Tomy Winata

Tomy Winata
Born Guo Shuo Feng 郭說鋒
July 23, 1958
Pontianak, Indonesia
Nationality Indonesian
Occupation Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
Known for

Owner and Chairman of Artha Graha Group

Founder of Artha Graha Care Foundation (Artha Graha Peduli Foundation)

Tomy Winata (pronounced [ˈtomi wiˈnata] and sometimes misspelled as Tommy Winata); born Guo Shuo Feng 郭說鋒 on 23 July 1958; is an Indonesian businessman with interests in banking, property, and infrastructure.[1] His philanthropic interests include the environment,[2][3] particularly the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation a 45,000 hectare forest, endangered wildlife and sea conservation area, located in southern Sumatra.

He is the son of an automobile spare parts trader and left school in the seventh grade upon which he sold ice pops to support his family. According to The Washington Post, he then "rose from a car washer and office boy to become one of the nation's richest men". In 2006, he was listed as #35 on a Forbes list of "the 40 richest men in Indonesia".[4]

Business career

Winata's business empire has been developed under the Artha Graha Group and Artha Graha Network. In 1988, he worked with the Indonesian Army Foundation to rescue a troubled local bank, Bank Propelat, and subsequently changed its name to Bank Artha Graha. In mid-1997, in cooperation with Bank Indonesia he bailed out Bank Arta Prima, which was then merged with Bank Artha Graha. In 2003, Artha Graha Group took over Bank Inter-pacific.,Tbk (a publicly listed company). In 2005, Bank Inter-pacific.,Tbk acquired Bank Artha Graha becoming Bank Artha Graha Internasional.,Tbk (INPC.JK).

Winata is involved in the property sector through PT Jakarta International Hotels and Development,Tbk (JIHD.JK, a publicly listed company), which owns Borobudur Hotel in Central Jakarta, and PT Danayasa Arthatama,Tbk (SCBD.JK, a publicly listed company), which owns the upscale Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) in the heart of Jakarta. SCBD includes the Indonesian Stock Exchange Building. Winata plans to build The Signature Tower Building-Jakarta, a 111-storey skyscraper, which will be the fifth tallest building in the world, in the center of SCBD. He has said the mega-project is part of his mission to show the world that "Indonesia can".[5] His vision is to make SCBD the "Manhattan of Indonesia".[6][7]

He is active in the infrastructure sector, through the company PT Bangungraha Sejahtera Mulia, which obtained support from the governors of Banten and Lampung provinces to be the lead investor for the Sunda Strait Bridge[8][9] project which, if it proceeds, will be the largest single infrastructure project ever undertaken in Indonesia.[10] Based on Indonesian Presidential Regulation Number 86, dated 2 December 2011, the Lampung-Banten consortium with PT Bangungraha Sejahtera Mulia was appointed to be the Project Initiator to work on a feasibility study for the Sunda Strait Bridge Project and Strategic Area Development.[11] Following the Presidential Regulation, Banten and Lampung provinces together with PT Bangun Sejahtera Mulia established a Joint Venture company called PT Graha Banten Lampung Sejahtera (GBLS) to conduct the Sunda Strait feasibility study. Based on its pre-feasibility study, Sunda Strait Project construction cost was estimated around US$10 billion and will take around 8 to 10 years to develop.[12]

The Sunda Strait Bridge Project [13] has progressed from an "impossible dream" in 2002 to becoming "almost a possible reality" in 2012.

Winata also has business ventures outside of Indonesia, including in Timor Leste.[14]

Aside from his businesses, Winata has established a social non-profit foundation called Artha Graha Peduli Foundation (AG Peduli Foundation),[15] which has five major social activities: provision of emergency relief to victims of natural disasters in Indonesia and abroad; humanitarian programs in food resilience, education and health; programs to save the environment; people empowerment through Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); and provision of legal assistance for the underprivileged.

