INDONESIA’S 50 RICHEST • LVMH’S ARNAULT
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 • WWW.FORBES.COM
NEW
CHAPTER
“We can wake up
the kindness inside
everyone in the world.”
ALIBABA’S JACK MA SHIFTS
TO GIVING BACK
DISPLAY UNTIL END OF JANUARY
AUSTRALIA...............A $12.00 INDIA............................RS 450 KOREA......................W 10,500 PAKISTAN....................RS 900 TAIWAN......................NT $275
CHINA....................RMB 85.00 INDONESIA...........RP 90,000 MALAYSIA...............RM 26.00 PHILIPPINES..................P 300 THAILAND.....................B 300
HONG KONG...............HK $90 JAPAN.................¥1238 + TAX NEW ZEALAND.......NZ $13.00 SINGAPORE..............S $12.50 UNITED STATES........US $10.00
CONTENTS — DECEMBER 2019 VOLUME 15 NUMBER 10
PAGE 14
“The world won’t
change because
you donate
money, but it will
change if your
heart is changed.”
—Jack Ma, founder of the
Jack Ma Foundation
10 | TECH CONNECTOR // RICH KARLGAARD FEATURES
Follow the (smart) money.
44 | FOREVER YOUNG
12 | ECONOMICS MATTERS // YUWA HEDRICK-WONG
LVMH’s Bernard Arnault has created the world’s largest
Recession by stealth.
luxury empire and a $100 billion fortune.
Now he is ready to scale up.
HEROES OF PHILANTHROPY BY SUSAN ADAMS
14 | WAKING UP KINDNESS 54 | THE REAL LIFE ‘SUCCESSION’
With a new focus on philanthropy, Jack Ma builds Shari Redstone faced an uphill battle for her father’s company,
on a substantial base. and tells her side of the story for the first time.
BY JUSTIN DOEBELE BY DAWN CHMIELEWSKI
20 | CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE
This year’s list honors individuals tackling a diverse set of issues
across the Asia-Pacific—and includes Asia’s biggest-ever giver.
EDITED BY GRACE CHUNG
COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY RUSSEL WONG FOR FORBES ASIA
2 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
CONTENTS — DECEMBER 2019 VOLUME 15 NUMBER 10
INDONESIA’S 50 RICHEST
72 | GAINING GROUND
In a subdued year, 24 listees saw an uptick in their wealth.
BY NAAZNEEN KARMALI
ENTREPRENEURS
80 | BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR DUMMIES
Dean Stoecker’s software, Alteryx, can turn almost anyone into
a data scientist, and turned him into a billionaire.
BY NOAH KIRSCH
82 | FORCE OF NATURE
Will billionaire Phil Anschutz’s $8 billion wind farm
be his ultimate windfall?
BY CHRISTOPHER HELMAN
S PAGE 94
“Policy change takes a very long time, UNDER 30 ALUMNI
the refugees cannot wait.”
94 | RECIPE FOR RESILIENCE
— Lim Yuet Kim, Lee Swee Lin and Suzanne Ling, PichaEats is helping refugees in Malaysia put food
on their tables by putting food on yours.
founders of PichaEats
BY PAMELA AMBLER
STRATEGIES
96 | WALL STREET’S BEST DEALMAKER
Orlando Bravo peaked as a competitive tennis player as a junior
in the 1980s, but he is the undisputed world champion in
a far more lucrative game: private equity.
BY ANTOINE GARA
FORBES LIFE
104 | THE COMPANY HE KEEPS
As president of family-owned Patek Philippe, Thierry Stern
makes clear that his watches are for sale—but not the company.
BY CHRISTIAN BARKER
106 | GHOST WRITER
MacKenzie Bezos is an author, an early Amazon employee,
a billionaire—and isn’t talking.
BY NOAH KIRSCH
96 | THOUGHTS
On value.
S PAGE 104
“In our family, we don’t just pass
the watches down the generations.
We pass the whole company.”
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, ALL TOTALS AND PRICES EXPRESSED
—Thierry Stern, President of Patek Philippe IN OUR STORIES ARE IN U.S. DOLLARS.
4 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
In a sea of change,
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6 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
SIDELINES
Full Circle
t’s rare to cross paths with one of the world’s
great entrepreneurial heroes not once but Jack Ma in October with
a copy of Forbes Global’s
twice, both at pivotal moments in that
July 24, 2000 issue.
Ientrepreneur’s journey. Such is the case with
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. Forbes Global, the
precursor magazine to Forbes Asia, had Ma on the
cover of its July 24, 2000 issue, with the cover line:
“Fighting for Eyeballs” (and written by this editor).
Thus Forbes Global become the first major business
magazine in the world to put Ma on its cover.
In the first paragraph of that article, Ma is
quoted as saying “Our vision for Alibaba is to
become one of the top ten websites, not just in
China but the world. Period!” It was a fateful pre-
diction. What’s remarkable is that Alibaba had
about 150 employees and had been in business for
less than two years, so Ma’s declaration was some-
thing of a stretch goal. Yet Ma’s entrepreneurial
energy convinced us that he might, as the article
said, “pull it off.”
Fast forward 19 years to October this year.
On the stage at a gala dinner, Ma accepted the
Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement award
from Steve Forbes, the chairman and editor-in-
chief of Forbes Media, during the Forbes Global
CEO Conference held in Singapore. “It is my
great honor to get this honor,” he said on stage. development for Ma, he has, in fact, been planning
What made this award all the more significant was for this moment for a decade, and already has
its timing: it came about a month after Ma had considerable experience in charitable giving and
announced that, after 20 years of building Alibaba, philanthropy. Just as Ma took Alibaba to great
he was taking on a new role to focus more on heights, it will come as no surprise if he achieves a
philanthropy, the environment and education. similar feat in his philanthropic endeavors.
Thus Forbes had the opportunity to meet Ma
as he started his entrepreneurial journey and then
again as he started his philanthropic journey.
After he accepted his award, he gave an exclusive
interview to discuss his vision for the next chapter
in his remarkable career. As detailed in this Justin Doebele
issue’s cover story, while many see this as a new Editor, Forbes Asia
8 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
TECH CONNECTOR RICH KARLGAARD
Follow the (Smart) Money
I Conference in Jakarta. One was Willson Cuaca, cofounder of
have a Silicon Valley friend,
East Ventures in Jakarta. The other was Nicholas Nash, co-
Andy Kessler, with a storied
history in technology invest-
founder of Asia Partners, based in Singapore.
The two have different strategies. Cuaca makes small seed
ment. He was a top-rated
semiconductor analyst for Mor- investments in consumer internet, software as a service and
gan Stanley in the 1980s. In the mobile startups. He catches them in the first wave in growth.
1990s he started Velocity Capi- Cuaca often follows his intuition, making his investments
tal Management, a hedge fund usually within 24 hours after meeting the founders, a style
that invested in public and pri- similar to that of Masayoshi Son. His method may seem un-
vate tech companies. Velocity was conventional, but he can do it, Cuaca says, because he was
named one of the top five hedge among Indonesia’s first successful internet entrepreneurs in
funds of 1998 by Barron’s magazine. the early 2000s. Cuaca knows his investing domain, and what
In 1999, Kessler began to unwind the fund. He shut it it takes to win in Indonesia’s burgeoning tech space. Last year,
down as tech stocks crashed. How did he know? “Saudi in- Cuaca says, East Ventures produced a 90% rate of return for
vestors,” he told me. After the Barron’s story, rich people and its limited partners.
institutions pestered Kessler to invest in Velocity. Pension Nash takes a different, more conventional approach to
funds. Corporate treasurers. Saudi princes. “Dumb money,” investing in Southeast Asia tech companies. No surprise
Kessler explained. Not dumb people, but as investors, they there. Nash was a physics major at Harvard and earned
were late to the tech party and knew little about tech, except an M.B.A. from Stanford. He cut his professional teeth at
that it was hot. McKinsey and learned investment at private equity firm
I was thinking of dumb money when I read a book called General Atlantic. Nash then became group president of
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. This is the best-reported Singapore’s leading internet company, Sea, which he helped
account of Theranos, the Silicon to take public on the New York
Valley biotech company started by Stock Exchange in an IPO that
Willson Cuaca
Elizabeth Holmes. The company’s valued the company at $14 billion.
product, called Edison, took blood Nash’s aim at Asia Partners is to
samples with a painless finger prick fill the gap he sees in midrange fi-
and analyzed them. The idea was nancing for fast-growing Southeast
to disrupt the old way of drawing Asian tech companies. While Cuaca
blood using painful needles in the and others provide seed capital, and
arm. But Edison’s blood samples corporate partners and tycoon-led
proved to be useless. family businesses provide funding
Nicholas Nash
As an investment, Theranos was later on, the midrange—C and D
a bust. The billion dollars invested in rounds of $20 million to $100 mil-
the company was lost, all of it. Who were the Theranos inves- lion—offers Asia Partners a unique opportunity.
tors? Apart from the early seed-round venture capitalists, most Cuaca and Nash also differ on how to scale fast-growth
represented dumb money. The investors included a global titan companies. Cuaca wants his Indonesian companies to seek
of publishing, a former U.S. secretary of state and a famous dominance in Indonesia before scaling outside the country.
heiress now in Donald Trump’s Cabinet. Not dumb people by Nash thinks Southeast Asia, with its some 600 million peo-
any stretch. Just dumb when it came to investing in biotech. ple, represents a large, common market akin to China, the
As Southeast Asia booms, it has also become a hotbed of U.S. and the European Union. He likes his companies to es-
investment. Many investors will earn extraordinary returns. tablish a Southeast Asia regional presence as quickly as pos-
But not the dumb money. A few weeks ago, Forbes Asia Edi- sible. Cuaca and Nash are exemplars of smart money. If you
tor Justin Doebele and I interviewed two successful tech in- plan on investing in Southeast Asian tech companies, these
vestors from Southeast Asia at Forbes Indonesia’s Digital two have set the bar of excellence. F
FORBES INDONESIA
Rich Karlgaard is editor at large at Forbes. As an author and global futurist, he has published several books, the latest of which
is Late Bloomers, a groundbreaking exploration of what it means to be a late bloomer in a culture obsessed with SAT scores and
early success. For his past columns and blogs visit our website at www.forbes.com/sites/richkarlgaard.
10 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
ECONOMICS MATTERS YUWA HEDRICK-WONG
Recession by Stealth
enerals are always The first is the West’s declining economic dominance relative
fighting the last war. to the rest of the world, and China in particular. The second
It’s not that different is the rise of populism in Western democracies, arguably the
Gwhen it comes to most serious challenge to the legitimacy of the liberal global
fighting economic downturns. order. And yet, even as the liberal global economic order
Since the global financial crisis a fades away, it’s unclear what a post-liberal global economic
decade ago, we have been scour- order will look like. So for now, the global economy is like
ing the horizon for any signs of a barfly at closing time: it has no clue where it’s going, but it
financial fragility, such as asset can’t stay here.
bubbles, that could plunge us into Developed world economies have meanwhile been se-
the next global recession. Despite mounting evidence of a riously weakened by prolonged zero interest rates, making
weakening economy, there are no asset bubbles comparable them vulnerable to unexpected shocks. Extraordinarily low
to that of the pre-2008 period. And we won’t find any, even interest rates distort the price of money, arguably the single
as we edge closer to the next recession. Since the last global most important price signal in a market economy. They
financial crisis, the global economy has been reshaped by poison the business environment, allowing poorly run busi-
different forces, and the coming recession will be caused by nesses to survive, jamming the gears of creative destruction
factors totally different from those of the last one. that drive any economic renewal. The survival of poorly run
First off, the global economy today is mired in uncertain- businesses also suck profits from more successful businesses,
ty arising from the trade war, an enfeebled Europe, Brexit sapping their ability to expand.
and rising geopolitical tensions. An even deeper source of Against this backdrop, any number of missteps could trig-
uncertainty is that the liberal global economic order, in place ger chain reactions that push developed world economies
since the 1950s, is dying. Two trends are converging to kill it. into recession. But we should also be prepared for a poten-
tially different kind of downturn. The accept-
ed definition of a recession is two consecu-
tive quarters of contraction in an economy.
