Recently ranked first place in the category of ‘Indonesia’s Best Public Companies’ based on Stern Stewart & Co’s ‘Wealth Added Index’ (WAI), Astra places great emphasis on efficient management and maximising quality. The original co-founder, William Soeryadjaya, brought the infamous ‘Toyota Production System’ to Indonesia. Adapted over time, such processes have enabled the company to reach a stage where a Honda motorcycle rolls off the production line every three seconds, and the group will soon be producing 450,000 Daihatsu vehicles annually. The President Director is confident that in six years’ time, Astra will be capable of producing its own cars. “At that point we will truly be the pride of the nation; as Samsung is to South Korea and TATA to India,” he said.
Astra is currently engaged in the automotive, financial services, heavy equipment & mining, agribusiness, infrastructure & logistics, and information technology sectors. “We are intrigued by the potential for a German partner in the area of coal-upgrade technology,” said Mr Sugiarto.
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