Since 2004, to support the government's food resilience campaign, Winata has been promoting a hybrid paddy rice to increase rice farmers' yields. This resulted in a record rice harvest of 16 tons per hectare in Sukabumi, West Java, in November 2008.

Environmentalism

Winata runs a rescue center for the critically endangered Sumatran Tiger in[16] Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation, a park in Lampung Province, Sumatra. Here he tries to reintroduce "conflict tigers"—tigers that have attacked or killed humans—into the wild.[17] TWNC has released five Sumatran tigers back to the TWNC forest,[18] and was also able to release other protected wildlife and animals such as crocodiles and turtles. In addition to 45,000 hectares of forest, TWNC includes 14,500 hectares of sea conservation area.[19]

Winata has cooperated with Indonesian Narcotics Agency (Badan Narkotika Nasional-BNN) to organize a drug rehabilitation [20] program in TWNC.[21][22] The program combines rehab and environmental conservation, encouraging former drug users to re-establish their lives and livelihoods through work in TWNC conservation and eco-tourism. This unique program was presented by Winata at the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) 2013 Annual Meeting in Vienna, Austria.[23] UNODC's Executive Director, Yuri Fedotov, expressed appreciation to Winata for the TWNC program, and said UNODC will encourage other countries to visit Tambling to study its drug rehabilitation program.

In March 2013, in Madrid, Spain, Winata together with the Bali Mangrove Care Forum appointed "Cristiano Ronaldo" (CR7), the top Real Madrid soccer player, to be the Ambassador of Mangroves.[24][25] Winata and Ronaldo agreed to conserve existing mangroves and plant new ones, especially in Bali surrounding areas.[26]

Winata's vision in life is to be able to feed at least three million people throughout Indonesia.

Controversy

Winata was involved in a high-profile case against the news magazine Tempo following an article's suggestion that he was involved in the February 2003 burning of the Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta.[27] On 16 September 2004, Tempo editor-in-chief Bambang Harymurti was found guilty of "defamation and false reporting" and sentenced to a year in prison, but article author Ahmad Taufik and editor Iskandar Ali were exonerated.[28] BBC News described the case as being "widely criticised as an attack on Indonesia's press",[29] and Amnesty International declared Harymutri to be a prisoner of conscience.[30] On 9 February 2005, Harymutri's sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court of Indonesia, a spokesperson for which stated, "We want to ensure that journalists are protected."[31]

A US State Department cable published by Wikileaks described Winata as having "a specially close relationship" with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono[32] and alleged that he was the head of a crime syndicate called "The Gang of Nine" or "The Nine Dragons".[33] The cable also alleged that Winata had funneled money to Yudhoyono for "questionable political purposes".[32] Winata denied the allegations, dismissing them as the gossip of rival politicians[32] and stating, "I would prefer to lick your shoes [...] than for you to believe the WikiLeaks rumors."[34] He stated that his relationship with the President was that of "any other citizen".[33][35]

In another high-profile case, the involvement of Winata's conglomerate, the Artha Graha Group, in the provision of travellers cheques used in 2004 to bribe Indonesian politicians to elect Miranda Swaray Goeltom as Senior Deputy Governor in the Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia, has been widely reported in the Indonesian media.[36]

External links

1. Artha Graha Foundation; http://www.arthagrahapeduli.org''

2. Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation; http://www.tamblingwildlife.com''