The next recession, however, may not tech-
nically qualify as one. For example, we could
have one quarter of 0.3% growth, followed by
a contraction of 1.2% the next, then anemic
growth in the third and fourth quarter of, say,
0.1% each, and then another contraction of
0.5% and so on. While the technical definition
of a recession may never be met, the economy
would still be shrinking, left to wane inexora-
bly by impotent monetary and fiscal policies.
It would be a recession by stealth. F
IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva speaks
at the IMF and World Bank Group annual meetings ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
in Washington in October.
Yuwa Hedrick-Wong is Chief Economics Commentator for Forbes Asia. He is also a visiting scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public
Policy, National University of Singapore. Having worked as an economist across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa in the
past 25 years, he regularly writes columns about the global economy for Forbes Asia. Views expressed are his own and do not necessarily
reflect those of Forbes Asia. Email: [email protected].
12 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
WAKING UP
KINDNESS
With a new focus on philanthropy, Jack Ma builds on a substantial base.
BY JUSTIN DOEBELE
“ eople say I am one of the richest peo- mothers have gotten free training and funding to
ple in China, but I don’t think it is
become online entrepreneurs.
my money,” says Jack Ma. “It is money The company made a major commitment in
Pthat people have entrusted to you, and 2010, when Alibaba started to earmark 0.3% of its
you want to spend it in a better, smarter way.” Ma revenues to philanthropy. Two years later, it estab-
is explaining his new focus, philanthropy, in an lished the Alibaba Foundation to manage its phil-
exclusive interview with Forbes Asia in October. anthropic efforts. With $56 billion in revenues for
Having spent the last two decades building Ali- the 2019 fiscal year, 0.3% would be $168 million
baba Group, the Hangzhou, China-based inter- (Alibaba doesn’t disclose the actual figure).
net giant, Ma announced just over a year ago he Ma’s personal philanthropy started in 2014,
would step aside and give his executive chairman when he set up the Jack Ma Foundation. In April
title to Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang. that year, about six months before Alibaba’s IPO on
“I will devote more time and effort to educa- the New York Stock Exchange, Ma set aside options
tion, philanthropy and the environment,” he wrote representing 35 million shares to be put into his
in an open letter to shareholders (and the world). foundation. Today the Jack Ma Foundation has
It was a transition that Ma had planned for a de- 23 million Alibaba shares, worth about $4.6 billion.
cade. “When Alibaba had its ten-year anniversary, Since its founding, the Jack Ma Foundation by
on that day I started to think I should prepare for itself has already distributed or pledged at least
my retirement. That day, I decided on the day of $300 million, according to figures from Alibaba.
the 20-year anniversary, September 10, 2019, will This year, for example, the foundation pledged
be the day I leave,” he said to Steve Forbes during about $14 million to protect wetlands in Hangzhou.
the Forbes Global CEO Conference held in Singa- The majority of funding for its projects comes from
pore in October, just after receiving the Malcolm the foundation, however, it does accept small out-
S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement award. side donations to help in some projects.
Now, having just turned 55, Ma is entering a In addition, it also joined in July with the
new chapter in his career—but one in which he Alipay Foundation and Joe Tsai Foundation in
already has considerable experience. Alibaba, for a ten-year, $143 million pledge to support the
example, has long had CSR programs. In 2006, development of women’s soccer in China (the RUSSEL WONG FOR FORBES ASIA
Alibaba launched its first organized philanthropy Alipay Foundation is part of Alibaba’s affiliated
to help underprivileged mothers in China, dubbed Ant Financial and the Joe Tsai Foundation is
the model mother program. To date, some 20,000 funded by Alibaba Group cofounder Joe Tsai).
14 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 FORBES ASIA | 15
Ma singing at Alibaba’s 20th anniversary
celebration (top); Jack Ma (circled), with fellow
employees in Alibaba’s early days (left); Steve
Forbes handing the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime
Achievement award to Jack Ma at the Forbes
Global CEO Conference held in Singapore in
October (below).
DIGITAL TEACHER
Ma worked as an English teacher in his hometown of
Hangzhou before starting Alibaba in 1999, and becoming
one of China’s earliest internet entrepreneurs. Alibaba went
public on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2007, before
voluntarily delisting in 2012. Two years later Alibaba went
public again on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the
world’s largest IPO by amount, raising $25 billion. The shares
have now more than doubled to $200, giving Alibaba a
market capitalization of $527 billion. Ma is the richest person
in China, at $38.2 billion and the No. 21 richest in the world.
Ma is shifting to philanthropy at age 55, just three years later
than Bill Gates, who did so at age 52.
Aside from China, the foundation has helped causes
in Africa, Australia and the Middle East. Ma wants his
foundation to have maximum impact. “Philanthropy is also
about efficiency. If you can spend $3, why spend $5? If you
can finish it in two hours, why do four hours? The way I
learned how to run a company, that is the way I learned how
to run a philanthropic organization,” he says. While philanthropy is on the rise in China, Ma says much
Ma also wants to encourage the spirit of philanthropy in more can be done. One reason for his China focus is that he
others. “The world won’t change because you donate money, wants to develop and test ideas first in China that he can then
but it will change if your heart is changed. You can never apply elsewhere. Another motivation is his belief that China,
save all the poor people and heal all the illness, but we can as the world’s second largest economy, can do more. “China
wake up the kindness inside everyone in the world,” he said has a great culture of charity, but China needs to build up COURTESY OF ALIBABA GROUP; STRINGER/ZUMA PRESS/NEWSCOM
in a 2016 philanthropy conference held in Hangzhou that the culture of philanthropy,” says Ma. He’d like to develop ac-
Alibaba sponsored. ademic programs in China on philanthropy. “I want to de-
China will be, for now, Ma’s core focus. The former teach- velop a course with a university [in China] to train people
er has a special interest in improving education in his coun- in how to do philanthropy,” he says. As he said at the Forbes
try’s rural and impoverished areas, and his foundation has Global CEO conference: “I believe China one day [will have]
already pledged at least $75 million to training teachers and hundreds of thousands of businesspeople who will build up
headmasters, along with other educational efforts. their own charities or philanthropy foundations.”
16 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
A WORLD
OF WORTHY
CAUSES
Others share his view. “Asian philanthropists, particular-
ly those in China, are still waiting, with great anticipation, Here are seven examples of
to see what Jack Ma will do with his philanthropy. He has an causes funded by the Jack
extraordinary opportunity to be a leader and role model in
the field,” says Laurence Lien, CEO of the Singapore-based Ma Foundation. Only one,
Asia Philanthropy Circle, in emailed comments. women’s soccer in China, is
Ma says he also hopes to do more to support women’s not wholly funded by the
causes. “The secret sauce of Alibaba success is that 34% of foundation. The other six have
the senior leadership of Alibaba are women, and almost 47% received an estimated total of
of employees are women,” Ma said on stage in Singapore.
“I have a lot of powerful women standing behind me, and $212 million, either pledged
I’m always thankful for them.” or already distributed. The
So what will Ma do next as a philanthropist? First, he’ll year when each initiative was
do some research—as he wrote in last year’s open letter: launched is at the bottom of
“While I will not allow myself to sit idle, this time, I will be
able to spend time on choosing interesting and meaningful the column.
causes that I can be passionate about.” He elaborated on this
SOURCE: ALIBABA GROUP
in his interview: “I am not in a hurry, I want to spend a year
traveling around to many countries, talking to the ministers
of education, talking to schools, talking to teachers, and
talking to those who have great ideas.”
In November, Ma went to Ghana to be one of the judges
in the first-ever African Netpreneur awards, sponsored by his C H I N A
foundation. The proceedings were broadcast across the con-
tinent as the Africa’s Business Heroes show, which was meant
to inspire entrepreneurship in Africa. “If we can discover and
help more Jack Mas, more Bill Gates, more Warren Buffetts,
Africa will be different,” says Ma.
The Jack Ma Foundation still has only one office and less
than 30 full-time staff. This may seem small, but recall in
2000, when Alibaba had only 150 employees, Ma declared to
Forbes his intention to make Alibaba one of the world’s top
ten websites. When asked where the Jack Ma Foundation will
be in five years, Ma appears to be already planning ahead:
“It will be a respected organization that is doing things in an
RURAL EDUCATION
efficient way.” F
IN CHINA
A ten-year program to help train
“THE WORLD WON’T CHANGE headmasters and educational leaders IMAGINE CHINA/NEWSCOM (2); COURTESY OF ALIBABA GROUP
in rural China.
BECAUSE YOU DONATE MONEY, $30 MILLION
FUNDING:
BUT IT WILL CHANGE IF YOUR
HEART IS CHANGED.” 2016
18 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
C H I N A A F R I C A C H I N A
TEACHER TALENT IN CHINA AFRICA NETPRENEUR WOMEN’S SOCCER IN CHINA
A ten-year program to train and PRIZE INITIATIVE SPONSORS:
develop teachers in rural China. Alipay Foundation,
A total of 100 African entrepreneurs Jack Ma Foundation
FUNDING: with receive $100 million over and Joe Tsai Foundation
$45 MILLION ten years. Nigerian medical supply
startup LifeBank won the top prize A partnership of three foundations
among ten contestants in an award to support the development of
ceremony held in November. women’s soccer in China over ten years.
FUNDING: FUNDING:
$100 MILLION $143 MILLION
AU ST R A L I A
M I D D L E E AST
C H I N A
MA & MORLEY SCHOLARSHIP,
UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE
The scholarship is named after
Newcastle resident Australian Ken QUEEN RANIA FOUNDATION
Morley (who died in 2004). Ma first met
Morley in 1980 in Hangzhou, and they Run by Jordan’s Queen Rania, the WETLAND PROTECTION
had a decades-long friendship. The foundation got $3 million to supports
scholarship helps 20 students each year educational initiatives in the Middle East, The funds will go to research and
with expenses, while another 10 get a including Edraak, a free online education protection of the Xixi National
12-day immersion program in China. platform offered by the foundation. Wetland Park in Hangzhou.
FUNDING: FUNDING: FUNDING:
$20 MILLION $3 MILLION $14 MILLION
2017 2018 2019
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 FORBES ASIA | 19
CATALYSTS
FOR CHANGE
This year’s list honors individuals tackling a
diverse set of issues across the Asia-Pacific—
and includes Asia’s biggest-ever giver.
