Chinese Technology Giant, Alibaba Reportedly Will Invest IDR 1.5 Trillion In Smartfren From Sinar Mas Conglomerate Eka Tjipta Widjaja

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JAKARTA - Chinese technology giant Alibaba is reportedly planning to invest in a technology company from Sinar Mas, owned by the late Eka Tjipta Widjaja conglomerate, PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk (FREN).

Quoted from Deal Street Asia, Wednesday, July 27, Alibaba is rumored to be disbursing funds of more than 100 million US dollars or around IDR 1.5 trillion to smooth the plan. With the investment potential, Alibaba looks set to deepen its exposure in the Indonesian market by leveraging one of the largest conglomerates and its vast ecosystem spanning communications and technology, paper, agribusiness, financial services and infrastructure.

Alibaba plans to partner with Smartfren, to face intense regulatory scrutiny in its home market, an industry expert said.

Alibaba has a presence in Indonesia through PT Akulaku Silvrr Indonesia, part of the e-commerce and digital finance Akulaku Group. Akulaku controls 25.66 percent of PT Bank Neo Commerce Tbk (BBYB).

Alibaba's proposed investment in the Sinar Mas ecosystem follows its recent entry as a shareholder into fintech player DANA, a JV between Indonesian conglomerate Emtek and Alibaba's Ant Financial.

Although the investment proposed by Alibaba may be new, Smartfren has previously signed deals with units linked to the Chinese tech company's ecosystem. In December last year, Smartfren announced a partnership between its subsidiary, PT SF Digital Commerce and Fonixtree Digital Singapore Ltd (FDSL).

FDSL is affiliated with Whale Cloud Technology Co Ltd, part of the Alibaba ecosystem and an important partner of Alibaba Cloud software services, said Smartfren Director Antony Susilo in a written report on the IDX at the time.

Smartfren made a profit in the first three months of 2022 on the back of higher revenue. The telecommunications operator posted a profit of IDR 24.98 billion (USD 1.7 million) in the January-March period, compared to a loss of IDR 396.83 billion in the same period a year earlier.