Tsinghua PBCSF “Belt and Road” EMBA Program for Southeast Asia held its 6th module from 7th to 11th March 2018 in Jakarta. During the 5 days, students visited government authorities, Bank Indonesia (central bank of Indonesia) and local internet startups. They listened to speeches and lectures from well-known politicians, distinguished scholars and business leaders while also completed courses on “East Asia at the Cross-Roads of Policy Choice” and “Business for Business Marketing” in this module.
At the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs, General (Retd.) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister for Maritime Affairs, made a keynote speech on “Key Policy Reform in Indonesia”. He mentioned that although with an average GDP growth rate of 5.7%, the 3rd highest after China and India, Indonesia has a considerably lower GDP to debt ratio compared to other emerging economies. With mega projects on the way, such as Jakarta LRT (Light Rail Transit) and Marine Tourism Campaign, Indonesia’s public investment for infrastructure is expected to grow by 160% from 2014 to 2018.
Mirza Adityaswara, senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia welcomed the students at the bank. He talked about Indonesia’s recent economic development, challenges and prospects. He pointed out that increasing commodity prices, infrastructure construction and tourism opportunities helped drive the economic growth in Indonesia. Dr. Reza Anglingkusumo, director of the Economic and Monetary Policy Department, together with other central bank officials joined the Q&A session.
In GO-JEK, Andre Soelistyo, president of the company and CFO, Antoine de Carbonnel, shared the development history and future prospects of GO-JEK. From a provider of motorcycle riding service, the company now has evolved into an on-demand mobile platform operating in more than 50 cities. Through offering a wide range of services including transportation, logistics, mobile payments and food delivery, GO-JEK is now creating more and more social impact in Indonesia.
The class also visited Tokopedia, Indonesia’s largest online marketplace. Its CFO Patrick Cao, mentioned that Indonesia’s e-Commerce business has the potential to surpass China due to its widespread network layout and cheap smartphone cost. Compared with other local commerce platforms, Tokopedia has the highest active mobile users monthly. Last year in August, it successfully closed a 1.1 billion US dollars’ investment from Alibaba.
Dr. Muhammad Chatib Basri, former Minister of Finance in Indonesia, delivered a speech entitled “How to Do Reform in an Imperfect World – the Case of Indonesia”. He concluded that in the current political environment in Indonesia, the ownership of the reform is the key to success. He insisted that the focus now should be on problems rather than the reform solution.
Mari Elka Pangestu, former Minister of Trade in Indonesia talked about creative economy and digital economy. Despite the rapid economic growth, 78% of the Indonesian population is still without internet. Indonesia has the lowest internet penetration rate among countries in the region, which means the growth potential in the future is huge. She suggested that to realize its value in economy, the country still needs to address issues such as physical infrastructure constraints, human capital and appropriate regulations.
Armand Wahyudi Hartono, Deputy President Director of Bank Central Asia (BCA) introduced how BCA was founded and how it became one of the best private bank in Indonesia. He also shared his family story and discussed sustainability of family business in the whole region with the students.
Other speakers include Ari Soerono, CEO of Indonesia Infrastructure Fund, Irfa Ampri, vice Chairman of Fiscal Policy Agency, Yongky Surya Susilo, Executive Director of Government Relation & Retailer Engagement of Nielsen Company Indonesia. They talked on Indonesia's infrastructure development and financing, Indonesia's perspective in the“One Belt and One Road” Initiative, and the increasing consumer market in Indonesia respectively. Students were engaged in the discussing about the future investment opportunities and risks, emerging industries, the local policies and business environment in Indonesia and other Southeast Asia countries.
Besides company visits and a series of talks, the 5- day module welcomed Professor Wing Thye Woo from University of California and Professor. Frederic Dalsace from HEC Paris. Prof. Woo delivered a lecture on “East Asia at the Cross-Roads of Policy Choice”, and Prof. Dalsace talked on “B4B Marketing”.
The class was warmly welcomed by local students and companies in a very Indonesian style. Students tried playing Angklung, an Indonesian traditional musical instrument, and also enjoyed local dance, Jaipong and Merak. Local students in Southeast Asia expressed their gratitude to PBCSF staff’s elaborate arrangement of the well-designed module in Indonesia.
“We classmates in Jakarta feel it was such a pleasure hosting all of you here in Jakarta and we appreciated that you came all the way through,” said EMBA student, Liu Weihan, CEO of Mainspring Technology, a leading internet company in Indonesia. Another EMBA student, Agung Prabowo, managing director of UBS Indonesia was so touched by the PBCSF staff and students, “we are suspicious that you guys could perhaps be our long lost family of the Jakartans,” he added.