EDITED BY GRACE CHUNG
zim Premji made history this year as Asia’s most
generous philanthropist by donating $7.6 billion
worth of Wipro shares to his education-centered
Afoundation, raising his total lifetime giving to
$21 billion. Established in 2000, his eponymous foundation
now works with more than 200,000 public schools across
India to train teachers and provide better curriculums,
among other initiatives. “A role model for all of us. I wish
more people would follow his example,” said Anu Aga (a
2010 honoree).
From left: Bill Gates, Azim Premji, Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett in 2011
Premji is one of the 30 outstanding altruists we’ve cho-
sen for our 13th annual Heroes of Philanthropy list which
honors billionaires, entrepreneurs and celebrities across tive chairman after more than
the region who are committed to solving some of the most AZIM PREMJI, 74 five decades at the helm and
Founder and Chairman, Wipro said he would focus more on
pressing issues facing the Asia-Pacific. INDIA philanthropy. The first Indian
This year’s members are devoted to a range of endeav- to sign the Giving Pledge, his
ors. Among them: Angel Locsin, one of the Philippines’ Premji in March solidified his lifetime giving now stands
most famous actresses, supports causes aiding victims of position as Asia’s biggest at $21 billion. Premji has also
philanthropist by giving away a endowed his foundation with
violence, natural disasters and the conflict in Mindanao.
chunk of his shares, worth $7.6 stakes in Wipro Enterprises,
Australian billionaire Judith Neilson, set up an institute to billion, in tech firm Wipro to his his privately held consumer
support independent journalism. And then there’s Jack Ma education-focused Azim Premji goods company, and in his
from China, who recently received the Malcolm S. Forbes Foundation. The foundation will private equity arm, PremjiInvest.
Lifetime Achievement Award after stepping down as chair- use the funds to increase its Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi
activities, including expand- and his mother, Premji says that
man of Alibaba to devote more time to philanthropy. Other
ing the Azim Premji University “to whom much has been given,
honorees are working to protect wildlife, improve access to in Bangalore. The billionaire much should be expected.”
healthcare and aid the elderly. retired in July as Wipro’s execu- —Naazneen Karmali
To choose these honorees, we sifted through dozens of
candidates, reviewing their monetary contributions, the
depth of their involvement and the reach of their philan- ritories in the Asia-Pacific or have long resided in the region.
thropic efforts. Our aim is to highlight those giving their The focus is on individuals who provide the capital and are
own money, not their company’s (unless they are the major- personally committed to achieving a long-term vision. As PRASHANTH VISHWANTHAN/BLOOMBERG
ity owners of a privately-held firm). We also don’t include always, we have focused on new names, unless there was a
those who are full-time fundraisers or foundation heads, significant development in a previous honoree’s philanthropy
unless they’ve personally given the bulk of funds to start a that justified relisting them. The final selection is unranked—
charitable organization. All are citizens of countries or ter- all are considered equally honored on this list.
20 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
JACK MA, 55
Founder, Jack Ma Foundation
CHINA
See profile on page 14.
JUDITH NEILSON, 73
Founder and Patron, JN Projects
AUSTRALIA
THEODORE RACHMAT, 76 Neilson committed A$100 mil-
Founder, Triputra Group lion ($72 million) last November
INDONESIA to establish the Judith Neilson
Institute for Journalism & Ideas
Mining and agribusiness tycoon in Sydney. The Institute sponsors
Rachmat has since 2018 donated grants, education and events
nearly $5 million toward his to encourage quality indepen-
A&A Rachmat Compassionate dent journalism, including more
Service Foundation, which sup- reporting on Asia. In July, it an-
ports educational opportunities, nounced its first series of grant
healthcare and orphanages. programs, which will support a
Launched in 1999 as a scholar- number of news outlets, includ-
ship fund, the foundation has ing the reopening of the Austra-
awarded scholarships to 21,000 lian Financial Review’s Southeast
recipients over the years, with Asia bureau. Neilson owns a 21%
Rachmat contributing $12.5 mil- stake in Platinum Asset Manage-
lion. To ensure that students stay ment, the global investment
in school and learn effectively group founded in 1994 by her
from an early stage, the founda- ex-husband, Kerr Neilson. She
tion also organizes annual train- also owns one of the world’s
ing programs for primary school most significant collections
teachers. In 2005, it expanded of Chinese contemporary art,
into healthcare, setting up clinics which is displayed in her White
in rural areas that charge patients Rabbit art gallery in Sydney.
less than $2 a visit. —Jolie Tran —Lucinda Schmidt
AHMAD ZAMRONI/HKV/FORBES INDONESIA; SCOTT BARBOUR/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF SUNWAY GROUP
JEFFREY CHEAH, 74
Chairman, Sunway Group
MALAYSIA
Through his eponymous founda-
tion, Jeffrey Cheah has donated
almost $39 million to fund
scholarships and educational
causes since 2018. Cheah has
also provided funding to public
primary schools, giving a com-
bined $2.5 million to SJKC Chee
Wen in Selangor state and SJKC
Gunong Hijau in Perak state, and
another $6 million to schools
around Malaysia. Cheah is
founder and chairman of Sunway
group, which has interests in 11
industries across the Asia-Pacific.
Since 2009, he has gradu-
ally transferred his entire stake in
Sunway Education Group—val-
ued at more than $238 million—
to the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.
Jeffrey Cheah (right)
—Danielle Keeton-Olsen
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 FORBES ASIA | 21
ANDREW FORREST, 57
Chairman, Fortescue
Metals Group
NICOLA FORREST, 57
Cofounder, Minderoo
Foundation
AUSTRALIA
The Forrests donated A$655
million ($455 million) in May
to their Minderoo Foundation,
marking Australia’s largest sin-
gle gift from a living donor and
taking the couple’s total giving
to A$1.5 billion. The foundation
supports cancer research, early
childhood development, indig- This year Andrew and Nicola Forrest have also donated to
Telethon, a fundraiser that raises money for sick children.
enous equality, healthy oceans
and the elimination of modern
slavery. It is named after the foundation in 2016 with a per-
cattle station in West Australia’s sonal endowment of 300 billion
remote Pilbara region where won. The head of South Korea’s GONG JUNLONG, 50
Andrew Forrest grew up. Mind- largest cosmetics company, Suh Founder, Hengyu Group
eroo is funded by dividends the inherited Amorepacific from CHINA
Forrests receive from iron ore his father Suh Sung-hwan, who
miner Fortescue Metals Group, believed that science was inte- Gong pledged $50 million in
which Andrew founded in 2003. gral to innovation. Since 2017, June 2018 to build the Lufeng
He retains a 35% stake in the the foundation has awarded 14 No. 2 People’s Hospital in
company. —Lucinda Schmidt scientists grants of between his hometown of Shanwei,
1.5 billion and 2.5 billion won. Guangdong. The hospital,
Suh pledged in 2016 to donate with 14 floors and a total area
whatever was needed to bring of 57,000 square meters,
LE VAN KIEM, 74 the foundation’s total funding will house 500 beds when it
Cofounder and Chairman, Long up to 1 trillion won. With those opens. The property baron also
Thanh Golf Investment and funds, the foundation plans in donated $5.6 million last year
Trading Joint-Stock Company and golf courses. Since 2009 2021 to increase the number of to fund the expansion of a high
when he set up a scholarship scientists who receive its grants school in Shanwei. He previ-
fund, Kiem has given $900,000 to 25 a year; it aims to mark its ously gave $35 million to build
TRAN CAM NHUNG, 73 in scholarships for students to
Cofounder and Vice Chairman, attend his alma mater, Hanoi’s 20th anniversary in 2036 by a new campus for his alma
Long Thanh Golf Investment and Thuy Loi University. The duo giving grants to 100 scientists. mater, Jiazi High School, which
Trading Joint-Stock Company has given more than $20 million —Jihyun Park opened in 2012. —Jane Ho
VIETNAM over the past ten years toward
causes not only in Laos and Suh Kyung-bae
Since 2018, Kiem and Nhung Vietnam, but also in Cambodia
have contributed $11 million to and Japan. —Jolie Tran
various causes in Laos and their
native Vietnam. A war veteran,
Kiem donated nearly $5 million
between early 2018 and April PAUL KANE/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF LE VAN KIEM; COURTESY OF AMORE PACIFIC
to support families of army SUH KYUNG-BAE, 56
retirees, while his wife Nhung CEO, Amorepacific Group
in April gave over $5 million SOUTH KOREA
to charities, primarily to treat
infants with heart failure and to The Suh Kyung-bae Science
provide financial aid to students. Foundation in September award-
The pair made their fortune in ed 10 billion won ($9 million),
textiles and rubber when in the to be allocated over five years,
1980s Vietnam adopted eco- to four South Korean scientists
nomic reforms. The bulk of their for research in neuroscience and
interests are now in property genetics. Suh established the
22 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
Angel Locsin (middle) during a visit to Marawi
earned her “best actress” in Wu Yuangang
ANGEL LOCSIN, 34 the 2013 Film Academy of the
Actress Philippines Awards. In 2017,
PHILIPPINES she once blogged: “You don’t
need to wear a costume to be
After earthquakes hit Mindanao a superhero.”
island in October, Locsin donated Over the past decade, Locsin
1 million pesos ($19,000) and has donated as much as 15
distributed truckloads of relief million pesos to causes such as
supplies to affected residents. educational scholarships for stu-
Locsin, whose mother was dents, supporting the economic
adopted by a family from the and political rights of indigenous
island, has long helped the people, and ending violence
region, which has been riven against women and children.
by sectarian strife for decades. Her donations have also
During the 2017 battle between helped roughly 500 families hit
the Philippine army and Islamist by some of the country’s largest
rebels in Marawi, she joined the disasters: Tropical Storm Ondoy
Rural Missionaries of the Philip- in 2009, Typhoon Habagat in in their hometown of Shanwei,
pines, donating and distributing 2012 and Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, in Guangdong province. One of
food packets and school supplies one of the deadliest storms on WU YUANXI, 61 the schools, which opened in
to tens of thousands of displaced record, leaving 6,300 dead. Chairman, Green City Group September, dates back to a
Locsin has also inspired many
victims. “These are urgent times of her millions of social media fol- WU YUANGANG Chinese classics academy from
when we have to act as fast as the 18th century. Elder brother
we can to save lives and rebuild lowers to give back. “It’s like tak- Chairman, Hanking Group Yuanxi previously helped build
communities, and we don’t even ing little steps towards substan- CHINA seven other schools in the city,
have to think why,” she says. tive, holistic change for the future and in 2008 established the
Locsin is best known for of the next generations,” she The Wu brothers, both property Wu Yuanxi Charity Foundation, JEFF CANOY/ABS-CBN NEWS
playing superhero Darna in a says. “The only motivation we tycoons, gave $49 million in which has supported over 1,000
2005 TV series and for her role need is being part of humanity.” June 2018 to build new campus- poor students pursuing college
in 2012’s One More Try, which —Sunshine Lichauco de Leon es for two existing high schools education. —Jane Ho
24 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
TANG WEE KIT, 64
Chairman, Tang Holdings
SINGAPORE
To commemorate Singapore’s
bicentennial, the chairman of
investment and property group
Tang Holdings in May donated the
largest private collection of books
and letters once owned by Sir
Avasara Academy Stamford Raffles to the National
Museum of Singapore, saying it
belonged to the nation. Raffles
to train counselors and social
workers on caring for the elderly played a key role in establishing
MARY ANN TSAO, 64 in community settings. Tsao is Singapore as a thriving British
Director, Tsao Family Office the daughter of late shipping trading port, attracting migrant
workers like Tang’s father. Tang
SINGAPORE magnate Frank Tsao, a Shang-
hai-born entrepreneur who owns 98% of Tang Holdings and
Through their Tsao Foundation, founded the IMC Group. She purchased his entire Raffles col-
Tsao and her family have do- also leads the family’s invest- lection in two auctions, in 2004
nated $2 million over the past ment office, which has interests and 2005, for a total of £560,000
year to caring for the elderly, in property, manufacturing, F&B ($730,000 in today’s dollars).
