Astra: Building a business empire<\/p>\n
Lie Hua, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
DARE TO DO -- The Story of William Soeryadjaya
\nand PT Astra International; By Charlotte Butler;
\nMcGrawHill, Singapore, 2002; xviii + 300 pp<\/p>\n
Astra is virtually a household name in this country, known for
\nholding the license to a variety of Japanese auto makes,
\nparticularly Honda.<\/p>\n
As the second largest conglomerate in Indonesia after the
\nSalim Group, Astra has played an important role in the country's
\neconomic development.<\/p>\n
When you talk about Astra, it's inevitable that the name of
\nWilliam Soeryadjaja, now 80, one of the founders of this business
\nempire, will figure prominently. Born Tjia Kian Liong in the
\nsmall West Java town of Majalengka, William and Astra are
\nconsidered one and the same, even today when he is no longer the
\nowner of this huge business group.<\/p>\n
Charlotte Butler, head of the research team at the Euro-Asia
\nCenter, INSEAD, in Fontainebleu, France, spent 10 years writing
\nthis book, basing her work on extensive interviews with those
\ndirectly involved in Astra's development. The book traces
\nWilliam's prominent role in the empire, and thus can be read as
\nboth William's biography and a business history.<\/p>\n
Butler begins with William's early life. Born into a
\nrelatively well-off peranakan Chinese family (peranakan means
\nbeing partly assimilated into Indonesian society), William had a
\ncomfortable childhood. His father, a businessman, held to the
\nmotto of "think big, do big and grow big".<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, William lost his parents almost at the same
\ntime in 1934. At age 12 and the eldest of his siblings, he had to
\nbecome a second parent to his five brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n
As the family inheritance had mysteriously disappeared, the
\npenniless orphans were raised by their grandparents and their
\nyoungest uncle. William, however, who acknowledged he did not
\nperform well in scholastic activities, felt called upon to try
\nhis luck in business.<\/p>\n
He began by selling scrap newspaper in 1942, during the
\nJapanese occupation of the country. Then, in the early days of
\nthe Republic of Indonesia in 1945-1946, he started what he called
\n"legal smuggling", the transportation of goods between Bandung
\nand Jakarta. This early experience taught him how to navigate
\nsystems for his own benefit, and he learned that he had to be
\nresourceful to keep his business going.<\/p>\n
Shortly after his marriage in 1947, William spent a few years
\nin the Netherlands, where he took a two-year tannery course to
\ngain a qualification for a job back home. His business acumen
\ntold him there was a good commercial opportunity in the
\nNetherlands after the war that would allow his family to live in
\ngreater comfort.<\/p>\n
It was black market trading.<\/p>\n
He mobilized his friends and family members in Indonesia to
\nsend parcels of cigarettes and peanuts to the Netherlands, where
\nthese goods were sold on the black market or bartered for extra
\nfood-ration coupons.<\/p>\n
Back in Indonesia, he set up PT Sanggabuana (1952-1956) as a
\ngovernment supplier. Unfortunately, just as the company was
\nflourishing he was cheated by his own partner and was left
\npenniless. Undaunted, in 1957 he joined his younger brother, Kian
\nTie, who had set up a small company with a friend.<\/p>\n
This company was called Astra, derived from the name of the
\nGreek goddess Astrea, the last goddess to retire to the heavens
\nwhere she assumed the shape of a star. William, ever optimistic,
\nadded the word 'international'. So, Astra International came into
\nbeing in a modest space somewhere on Jl. Sabang, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Butler traces the development of the company and the adversity
\nit had to go through before finally emerging as a widely
\ndiversified business empire. She also follows the role of William
\nin this great feat. William is pictured as a forward-looking
\nperson, someone possessing great entrepreneurial skill.<\/p>\n
He is interested in opening up new areas but is too impatient
\nto attend to details in the business. Once he was successful in
\nstarting a new business venture, he would leave it to his
\nlieutenants and start opening up yet another new area. Luckily,
\nin the early years of Astra's development, he got help from the
\ncool-headed Kian Tie, who was most interested in devising a
\ncareful strategy to develop the business.<\/p>\n
Butler also dwells at length on Astra's joint ventures,
\nparticularly with Japanese companies. The book gives quite a
\ngraphic account of how deals were made and the progress Astra
\nachieved in its joint ventures. She also discusses Astra's
\nmanagerial philosophy and corporate culture against the backdrop
\nof the Indonesian business landscape, where coddling of the
\ngovernment is somewhat inevitable.<\/p>\n
The reader views scene after scene unfolding in Astra's
\ndevelopment following changes in the country's political and
\neconomic realms. Against all odds, in a country mired in a deep
\nand prolonged economic crisis, Astra, in Butler's words, can
\nstill be best summed up as "the brightest star in the Indonesian
\nbusiness firmament. The group that William had created looked
\nindestructible.<\/p>\n
"It had not just survived, but looked set to flourish once
\nmore."<\/p>",
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