3. Artha Graha Network; http://www.arthagraha.net''

4. Bank Artha Graha Internasional.,Tbk; http://www.arthagraha.com''

5. Jakarta International Hotels and Development.,Tbk; http://www.jihd.co.id''

6. Sudirman Central Business District; http://www.scbd.com''

7. Hotel Borobudur; http://www.hotelborobudur.com''

References

  1. ↑ "Tommy Winata: Artha Group Boss" (in Indonesian). Tokoh Indonesia. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  2. ↑ Wawancara Khusus CEO TWNC: Kisah Tomy Winata, Harimau dan Lingkungan Hidup, detik.com, 18 December 2012.
  3. ↑ Ketika TW Mendukung Konservasi Harimau, beritalingkungan.com, 29 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Indonesia's 40 Richest: #35 Tomy Winata". Forbes. 7 September 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  5. ↑ Tomy Winata: Indonesia Jadi Pemain Penting Dunia, antarasumbar.com, 23 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Jakarta Can Be a 'New Manhattan': Tomy Winata', The Jakarta Post, 22 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Jakarta Bisa Jadi Kota Yang Diperhitungkan Dunia, jurnas.com, 22 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Pengusaha Nasional Dukung Pembangunan Jembatan Selat Sunda, Rakyat Merdeka Online, 23 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Wawancara CNBC 'Tomy Winata: Indonesia Bisa Buat Sejarah', Suara Pembaruan Online, 20 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Tomy Winata Didukung Gubernur Banten dan Lampung" (in Indonesian). Kompas. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  11. ↑ Tomy Winata: Ground Breaking JSS Sangat Sulit Dilakukan Tahun 2014, Rakyat Merdeka Online, 23 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "Consortium Teams Up with China to Build Sunda Strait Bridge". Tempo. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  13. ↑ The Jakarta Post (5 July 2012). "US bank eyes Sunda Strait Bridge project". The Jakarta Post.
  14. ↑ Joe Cochrane (25 April 2011). "The land that Indonesia lost". The Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  15. ↑ Tomy Winata: Bukan Kerajaan Bisnis Tapi Membangun Masyarakat dan Lingkungan, BeritaSatu.com, 20 April 2013.
  16. ↑ "Trying to Save Wild Tigers by Rehabilitating Them". The New York Times. 21 April 2010.
  17. ↑ Norimitsu Onishi (25 April 2010). "Indonesian tycoon Tomy Winata bids to save Sumatran tigers by release back into the wild". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  18. ↑ Oyos Saroso H.N. (5 June 2009). "Three more tigers to be released in Tambling forest". The Jakarta Post.
  19. ↑ Kylie Minogue Ketakutan di Depan Gerbang Harimau', KapanLagi.com, 5 July 2011.
  20. ↑ UNODC (8 December 2012). "For an ecology of the mind: blending drug rehab with nature conservation in Sumatra". UNODC.
  21. ↑ BNN Gandeng Tomy Winata, Bisnis.com, 17 February 2013.
  22. ↑ Rehabilitasi Pecandu Narkoba: BNN Gandeng Tomy Winata, Bisnis Indonesia, 17 February 2013.
  23. ↑ Tomy Winata Paparkan TWNC di Wina, Investor Daily, 18 March 2013.
  24. ↑ Ronaldo ambassador for mangrove, The Jakarta Post, 17 March 2013.
  25. ↑ Cristiano Ronaldo Jadi Duta Pelestarian Mangrove di Indonesia, detik.com, 11 March 2013.
  26. ↑ CR7 to Help Protect Bali Mangrove, Jakarta Globe, 13 March 2013.
  27. ↑ Ellen Nakashima (29 April 2004). "Magazine Case Tests Indonesian Press Freedom". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  28. ↑ Sukma N. Loppies (September 2004). "Split decision behind Tempo Verdict". Asia Views. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  29. ↑ "Indonesia editor jailed for libel". BBC News. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  30. ↑ "Case Sheet: The Tempo Trials". Amnesty International. 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  31. ↑ "The Supreme Court overturns one-year prison sentence against Bambang Harymurti". Reporters Without Borders. 8 March 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Jonathan Manthorpe (16 May 2011). "Unfinished stories in graft probe". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Tomy Winata Denies WikiLeaks Allegations". The Jakarta Globe. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  34. ↑ "Tomy Winata denies financing SBY election". The Jakarta Post. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  35. ↑ [http://www.smh.com.au/world/letter-in-response-from-tomy-winata-20110315-1bvuf.html "Letter in response from Tomy Winata", 'The Sydney Morning Herald, March 16, 2011
  36. ↑ "Indonesia's Judicial Flying Circus". Asia Sentinel. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.