bringing the family’s total giving and investments. The foundation Tang Holdings in 2015 donated
to $55 million since the founda- was formed in Singapore by her $750,000 to ethnic charities and
tion was established in 1993. then-89-year-old grandmother, needy schoolchildren to mark the
As chairman, Tsao oversees its who convinced Tsao to leave her 20th anniversary of its flagship
primary goal to improve senior thriving career as a pediatrician Singapore property, Tang Plaza,
ATUL NISHAR, 64 citizens’ quality of life, enabling in New York to help build the which houses the company’s
headquarters, Tangs department
Founder and Chairman, them to lead active social lives organization. In 2017, the Asian store, and the Marriott Tang Plaza
COURTESY OF HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES; COURTESY OF TSAO FOUNDATION; COURTESY OF TANG HOLDINGS
Hexaware Technologies and age comfortably at home. Development Bank appointed Hotel. —Pamela Ambler
INDIA Among the foundation’s notable the Tsao Foundation as a partner
initiatives: launching the Hua Mei in its $2.5 million project on
After selling his stake in soft- Mobile Clinic in 1993, Singa- “Strengthening Developing
ware services firm Hexaware pore’s first healthcare service for Member Countries’ Capacity
Technologies in 2013 to Barings homebound elders; and creating in Elderly Care,” to exchange YOSHIKI HAYASHI, 54
Private Equity Asia for $200 in 2016 the country’s first ge- knowledge on eldercare services. Cofounder, X Japan
million, Nishar has donated rontological counseling program —Jolie Tran JAPAN
roughly $1.5 million annually to
various causes. This year Nishar After his home prefecture
Mary Ann Tsao
gave $1.5 million to a center for Chiba was hit in September by
leadership at the Avasara Acad- a typhoon, Hayashi donated ¥10
emy, a girl’s school near Mumbai million ($92,000) to help victims
that provides free education to there. The leader of the popular
underprivileged students. He Japanese band X Japan, Hayashi,
was one of the early donors who resides in Los Angeles, has
to Ashoka University, a private contributed to causes mainly in
university, and in 2016 donated Japan and the U.S. through his
$1 million to SRCC Children’s Yoshiki Foundation America.
Hospital in Mumbai, India’s larg- Started in 2010, the foundation
est pediatric hospital. The tech has contributed to disaster relief,
entrepreneur has also estab- orphanages, and treatment
lished three computer educa- for children with bone-marrow
tion centers in southern India, disease. He has also held concert
which provide free training. fundraisers in Japan, and in 2018
“Being able to contribute in this auctioned a drum set for ¥6 mil-
way makes me feel good,” says lion to fund the Japanese
Nishar. —Naazneen Karmali Red Cross. —James Simms
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 FORBES ASIA | 25
radiology department, which will
include X-ray, MRI and related
services. The couple’s Muangthai
Capital is one of Thailand’s big-
gest consumer finance compa-
nies. Last year they donated $1.7
million to Khirimat Hospital in
IU (LEE JI EUN), 26 Sukhothai. The couple began do-
Singer, Actress nating multimillion-dollar sums
SOUTH KOREA to healthcare centers throughout
Thailand in 2015, shortly after
The youngest to make the list, taking their company public.
the singer-actress, who goes —Danielle Keeton-Olsen
by her stage name IU, has
given a total of 900 million
won ($800,000) to a variety of
causes since 2018. This April she
donated to Gangwon Province YOU ZHONGHUI, 57
to help fund relief efforts after Chairman, Fortune High
a massive forest fire left nearly Investment Group; Chairman,
4,200 people homeless. She IU (Lee Ji Eun) Seaskyland Technologies
was the first of many celebrities, CHINA
including fellow K-pop stars PSY
You has committed $1.4 mil-
and Suzy Bae, to donate to that
cause. In March, she made a lion through her Fortune High
donation to the Seoul Associa- Investment, an educational
tion of the Deaf after starring in CHUCHAT PETAUMPAI, 66 assessment services group of
Chairman of the Executive which she owns 81%, to renovate
a drama series that highlighted
Committee, Muangthai Capital a boarding school in China’s
the lives of deaf and speech-
Guizhou province. The donation
impaired individuals. In May, DAONAPA PETAMPAI, 66
she donated to Childcare Korea, Managing Director, is being made through the Sun
an organization that serves un- Muangthai Capital Yat-sen Fraternity Foundation,
derprivileged children. IU, who THAILAND which will also administer it.
grew up poor, has made annual You gave $140,000 in 2017 to
donations of 300 million won The husband and wife duo this upgrade a wildlife rescue station
to 500 million won to various year made their largest single for black snub-nosed monkeys in
charities for the past five years. contribution to healthcare in Guizhou’s Fanjingshan National
—Jihyun Park Reserve. The same year she be-
Thailand, donating roughly $2.7 came the first woman from China
million to Bangkok’s Thammasat to sign the Giving Pledge created
University Hospital to construct by Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and
Chuchat Petaumpai
an outpatient building for its Warren Buffett. —Jane Ho
HANS SY, 64
Chairman of the Executive Com-
mittee and Director, SM Prime
PHILIPPINES
Child Haus in July opened its
newly renovated and expanded
center in Quezon City to house
40 cancer-stricken children and
their caregivers. Sy, previously
CEO of property firm SM Prime,
paid $400,000 in 2010 for the
property, which now provides
poor provincial families with
temporary shelter, as well as
programs and activities that
promote healing. On his 60th
birthday in 2015, Sy bought the COURTESY OF IU; BRENT LEWIN/BLOOMBERG; COURTESY OF CHILD HAUS
land for Child Haus’ first location
in Manila for $600,000 and paid
$1.4 million to build it. Opened in
2017, he still covers its operating
expenses. Sy’s associates have
become cosponsors and provide
Child Haus with additional
financial support and in-kind Hans Sy with some of his beneficiaries
contributions. —Grace Chung
26 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
MARCUS BLACKMORE, 74
Executive Director, Blackmores
AUSTRALIA
Blackmore donated A$10 mil-
lion ($7.2 million) last November
to Australia’s Southern Cross
University to establish a Na-
tional Center for Naturopathic
Medicine. It was the single
Belinda Tanoto
largest donation the university
had ever received and will be
used to support higher educa-
tion and research. “We have a BELINDA TANOTO, 34
responsibility to respond to the TOH SOON HUAT, 59 LIU DAOMING, 62
growing healthcare needs of Director, Royal Golden Eagle Executive Chairman, WANG PING
Australia, and evidence-based Sian Chay Medical Institution Chairman and Owner, Myhome
natural medicine will play an ANDERSON TANOTO, 30 SINGAPORE Real Estate Development Group
increasingly active role in that Director, Royal Golden Eagle CHINA
INDONESIA Toh, an entrepreneur turned full-
response,” Blackmore says. His
Southern Cross donation fol- time philanthropist, has given Liu and his wife Wang Ping last
lows a similar one in 2017 to the The Tanoto siblings lead their away nearly S$4 million ($2.9 year pledged $11 million to the
National Institute of Comple- family’s philanthropy through million), primarily to provide Myhome Community Volunteer
mentary Medicine at Western the Tanoto Foundation. The traditional Chinese medicine to Philanthropic Foundation in
Sydney University and a A$1.3 family this year donated $16.7 the underprivileged and elderly, China’s Hubei Province. The
million, up 30% from 2018, with almost S$300,000 of that
million donation in 2015 to couple set up the foundation in
primarily to support and provide donated since 2018. As execu-
establish a chair in integrative 2016 with a $3 million endow-
medicine at the University of education for all, from early tive chairman of the Sian Chay ment to help senior citizens
Sydney. Blackmore owns a 23% childhood to university. It also Medical Institution, an unpaid volunteer for community ser-
stake in the Blackmores health aims to prevent stunted growth position, Toh has expanded the vices in their area of expertise:
supplements group that his in Indonesia’s children—which 118-year-old institution from a for example, retired teachers
father, Maurice, founded in the afflicts an estimated 10 million single clinic serving 26 patients a tutor children and former
1930s. —Lucinda Schmidt of the country’s youth. Of the day to 15 clinics serving roughly medical professionals offer free
two, Belinda is the most actively 1,100 patients daily across Singa-
involved in the foundation and pore. The son of a taxi driver, Toh healthcare lectures. A total of
focuses primarily on early started his furniture brand No- 11,000 volunteers have so far
spent nearly 310,000 hours in
childhood development. The vena in 1984 and in 2000 listed
the foundation’s programs.
foundation has so far trained it on the Singapore Exchange.
15,000 teachers and funded He sold his roughly 28% stake in Liu’s Myhome property group
nearly 7,500 university scholar- 2009 for S$8.5 million; his wife is a publicly listed company
ships. The Tanotos own Royal Lee Kek Choo sold her minority that had 2.5 billion yuan
Golden Eagle, which holds stake between 2011 to 2013 for ($350 million) in revenue last
interests in various companies a total of roughly S$3.1 million. year. This year, Liu signed the
across Asia. Their parents, —Sheela Sarvananda Giving Pledge. —Jane Ho
Sukanto and Tinah Bingei LISA MAREE WILLIAMS/GETTY IMAGES FOR FORBES; COURTESY OF TANOTO FOUNDATION; COURTESY OF TOH SOON HUAT
Tanoto, started giving to phil-
Toh Soon Huat
anthropic causes in the 1980s.
The family’s efforts have since
expanded as far as China, where
the foundation offers training to
parents in rural areas. In Singa-
pore, the foundation supports
research on diseases prevalent
in Asia. Separately, Anderson
devotes about a fifth of his time
to the foundation’s leadership
training programs and its
support of the United Nations’
sustainable development goals.
—Pudji Lestari
28 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
Shigenobu Nagamori at the
opening ceremony of a cancer
research center which he funded.
