Firms with deep roots prosper
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The relationship between Britain and Indonesia started four centuries ago, when Francis Drake, the first British navigator to sail to the archipelago, arrived before the Dutch in the fabled Spice Islands of Maluku in 1579.
Business has played a key role in the relationship ever since, said Richard Mann in his book 400 Years and More of the British in Indonesia.
British companies started to enter what is now Indonesia in the 19th century, continued to blossom in the 20th and 21st centuries, only being interrupted by World War II.
Among the pioneering British firms that came into Indonesia and maintain a presence today include oil and gas company Shell, banks Standard Chartered and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), tobacco company British American Tobacco (BAT) and consumer products company Unilever.
Shell Companies in Indonesia (SCI) first arrived here 120 years ago when oil was first discovered in the Dutch East Indies.
Shell's origins date back to 1833 in London, but it only entered the oil industry in 1890 and found itself in competition with Royal Dutch. In 1907, the two companies merged to form the Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
SCI is currently represented in downstream oil products and in gas and power, including solar power.
In the banking sector, Standard Chartered opened its first office here in 1863.
Standard Chartered is named after two banks which merged in 1969: the Standard Bank of British South Africa and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. Of the two banks, the Chartered Bank was the older, having been founded in 1853 following the grant of a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.
Standard Chartered has now strengthened its presence in the country by buying a stake at Permata Bank.
"The investment stake in Permata Bank is strong evidence of the banks ongoing commitment and confidence in the country," said Simon Morris, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia.
HSBC has been in the country for more than 120 years. Initially started to serve the important sugar trade, HSBC opened its first Indonesian office in Jakarta in 1884, then expanded its operation to Surabaya in 1896. In 1994, HSBC upgraded its Semarang agency, which has been operating since 1878, into a full branch.
Tobacco company BAT, meanwhile, entered Indonesia in 1917, when BAT's representative, the NV Indo Egyptian Cigarette Company, bought Mishell, a Dutch-owned tobacco company in Cirebon in what was then the Dutch East Indies.
Now BAT not only produces cigarettes for the local market, but also grows tobaccos for BAT plants worldwide.
"Indonesia produces very good tobacco. And we export our tobacco to BAT in other countries, including Singapore, Australia and Germany," said Ian Morton, president director of BAT Indonesia.
Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever has been operating in Indonesia for over 70 years. Since its establishment in 1933, Unilever Indonesia has been one of the largest consumer goods business in the country.
Granted, it is nice to know that there are a number of British firms with long histories in the country. But that is not enough for a country that is hungry for foreign investment. It has to work hard to attract more British firms to the country, as young Drakes of the modern world are now racing for "Spice Islands" elsewhere, namely in China, India and eastern Europe.