Shares of Indonesian companies increase by more than 10,000%, making founders a billionaire

Otto Toto Sugiri became a millionaire after selling his company to Indonesia’s largest telecom operator. Then he discovered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It was 2011, when web usage across the country was exploding. To ensure data security, the government is planning a law that requires online information to be stored in Indonesia instead of abroad. That means the demand for local data centers will be huge.

So, Sugiri, together with six partners, established PT DCI Indonesia. This company is now Indonesia’s leading enterprise providing cloud data services with more than 200 customers. Since listing last year, DCI stock has risen more than 10,000%.

Now at 68, Sugiri is more than just a millionaire. Bloomberg Billionaires Index This Indonesian businessman is estimated to have a net worth of 2.5 billion USD.

“I still love eating Gado Gado,” he said in an interview in early March from DCI’s data center in Cibitung, near Jakarta, referring to the traditional dish commonly found at roadside stalls. “Becoming rich doesn’t change who I am.”

Sugiri owns 30% of DCI, while co-founders Han Arming Hanafia and Marina Budiman have stakes worth $1 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively. Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim, whose empire has expanded into telecommunications and real estate, is DCI’s fourth-largest shareholder with an 11% stake.

Sugiri – a man with long gray hair and likes to wear black – started his career as an IT programmer in Germany after graduating from a famous university in Aachen – a city near The Belgian and Dutch border is famous for its spas and healing hot springs.

He returned to Indonesia in the 1980s and did some programming work for businesses before joining PT Bank Bali – now known as PT Bank Permata – and helping set up the IT department.

After six years at the bank, Sugiri quit to join PT Sigma Cipta Caraka, the software company that PT Telkom Indonesia took over in 2007. In 1994, he founded PT Indointernet, the first internet service provider. Indonesia’s first, he still owns 17%. In total, Sugiri has founded more than 20 companies.

DCI benefits from digital transformation in Indonesia, whose population of 270 million is mostly young and web-savvy. The Southeast Asian nation’s online economy hit $70 billion last year, up 49 percent from 2020, as reported by Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Co. With a 62% market share, DCI’s profits grew 43% last year and revenue grew to 871.2 billion rupiah ($60.7 million).

But the company’s success – the world’s best initial public offering in 2021 – has led to controversy. The rally in illiquid stock led to a halt in trading and an investigation into stock manipulation. Sugiri and his co-founders pledged not to sell shares, converting their holdings to non-tradable shares last August.

“We don’t want people to think we’re trying to influence the market,” says Sugiri. “It’s part of our commitment as founders.”

Sugiri said he is willing to sell shares of companies he owns. The billionaire has investments in technology companies including e-commerce company PT Tokoplas E-Commerce Indonesia, service provider PT Fortress Data Services and cryptocurrency platform PT Indodax Nasional Indonesia. Last year, he and the DCI co-founders sold off 47 percent of their ownership in Indointernet at a valuation 42 percent above its IPO price.

“I have no ambition to hold companies all my life. Philosophically, the company is just a vehicle for people to create something useful and for the benefit of people,” the billionaire said.

According to Linh Lam