KATHY XU, 52
Founding Partner, Capital Today
HONG KONG
Venture capitalist Xu gave $4
million late last year to her alma
mater Nanjing University to
endow the Kathy Xu Artificial
Intelligence Development Fund,
which aims to recruit top talent
and advance the field of artificial
intelligence. Her previous Bill Bensley (top); Rangers on duty (below); Shinta Mani Wild jungle retreat
donations include $6 million
since 2010 for scholarships at
the university. Among them is
an award established in 2015
that gives up to $60,000, the
largest scholarship the university SHIGENOBU NAGAMORI, 75
offers, to an undergraduate to Founder, Chairman
go overseas to study science, and CEO, Nidec
technology, engineering, or JAPAN
mathematics. Xu, who gradu-
ated from the university in 1988, Nagamori in August 2018 do-
founded Capital Today in 2005 Bensley has spent $15 million which Cambodian hotel and nated ¥3.2 billion ($29 million)
and now manages $2.5 billion in since 2010 to buy and develop restaurant entrepreneur Sokoun to build a new community center
funds that invest in China-based 400 hectares of riverside Chanpreda created in 2004. in Muko, the city where he grew
startups. —Jane Ho property for Shinta Mani Wild, The foundation has given more up. The center has a 500-seat
with all profits from the resort to than $850,000 to build 1,600 concert hall, but can also be
COURTESY OF CAPITAL TODAY; COURTESY OF SHINTA MANI WILD; COURTESY OF NIDEC
be donated to Wildlife Alliance, wells and more than 100 homes, used in emergencies to shelter
a conservation group battling and has provided over 12,000 about 750 people and provide
poachers and logging in an ad- bicycles to locals. Additional bathing, cooking and sleeping
BILL BENSLEY, 60 joining rainforest abounding with contributions from him and oth- facilities. “Instead of being de-
Founder and Owner, elephants and other rare wildlife. ers have provided 15,000 dental lighted with the fat bank account
Bensley Design Studio The American architect has checkups and teeth cleanings for that fate has given me, I’ve de-
THAILAND lived for three decades in Bang- needy children in the country. cided to use that money to help
kok. He has designed about 200 Shinta Mani Wild tries to where there are true needs,” he
Bill Bensley, the owner and oper- properties, including the Four support Wildlife Alliance with said during a news conference
ator of an eponymous architec- Seasons Tented Camp Golden more than money: guests can to announce the donation. Naga-
ture firm with offices in Bangkok Triangle in northern Thailand, join nature walks with rangers in mori’s Nidec, which is based in
and Bali, is a well-known de- the Capella Ubud in Bali, the a protected forest showcasing the city of Kyoto, is one of the
signer of upscale resorts in Asia. InterContinental Danang Sun what’s at stake. The founda- world’s largest manufacturers
Last year, he opened Shinta Mani Peninsula in Vietnam and the tion provides support for the of motors for hard disks and
Wild, a luxurious jungle retreat new Rosewood Luang Prabang rangers, and the resort has also optical drives. Nagamori has to
in southern Cambodia, to serve in Laos. But Shinta Mani Wild is built a ranger station for their date donated at least ¥20 billion
as a charitable operation. “This part of his own Bensley Collec- use. Bensley’s latest brainchild: toward educational and health-
is one of the last untouched tion of upscale boutique inns. a collection of Wildlife Alliance care initiatives. His other recent
areas in Cambodia. I wanted to Bensley has long been giving outdoor gear he has designed gifts include funds to build an
protect, and also share it,” he back in Cambodia. Bensley’s and launched this year, with all engineering school and a cancer
says. “People can come and see donations are all made through proceeds going to the conserva- research center, both in Kyoto.
just why we must save it.” the Shinta Mani Foundation, tion group. —Ron Gluckman —James Simms
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 FORBES ASIA | 29
KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAW, 66 Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in front of
Mazumdar Shaw Medical Center.
Chairman and Managing
Director, Biocon
JOHN SHAW, 70
Vice Chairman, Biocon
INDIA
Biotech entrepreneur Mazum-
dar-Shaw and her husband in
July donated $7.5 million to
the University of Glasgow, the
largest single donation the
university has received. Shaw,
his brother and late mother are
alumni. Two-thirds of the grant
is earmarked for a research hub
to be called Shaw Plaza. The
remainder will endow a profes-
sorial chair in precision oncol-
ogy. The couple also pledged $2
million recently to the Memorial
RONALD CHAO, 80 Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Vice Chairman and Director, in New York to establish the
Novel Enterprises Mazumdar-Shaw International
HONG KONG Clinical Fellowships. Mazumdar-
Shaw, who signed the Giving
Chao’s Bai Xian Asia Institute Pledge in 2016, has also given first Catholic university. The 2002, and to her family’s Dhanin
has handed out at least 85 $3.5 million to Krea University, Institute has named its school Tawee Chearavanont Founda-
scholarships to Asian students a new liberal arts university in of business and hospitality tion, which she chairs. Last
this year, each up to $25,000, southern India. “I remain com- management after Liu and its year, Thippaporn and her hus-
to study at universities in mitted to continue making a dif- school of social sciences after band Jwanwat Ahriyavraromp
China and Japan. The funding ference through philanthropy,” her mother, Felizberta Lo Padilla founded the Blue Carbon Soci-
for these scholarships comes she says. —Naazneen Karmali Tong. Liu, who founded prop- ety, an environmental group fo-
primarily from a $100 million en- erty developer Gale Well Group cused on protecting Thailand’s
dowment Chao made in 2014 to in 1976, is Hong Kong’s fourth- mangroves. Mangroves can
establish the education-focused richest woman. She set up L&T be critical in fighting against
institute. The institute has four RITA TONG LIU, 71 in 2003 and in 2015 established climate change, the group notes,
other founders, who donated a Chairman, Gale Well Group the Rita T. Liu Foundation, both as they absorb greenhouse
combined $10 million. Chao is its HONG KONG of which have donated a com- gases up to four times faster
honorary chairman, his daughter bined HK$400 million over the than land-based forests. Blue
Ronna is a cofounder and CEO A devout Catholic, Liu marked years to causes such as cultural Carbon signed an agreement
and brother Silas Chou sits on her 70th birthday in June last heritage conservation, medical in August with the United Na-
its advisory council. Chao made year by giving HK$80 million research, and women’s rights. tions Development Program
his fortune from the family’s tex- ($10 million) to the Catholic- —Jane Ho to protect 24 square kilometers
tile business, Novel Enterprises, run Caritas Institute of Higher of mangroves southwest of
which started as an unbranded Education through her family’s Bangkok. The couple will donate
supplier of clothing and then L&T Charitable Foundation. The $350,000 to fund the three-year
moved into branded merchan- funds will be used to help the THIPPAPORN project. —Ron Gluckman F
dise, developing both Tommy school evolve into Hong Kong’s
Hilfiger and Michael Kors into AHRIYAVRAROMP, 51
major brands. A lifelong believer Founder and Group CEO, COURTESY OF BXAI; COURTESY OF GALE WELL GROUP; NAMAS BHOJANI FOR FORBES; COURTESY OF DTGO
in international education, he DT Group of Companies (DTGO)
earned his bachelor’s degree in THAILAND
mechanical engineering from
the University of Tokyo in 1962 The daughter of Thai billionaire
and a master’s in mechanical Dhanin Chearavanont, Thip-
engineering from the University paporn has been a lifelong
of Illinois in 1964. The experi- champion of philanthropy and is
ence, he says, helped him realize devoted to causes in education,
the importance of cross-border the environment and health-
relationships. To date, the insti- care. She channels 2% of the
tute has awarded 480 scholar- revenues from her privately held
ships to students from 25 Asian investment group, DTGO, to the
countries and territories. Rita Tong Liu education-focused Buddharaksa
—Suzanne Nam Foundation, which she started in
30 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
INDONESIA:
SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS
The country’s leading businesses see growth in catering to Indonesia’s expanding consumer market
as they seek out ways to give back.
Having won a second term in office, Indo- with higher purchasing power. One such further on the back of government incen-
nesian President Joko Widodo and his success story is PT Nippon Indosari Cor- tives including tax breaks.
new government will be looking to con- pindo Tbk, the leading bread company Unsurprisingly, Indonesia’s startup
tinue their mission to develop the coun- in the country that owns the top-selling scene is one of the most dynamic in Asia.
try’s infrastructure and attract foreign brand Sari Roti. With an overwhelming During President Widodo’s first term,
investment. Jakarta announced a US$400 90% market share in Indonesia’s mass Indonesia saw the emergence of four
billion infrastructure plan following Presi- production of bread, the company is startups, each with a value of more than
dent Widodo’s re-election, including now looking to replicate its recipe for US$1 billion, including ride-hailing service
more than two dozen new airports and success in overseas markets such as Gojek and online store Tokopedia.
power plants, aimed at boosting eco- the Philippines. With an aim to support the country’s
nomic growth. Retailers have also cashed in on the newest entrepreneurs, Alpha JWC estab-
Both large conglomerates and newer rising number of shoppers with fatter lished itself as a leading venture capitalist
emerging firms are looking to capital- wallets. Alfamart has expanded over in Indonesia in less than four years. With
ize on Indonesia’s continued economic the past 20 years to become one of one of the largest VC teams in the coun-
growth, even as they seek to contribute the largest minimarket chains in Indo- try, Alpha JWC has a deep understanding
back to society. nesia, serving over 4.1 million custom- of local market conditions.
One company that has grown along ers every day. Meanwhile, Kawan Lama Amid the country’s growing prosper-
with Indonesia is Astra Group. Since its Group grew from a single kiosk in 1955 to ity, Indonesia’s financial services sec-
founding more than 60 years ago, the become a billion-dollar retail giant today tor is also stepping up to help manage
leading diversified conglomerate has boasting market-leading brands such as the growing wealth of its people. For
been committed to prospering with Ace Hardware. instance, Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s larg-
Indonesia, a journey that it continues on Indonesia’s fast-growing technology est financial institution, has been a lead-
to this day. In order to realize this vision, scene is another bright spot in Southeast ing player in managing and growing the
the group has been working to promote Asia’s largest economy. Indonesians are assets of Indonesia’s affluent.
sustainable growth in Indonesia that bal- among the world’s biggest users of Face- As uncertainty persists in the global
ances economic priorities with social and book and Twitter, and a global leader in economy, these and other dynamic
environmental concerns. digital applications such as ride hailing Indonesian businesses will continue to
In the consumer sector, Indonesian and e-commerce. In 2018, the country’s prosper on the back of resilient and sus-
companies have benefited from the digital economy had an estimated value tainable business models that have suc-
growing ranks of middle-class consumers of US$27 billion, and is expected to grow cessfully delivered superior value.
Indonesia 1
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
ASTRA GROUP:
PROSPERING WITH THE NATION
The Indonesian company builds on its core values to balance its business growth with initiatives that give back at home.
Since its founding 62 years ago, leading
diversified conglomerate Astra has been
committed to prospering with Indonesia
to deliver superior value to its stakehold-
ers. In order to realize this vision, the group
has been working to promote sustainable
growth in Indonesia that balances eco-
nomic growth with social and environmen-
tal concerns.
Starting as a commodity trader in 1957,
Astra today is a leading player in seven
sectors: automotive; financial services;
heavy equipment, mining, construction
and energy; agribusiness; infrastructure
and logistics; information technology; and
property. It encompasses 234 subsidiaries,
joint ventures and associates, and employs
226,504 staff across Indonesia. The group’s
parent company, PT Astra International Menara Astra, which is the fourth-tallest building in Jakarta at 261 meters,
Tbk, has been listed on the Indonesian officially launched in February on the group’s 62nd anniversary.
Stock Exchange since 1990, and today has
a market capitalization of about Rp267 tril- A Road Map for Success aiming for a more balanced portfolio,
lion (US$19 billion). In driving toward its mission, Astra is given its investment in two 1,000-mega-
With a large presence across Indonesia, guided by its strategy known as the Triple P watt coal-fired power plants in Central
Astra is aware of its responsibility to be a Road Map, which refers to “Portfolio, Peo- Java, a coal- fired power plant in Borneo,
good corporate citizen. It balances its busi- ple and Public Contribution.” The Portfolio and in Agincourt Resources, a gold-mining
ness activities with a comprehensive suite aspect of the road map is designed to help operator in Sumatra.
of sustainable public contribution initiatives Astra become one of the best-managed In its infrastructure logistic division, Astra
that aim to give back to its home country. company in Asia-Pacific, with an emphasis has interests in 339 kilometres of opera-
Sustainable public contributions are on sustainable growth, by building compe- tional toll roads along the Trans-Java net-
intrinsic to the core values of the group, as tence through people development, a solid work and a further 11 kilometres currently
expressed by Astra Founder William Soery- financial structure, customer satisfaction under construction in the greater Jakarta
adjaya: “We would like Astra to grow and and efficiency. area. Astra has also made a mark on Jakar-
flourish like a shady tree that serves as a The strategy has proven successful in ta’s skyline through its newest business
shelter for many during rain or shine.” boosting the group’s performance. In its division, property—launched in 2016—and
automotive business, for its Menara Astra and Anandamaya Resi-
instance, Astra’s share of dences development.
Indonesia’s car market rose Astra’s move into the digital space was
to 53% in September, up initiated through the establishment of
from 50% a year earlier. Its Astra Digital, which will support Astra’s
market share of the Honda group companies in developing new digi-
motorcycle market inched tal competencies in areas such as artificial
up to a commanding 75%. intelligence, blockchain, cloud comput-
This achievement is also ing, data analytics and security. In financial
backed by the group’s finan- services, Astra has formed a fintech joint
cial services, which offer venture company with Hong Kong-based
convenient financing facili- WeLab, which offers mobile lending prod-
Through the Kampung Berseri Astra program, ties for cars and motorcycles. ucts to retail consumers and provides finan-
communities and companies work together to create In its heavy equipment, cial technology solutions to companies. In
clean, healthy and smart living. mining, construction and addition, Astra has partnered with Indone-
energy division, Astra is sian decacorn startup GOJEK, and recently
2 Indonesia
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
education, environment, entrepreneurship
and technology.
SATU Indonesia Awards recipients have
collaborated with Astra in 86 KBA and 645
DSA initiatives in 34 provinces throughout
Indonesia. KBA is a community-develop-
ment program that integrates the four
pillars of Astra’s Sustainable Social Con-
tribution program initiatives in one village
community. DSA is a community program
that focuses on entrepreneurship devel-
opment and other Astra public contribu-
tion initiatives.
Astra President Director Prijono Sugiarto (center), during one of Astra’s Employee Astra Beyond 2020
Engagement event. Numerous programs are created to promote higher level of Astra will continue with its goal to be the
employee engagement. pride of the nation for the next decade as it
becomes a proud nation company for Indo-
launched a company that provides and to protect the environment, and sup- nesian society. In reaching this goal, Astra
manages vehicles for door-to-door online ports local communities in their efforts to will prioritize product and service develop-
transportation in Jakarta. improve their standard of living. ment with export orientation and import
Over the years, the group has garnered Through various initiatives, Astra has substitution that will directly and positively
a number of industry awards for the effec- been actively conducting environmen- impact the country’s foreign exchange
tive management of its businesses. Most tal conservation efforts, supporting the reserves. It will also proactively offer solu-
recently, it was named “Most Outstand- development of small and midsize enter- tions to challenges faced by the country.
ing Company in Indonesia” by financial prises, promoting access to healthcare
publication Asiamoney. Reflecting inves- services, and supporting the development
tor confidence in the firm, S&P Global of schools.
Ratings raised Astra’s rating to A- for local In terms of community development,
currency, and BBB+ for foreign currency, Astra helps villages in Indonesia through
with a stable outlook. its flagship programs: Semangat Astra
Astra recognizes its people are the key Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia Awards, For more information:
to its success, and has invested heavily in Kampung Berseri Astra (KBA) - Desa www.astra.co.id
its talent. Catur Dharma, the philosophy Sejahtera Astra (DSA). www.satu-indonesia.com
of Astra, continues to be the fabric that Astra shines the spotlight on youth who
binds all companies under Astra Group, to give back to their communities through
enable Astra’s future sustainable growth. programs that aim to inspire others to do Semangat Astra Terpadu
Catur Dharma consists of four principles, the same. The SATU Indonesia Awards
namely, to be an asset to the nation, to program—now in its tenth year—has rec- SATU_Indonesia
provide the best service to the custom- ognized 305 young people, including 59 SATU_Indonesia
ers, to respect individuals and promote national-level recipients and 246 provin-
SATU Indonesia
teamwork, and to continually strive for cial-level recipients, in the fields of health,
excellence.
Through the People Road Map, the
group has rolled out a series of human-
capital strategies with the aim to make
Astra “The Most Preferred Company to
Work For.” Since 1982, Astra has annu-
ally held Innovastra, a competition that
encourages Astra’s employees to build
Astra Group into a world-class company
through continuous innovation and a
global orientation.
Giving Back to Society
Finally, the Public Contribution Road Map
is critical to Astra’s goal of being an asset
to the nation. Through its nine founda- Astra President Director Prijono Sugiarto (center), with the recipients of the 10th
tions, the group contributes to provide SATU Indonesia Awards 2019. This Year the Award has reached a new record of
better healthcare and education, works 8,654 participants.
Indonesia 3
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
PT NIPPON INDOSARI
CORPINDO:
GROWING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Indonesia’s largest bread company maintains a competitive edge at home while building its presence across the region,
recently expanding its reach to the Philippines.
As the largest and most successful bread
company in Indonesia, PT Nippon Indo-
sari Corpindo Tbk and its top-selling
brand, Sari Roti, has gone from strength
to strength since the firm’s establish-
ment almost 25 years ago. The company
has an overwhelming 90% market share
in Indonesia’s mass production of bread,
having leveraged technology and a com-
prehensive distribution network to meet
fast-rising demand for bread and cakes by
Indonesia’s middle-class consumers.
Last year, the company expanded its
regional footprint to the Philippines by
operating its first plant in Laguna, Manila, Sari Roti factory in Cikarang, West Java
through SariMonde Foods Corporation
(SMFC), a joint venture with Monde Nis- In November 2017, private equity giant Currently, these facilities are baking more
sin Corporation. Within just one year, Sari KKR became the company’s third-largest than five million pieces of bread and cakes a
Roti bread has become available in 1,800 shareholder through a rights issue. day. Another two new plants are scheduled
outlets across the Philippines. to come online in 2020, ensuring that the
Indosari was founded by the Salim A Recipe for Success company has sufficient capacity to meet the
Group, the Yap family and Pasco Shiki- Sari Roti’s achievements can be attributed country’s growing demand for bread over
shima of Japan. Wendy Yap—the daugh- to a combination of factors. The brand the next few years.
ter of the late Piet Yap, one of the found- uses Japanese technology to ensure a As part of its environmental, social and
ers of Bogasari Flour Mills of Indonesia—is standard of high quality and hygiene, but corporate governance, in 2016, Indosari
the President Director and Chief Executive tailors its products specifically for Indo- started a corporate social responsibility
Officer of the company. In 2010, Nippon nesian tastes. Sari Roti products are also program called Miss Roti, which aims to
Indosari became the only bread-pro- distributed through an extensive net- improve the quality of life of Indonesian
ducing company listed on the Indonesia work, including modern trade channels, families by offering income opportunities
Stock Exchange with ticker code ROTI. such as minimarts and supermarkets, and to housewives. Miss Roti has so far helped
general trade outlets, 800 women across the major Indonesia
such as small shops, tri- islands of Java, Sumatera and Kalimantan.
cycles and direct sales With exciting growth plans in place,
to homes and schools. Sari Roti will continue to be the dominant
In total, Sari Roti is dis- brand in Indonesia, even as it expands
tributed through more more widely in the region.
than 90,000 outlets in
Indonesia. The company
is now looking to repli-
cate the same success in
the Philippines.
Indosari today oper-
ates 14 factories, with
13 strategically located
across Indonesia and For more information:
Sari Roti Bread Corner one in the Philippines. www.sariroti.com
6 Indonesia
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
KAWAN LAMA GROUP:
GROWING A BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS
Group head Kuncoro Wibowo discusses the importance of having agility in the marketplace, growing a sustainable business
and fostering strong relationships with partners and customers.
Founded in 1955 by Wong Jin, the Kawan suppliers and customers. Finally, our oper-
Lama Group started life as a small kiosk in ations are supported by a professional
Glodok, West Jakarta, offering tools and team and a system that is fully integrated
equipment for household needs. After with today’s technology.
Wong passed away in 1981, the busi-
ness was taken over by his eldest son, Which business achievements make
Kuncoro Wibowo. you the most proud?
Under his stewardship, Kawan Lama has I am proud of the fact that we are the
grown into a company with almost 40,000 market leader in every business sector
workers and more than 700 outlets across that we operate in, and have been con-
45 cities in Indonesia. The group has three tinuously growing even when markets
major business lines: industrial supply, are weak. We have consistently received
home improvement, furnishing and lifestyle awards and recognitions for our strong
as well as food and beverage. Recently business performance and excellence
Wibowo spoke about the challenges faced in customer service. We introduced and
and lessons learned over the course of his popularized the DIY concept in a market
successful entrepreneurial career. so customers can do the work themselves Storefront greeters
or with other family members, creating
The Kawan Lama group has grown special moments for families. identifying market trends and anticipating
rapidly in the past few decades. I am also proud that as our business has our customers’ needs. Only then can we
What would you say are the key fac- grown, our people have also progressed provide solutions that impact their lives in
tors to the company’s success? in their careers, improving their standard a positive manner.
We have succeeded because we are an of living. I have also learned about the impor-
organization that continuously learns and tance of leadership development. I trust
has acquired strong expertise in the indus- What is one of the toughest chal- that everyone matters, but this is only pos-
try. We are also good at anticipating and lenges you have faced and how did sible when our leaders, including myself,
adapting to changes in market trends and you overcome it? have strong self-awareness. When we
customer behavior, and are agile in trans- As a pioneer in modern DIY furnishings, know who we truly are, we can build mean-
forming new directions into opportunities. it was not easy in the beginning as our ingful relationships with others.
Furthermore, we offer a comprehensive customers were used to more traditional
range of high-quality products, excellent stores where prices were not fixed. How- What are your thoughts on
customer service and an extensive distri- ever, we saw this as an opportunity to cre- succession?
bution network through our more than 700 ate a new, more competitive market. We While we have taken some initiatives to
stores spread across 45 cities. made an extra effort to educate custom- prepare our next-generation family mem-
We have also fostered long-term part- ers and highlight the benefits of transpar- bers to be ready as our successors, we
nership with key stakeholders, such as our ent pricing, guaranteed quality and ser- do not hesitate to groom employees with
vices and a more convenient and high potential. We want the business to
modern shopping experience. run effectively and sustainably—and not
just rely on the bloodline—to ensure that
What key lessons have you it is a professional enterprise with clear
gained from your entrepre- competency-based measurements.
neurial journey so far?
To run a business successfully
and sustainably, it is important
to maintain long-term partner-
ships with vendors and suppliers
as well as with customers, and
not just focus on profitability.
We need to be able to capture For more information:
ACE Hardware Living World new business opportunities by www.acehardware.co.id
8 Indonesia
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
ALPHA JWC VENTURES:
A RISING STAR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA’S VC INDUSTRY
With a deep understanding of the local tech sector, the venture capital firm is expanding its reach across Southeast Asia to
support innovators and their startups.
In less than four years, Alpha JWC Ventures
has established itself as a leading venture
capitalist in Indonesia’s dynamic technol-
ogy sector. Even before the firm was set
up in 2016, its Co-founder and Managing
Partner, Chandra Tjan, had already made
a name for himself as an astute investor
in Indonesia. His investments include uni-
corns such as Traveloka and Tokopedia at
his previous role as the Co-founder and
Managing Partner of East Ventures.
Alpha JWC’s main offering are two
Southeast Asian venture funds with a
strong Indonesia focus. The firm invests
primarily in early-stage Indonesian start-
ups—with the aim of discovering and
actively empowering exceptional entre-
preneurs to create enduring Industry Alpha JWC’s team consists of 21 professionals from various backgrounds, making it the
champions—and also in regional compa- largest VC team in Indonesia.
nies wanting to enter the Indonesia mar-
ket. About two-thirds of its investments prestigious and complementary back- are obsessed with being the trusted and
are in Indonesia-based companies. grounds and are the best in their class in value-adding partners to our founders, and
Besides Chandra, the firm is also led by the industry,” Chandra says. working side-by-side with them during the
Co-founder and Managing Partner Jefrey ups and downs,” Jefrey says.
Joe, formerly COO of Groupon Indonesia Founders First Philosophy Alpha JWC has shaped its portfolio into
and one of the founders of Indonesia’s Alpha JWC prioritizes the vision, passion a support network, endearingly called the
leading bill payment aggregator, Alterra. and grit of a company’s founder when Alpha JWC Family, which encourages the
With one of the largest VC teams and with it comes to assessing potential invest- startups’ leaders to work together. The
one of the largest early-stage funds in the ments. Indeed, Alpha JWC believes it firm also encourages the companies to col-
region, Alpha JWC has a deep understand- is this focus that made it the top-choice laborate and learn from each other through
ing of local market ecosystems. This allows partner to firms. regular events, trainings and non-poaching
the firm to better support startups as they “As a startup founder myself, I under- agreements.
progress on their journey of expansion. stand the challenges and hardship that “We’ve built strong and close working
“We take pride in our high-quality team, founders will need to endure in order to relationships with our Alpha JWC Family.
which is our biggest asset. They come from build a successful company. That’s why we We envision a collaborative and positive
“Alpha JWC has a complete and diverse team
that will help portfolio companies overcome
hurdles, especially in the early days, be it in
operations, legal, tech, human capital or growth
plans. The team has been very proactive in helping
its portfolio companies, largely thanks to its
investment strategy that enables them to focus
more on supporting their founders.”
— REYNOLD WIJAYA, CO-FOUNDER & CEO OF MODALKU
10 Indonesia
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
“When we were looking for a local partner, what really
convinced me to choose Alpha JWC is that the firm is an
independent VC not linked to any conglomerate family
or industry consortium, which prevents conflicts of
interest. It’s rare to find an independent VC, and Alpha
JWC is the best choice for us. I’m happy with their
role and our work dynamic. Our relationship is very
efficient and has been very enriching for our journey.”
— CHARLES GUINOT, FOUNDER & CEO OF ONLINEPAJAK
ecosystem within our network,” Jefrey go. The pie is big enough for multiple Star Performer
explains. “Building a startup is not an market leaders, sector-wise or brand- Alpha JWC is an institutional and indepen-
easy journey; supportive ecosystems can wise, thus we’re always open to invest in dent venture capital firm with two funds
go very far to increase the entrepreneurs’ exceptional founders who build exciting under its umbrella—both have performed
chance of success.” and innovative fintech companies. We’re well since their launch less than four years
excited to see what the landscape looks ago—and a lineup of high-quality lim-
Ahead of the Curve like in the next few years,” says Chandra. ited partners from Southeast Asia, Korea,
To stay ahead of the competition, Alpha He noted consumer technology and Japan, China and Europe.
JWC has shown it is not afraid to make bold SaaS (Service as a Software) solutions Alpha JWC Ventures’ first fund was
strategic decisions. In 2015 for instance, at a could also emerge as big winners in launched in 2016. The US$50 million fund
time when many investors were still infatu- Indonesia. “While SaaS provides scal- has been fully invested in 23 startups in
ated with e-commerce, Alpha JWC had able and practical solutions, consumer Southeast Asia and has achieved a net
already turned its gaze to the horizon to tech will continue to shift our lifestyles,” asset value (NAV) of 3.3 times in less than
seek out the next big thing: fintech. he says. four years.
Today, the firm’s financial technology Moreover, a year ago, Alpha JWC Portfolio companies Funding Societies,
investments, which include peer-to-peer began to invest in promising seed-stage, subscription–based, clothes rental com-
lender Funding Societies, OnlinePajak and food and beverage companies, such as pany Style Theory, online automotive mar-
digital credit card provider Kredivo, have coffee chain Kopi Kenangan and the ketplace Carro and OnlinePajak all have
become market leaders in Indonesia and Indonesian beverage brand Goola, as it raised substantial follow-on funding from
Southeast Asia. For now, Alpha JWC con- bets on the growth of Indonesia’s vibrant regional and global investors. In total, more
tinues to be bullish on fintech in the region, consumer sector and the potential to than 90% of startups in Alpha JWC’s first
and is on a constant lookout for the next take local champions global. fund have received follow-on investments.
innovator in the sector. The fund has also made two successful
“Financial inclusion is a big target for Further Into the Region exits: Spacemob (acquired by WeWork in
Indonesia and there’s still a long way to After making its mark in Indonesia, Alpha 2017) and DealStreetAsia (acquired by Nik-
JWC is eyeing the broader region and kei in 2019).
looking to expand its footprint in South- The second fund was launched mid-
east Asia. The firm’s team has doubled in 2018 and closed oversubscribed at more
size since 2018, and has set up an office than US$120 million, exceeding the US$100
in Singapore for wider regional reach. It million target. Its NAV has increased to
is also looking to build a significant pres- over 2 times since the launch. The fund
ence in Vietnam, even as it continues to has been invested in 12 companies, with
focus on its home market. Kopi Kenangan receiving US$8 million in
“The past four years have been great, seed funding.
but now that we have a bigger fund, a By the end of 2019, the second fund
global network and a bigger team, we expects to have at least 15 companies in
can do so much more than before. We its portfolio.
strive to discover and support excep-
tional founders in the region, and to play
a pivotal role in Indonesia and in South-
east Asia’s rise as the world’s next major
Founders and Managing Partners of internet ecosystem while also creating
For more information
Alpha JWC Ventures: Chandra Tjan (L) and significant impact to Southeast Asia’s
Jefrey Joe (R) digital ecosystem,” Chandra explains. www.alphajwc.com
Indonesia 11
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
ALFAMART:
MAKING HISTORY AGAIN
The Indonesian minimarket chain provides reliable services to its customers, knowing what their needs are today and
anticipating what they will be in the future.
Over the past two decades, Alfamart has
grown to become one of the largest mini-
market chains in Indonesia. To mark its 20th
anniversary in October, the company held
a month of celebrations at its 32 Alfamart
branch offices across the country.
Founded by Djoko Susanto in 1989, Alfa-
mart started as a trading and distribution
enterprise under the name PT Sumber
Alfaria Trijaya Tbk. In 1999, the company
entered the minimarket sector, and was
renamed Alfamart in 2002.
Today, Alfamart is one of the leaders in
the retail industry, serving more than 4.1
million customers every day at more than Alfamart convenience store in Alfa Tower, Alfamart Head Office, Tangerang. There
14,000 stores and 32 warehouses spread are more than 14,000 Alfamart stores located across Indonesia.
across Indonesia. Supported by about
120,000 employees, Alfamart offers afford- “It has become critical to understand enterprises (SMEs) and environmental
able basic merchandise in comfortable and provide relevant offerings to the cus- causes. For instance, Alfamart offers eco-
shopping venues that are easily accessible. tomer, and data allows us to do that,” he friendly bags to its customers.
Despite its success, the company shows says. This helps Alfamart to enhance the Alfamart has also been providing work
no signs of slowing down. Leveraging its overall shopping experience and delight opportunities to people from all back-
strategy in Indonesia, the company entered its customers. grounds, including the disabled. Further-
the Philippines six and a half years ago and While shifting consumer behavior more, it helps micro SMEs through a com-
has rapidly expanded there. It plans to add remains a challenge, this has been partly pany known as Outlet Binaan Alfamart
an additional 200 stores this year, bringing offset by a robust macroeconomic envi- (Alfamart Guided Outlet). It manages more
the tally to about 700 stores. ronment that is driving greater purchas- than 43,000 member outlets in Indonesia
ing power among shoppers. Alfamart has through this program.
Preferred Retailer for Consumers crafted a business strategy that capitalizes “We will keep striving to provide reli-
Alfamart CEO Anggara Hans Prawira on this positive trend over the longer term. ability to our customers and the surround-
believes the use of data analytics to stay The company will continue its efforts to ing community and earn their trust, not
ahead of the competition has become develop value-added services and custom- only to know what their needs are, but to
increasingly important in today’s changing ized products that are based on consumer anticipate what their needs will be,” says
retail landscape. preferences in a bid to increase its sales. Hans Prawira.
He adds: “As we celebrate the 20th
Alfamart For All anniversary of our amazing company, our
Alfamart has built a corporate market has never been larger, and we have
culture driven by the tagline: never had more choice for consumers than
“Alfamart For All.” This involves we have today. We’re just getting started,
adopting an ethos of giving back to make history again.”
to society. Simply put, “Alfamart
For All” is a way of thinking that
guides the company as it moves
forward and addresses major
local and global issues.
Its efforts in this endeavor are
focused in the fields of educa-
Alfamart is using data to know its customers and tion, social development, sup-
stay ahead of the competition. porting small and medium-sized For more information:
www.alfamartku.com
12 Indonesia
S U P P O R T I N G I N D O N E S I A E C O N O M I C S G R O W T H
9,300 650
MICRO SMALL SMALL AND MEDIUM
AND MEDIUM INDUSTRI PRODUCTS DISPLAYED
ENTERPRISES
PARTNERS
3,600
>42,000 FRANCHISE AND
PARTNERSHIP
ALFAMART
GUIDED OUTLET
EMPOWERED
AND GROW UP
CREATING GOOD SKILLS BUILDING CITIZEN
WITH ALFAMART
FOR INDONESIAN AWARENESS TO CARE
STUDENTS FOR ABILITY ABOUT INDONESIA
TO WORK ENVIRONMENT
GIVING AN
0
INSPIRED AND 195 1,7 MILLIONS 2 ,000
POSITIVE PEOPLE BRINGING
SOCIAL IMPACT VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS GO GREEN BA G IN 32 CITIES INDONESIA
IN 21 PROVINCE DISTRI BUT ED
THROUGH CHANGING PLASTIC BAG BRAND
14,500 (ALFAMART CLASS) ALFAMART STORES WITH GO GREEN BAG GLOBALLY
TO CITIZEN
BLOOD BAGS
FROM BLOOD DONATION
ACTIVITY IN 32 BRANCH OFFICES
SINCE 2013
700 OUTLETS
DISABLED
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Developed by
FOREVER LVMH’s Bernard Arnault
has created the world’s
largest luxury empire and
a $100 billion fortune. Now
YOUNG he is ready to scale up.
BY SUSAN ADAMS
“ ernard Arnault inspires
me,” says Sheron Bar-
ber. The 38-year-old has
Btraveled from Los Ange-
les to the palatial Louis Vuitton store
on Paris’ Place Vendôme during the
height of fall Fashion Week to pay trib-
ute to his idol, the head of luxury co-
lossus LVMH. Barber is a spectacu-
lar sight. He has dyed black dollar signs
in his close-cropped fuchsia and yel-
low hair, a green grill covering his
teeth and multiple Louis Vuitton lug-
The Louis Vuitton
gage locks dangling from the stainless- store on Paris’ lion and up to 47% of profits, according to analysts. (LVMH
steel chain encircling his neck. “I spent Place Vendôme shares financials for its top five divisions but not for its in-
a couple hundred thousand last year on pays homage to the dividual brands.) Vuitton’s selection of bags, apparel and ac-
brand’s founder, who
LV,” he says. He earns a handsome liv- opened his first shop cessories, which the company never wholesales or discounts,
ing customizing the looks of music acts nearby in 1854. is an ever-changing mixture of classic and contemporary,
like Migos and Post Malone. In his lat- like an $8,600 limited-edition twist on its Capucines purse
est video, “Saint-Tropez,” Post Malone in turquoise leather with an appliqué pattern designed by
wears a chest plate constructed by Barber that is a blend of Tschabalala Self, a 29-year-old artist from Harlem. Ameri-
black leather and a Vuitton bag. Of Arnault, Barber declares: can Virgil Abloh, 39, Vuitton’s new menswear designer, cre-
“He has single-handedly defined modern luxury.” ated a stir early this year when he debuted a collection with
“It’s a most exceptional Louis Vuitton maison,” Arnault glow-in-the-dark bags that use fiber optics to illuminate the
LOUIS VUITTON MALLETIER; JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES
says of the Place Vendôme store, speaking English with a dis- LV logo in the colors of the rainbow.
tinct French accent. “You can see the entire universe of the “Why are brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior so success-
brand.” Opened two years ago, the space feels like a cross be- ful?” Arnault asks. “They have these two aspects, which may
tween a museum and a private club. An array of Vuitton’s be contradictory: They are timeless, [and] they are at the ut-
wares are displayed inside gleaming vitrines and on artfully most level of modernity. . . . It’s like fire and water.”
placed shelves. Marble staircases with glass balustrades lead to That paradox has translated into record sales and profits at
a private atelier on the fourth floor where six seamstresses cre- LVMH, whose roster of more than 70 brands includes Fendi,
ate bespoke dresses for celebrities like Lady Gaga and Emma Bulgari, Dom Pérignon and Givenchy. That, in turn, has helped
Stone. “I was very involved in the design,” Arnault says. drive up LVMH’s stock price, which has nearly tripled in less
He obsessively tracks his top brands, especially Louis than four years. Arnault, who owns 47% of the company’s
Vuitton, the conglomerate’s cash machine, which account- shares with his family, is now worth almost $108 billion. He is
ed for nearly a quarter of LVMH’s 2018 revenue of $54 bil- the second-richest person, behind Jeff Bezos ($113 billion).
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 FORBES ASIA | 45
Arnault frequently In 1984, when he learned that
visits this Louis Vuitton Christian Dior was for sale, he
location next door to
his Paris offices. pounced. Its parent, a textile and
disposable-diaper company called
Boussac, had gone bankrupt, and the French government was
looking for a buyer. Arnault put up $15 million of his family’s
money. Lazard supplied the rest of the $80 million purchase
price. At the time, according to reports, he pledged to revive
operations and preserve jobs, but instead fired 9,000 workers
and pocketed $500 million, selling most of the business. Crit-
ics recoiled at his brazenness, which seemed more American
than French. The media later dubbed Arnault “the wolf in the
cashmere coat.”
Arnault’s next prey was Dior’s perfume division, which
had been sold to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. A fight be-
tween the company’s brand heads gave him an opening. First,
he teamed up with the boss of Vuitton, the leather-goods
company whose founder made custom trunks for Empress
Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. Arnault helped the head of
Vuitton oust Moët’s chief, only to get rid of him, too. By 1990,
again backed by Lazard and using the cash from Boussac, he
had taken control of the company, which included Moët &
Chandon, the famous French champagne maker, and Hen-
nessy, the French cognac producer that dates to 1765.
After conquering Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, Arnault
spent billions to acquire leading European companies in
fashion, fragrance, jewelry and watches, and fine wines and
And at 70, Arnault is far from done. In late November,
he sealed the biggest-ever deal in the luxury sector, when FASHION CIRCLES
182-year-old American jeweler Tiffany & Co. agreed to LVMH DIVIDES ITS 79 BRANDS INTO FIVE GROUPS. HIGHLIGHTED
accept LVMH’s unsolicited takeover offer in a transaction BELOW IS THE BIGGEST BUSINESS WITHIN EACH.
valued at $16.2 billion. “If you compare us to Microsoft, [we
are] small,” he says. Indeed, LVMH’s market value of $227 CHRISTIAN DIOR
billion lags far behind the software giant’s $1.2 trillion. “It’s $3.2 BIL
BULGARI
just the beginning,” says Arnault.
Perfume & $3 BIL
cosmetics
rnault’s beginnings in France’s industrial north were far 13% Watches &
jewelry
removed from the glittering perch he now occupies.
AHis first love was music, but he didn’t have the tal- 9%
ent to make it as a concert pianist. Instead, after graduating
from an elite French engineering school in 1971, he joined SEPHORA
his father at the construction firm founded by his grand- LOUIS VUITTON TOTAL REVENUE $10.3 BIL
$12.4 BIL
father in the city of Roubaix. $54 BIL
An exchange with a New York cab driver that year
planted a seed that would grow into LVMH. Arnault asked
Selective
the cabbie if he knew of France’s president, Georges Pompi- retailing
dou. “No,” replied the driver, “but I know Christian Dior.” & other
At age 25, Arnault took charge of the family business. After Fashion & leather Wine & 28%
socialist François Mitterrand became France’s president in 39% spirits
1981, Arnault moved to the U.S. and tried to build a division 11% JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES
there. But his ambitions were bigger than construction. He HENNESSEY
$3 BIL
wanted an enterprise he could scale, a business with French
SOURCES: LVMH; LUCA SOLCA, BERNSTEIN.
roots and international reach.
46 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
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spirits. Since 2008, LVMH has purchased 20, bringing the ritual,” says his son Frédéric, 25, who works at LVMH’s top
total to 79 brands. In 2011 it paid nearly $5 billion for Italian watch brand, TAG Heuer.
jeweler Bulgari. Two years later it bought the fine-wool Arnault relays details from his visits to the chiefs of his top
purveyor Loro Piana for a reported $2.6 billion. As recently brands. He recently alerted Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke
as April, LVMH paid $3.2 billion for London-based hotel that the new “it” bag, the $2,480 Onthego tote, was not in
group Belmond, whose holdings include the Cipriani hotel stock at the Place Vendôme shop.
in Venice, the Orient Express train line and three ultra-luxe At least once a month, Arnault travels in his Bombardier
safari lodges in Botswana. “Bernard Arnault is a predator, not jet to visit some corner of his empire. In October, he visited
a creator,” says a banker who was close to the Boussac deal. the small town of Keene, Texas, where he and Donald
Arnault has not succeeded at every conquest. In 2001 Trump cut the ribbon on the first of two new Louis Vuitton
he lost what the media called the “handbag war” for
control of fabled Italian fashion house Gucci, to his
French luxury rival, François Pinault. Over the next de-
cade, LVMH used a stealth tactic common among hedge
funds—cash-settled equity swaps—
to secretly acquire 17% of Hermès, the
182-year-old maker of fine silk scarves LVMH’s fresh faces;
and the iconic Birkin bag. Hermès Arnault regularly
brings in new
fought Arnault off in a protracted battle designers. Pop singer
that ended in 2017 with LVMH relin- Rihanna (right)
headlined Fenty’s
quishing most of its Hermès shares. pop-up event in
Manhattan this past
summer while Stella
p close, Arnault’s polished ap- McCartney, Arnault’s
pearance is like a suit of armor. new sustainability
advisor, drapes
UOn an overcast morning in late
herself in her own
September, he is attired in a selection of eco-friendly design.
LVMH brands, including a pin-striped
Celine suit, a navy Loro Piana tie, black workshops slated to create 1,000
leather Berluti slip-ons and a white cuff- jobs over the next five years. (The
linked Dior shirt with his initials em- brand already has two workshops in
broidered just below his heart. Slim and California.) “I am not here to judge
185cm, he stays fit playing four hours his types of policies. I have no political
of tennis a week, sometimes with friend role,” said Arnault to reporters. Still,
Roger Federer. “I try not to be fat, as you the event sparked controversy within
see, and I do a lot of sports,” he says. his own ranks. Vuitton’s womenswear
Those games are among his only artistic director, Nicolas Ghesquière,
breaks from a schedule that starts at wrote on Instagram: “I am a fashion
6:30 a.m. in his 17th-century mansion designer refusing this association
on Paris’ Left Bank. He begins each #trumpisajoke #homophobia.” Arnault
morning listening to classical music, didn’t respond to Ghesquière’s dig.
scanning industry news and texting In late October, Arnault, Burke and
family members and brand chiefs. Dior CEO Pietro Beccari flew to Seoul
“What I have in mind every morning is to visit stores, including a new Frank
that the desirability of a brand should Gehry-designed Vuitton outpost. It’s
be as strong in ten years,” he says. “It’s really the key to our the sixth Vuitton store to include an art gallery that will show
success.” By 8 a.m. he’s in his office, where he stays as late as selections from the extensive collection of the LVMH-funded LANDON NORDEMAN/TRUNK ARCHIVE (TOP); ERIK MADIGAN HECK/TRUNK ARCHIVE
9 p.m. Occasionally he’ll take a 20-to-30-minute pause to play Fondation Louis Vuitton, which also rotates through the Fon-
the Yamaha grand piano down the hall. dation’s $135 million Paris museum (also designed by Gehry).
“He works 24 hours,” says Delphine Arnault, 44, Arnault’s Even with the conglomerate’s massive footprint around
oldest child, from his first marriage, and the executive vice the world—4,590 shops in 68 countries—store openings and
president of Louis Vuitton. “When he sleeps, he’s dreaming of closings often depend as much on Arnault’s gut and a neigh-
new ideas.” borhood’s ambience as on traditional metrics like sales per
Every Saturday, he prowls his stores, rearranging bag square foot. In China, one of LVMH’s most important mar-
displays and making suggestions to clerks. He visits as many kets, he limits the number of Louis Vuitton shops to control
as 25, including the competition, in a single morning. “It’s a the pace of expansion.
48 | FORBES ASIA DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020
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