Iwa applies art of communications

Iwa applies art of communications

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo), one of
the country's three Global System for Mobile communication (GSM)
telecommunications providers, has progressed rapidly since its
inception four years ago.

Satelindo's rapid success cannot be separated from the ability
of its president, Iwa Sewaka, to apply the "art of
communications" in drafting business strategies and crafting the
company's management.

Iwa, who has directed the private telecommunications firm
since it was formed in January 1993, said the art of
communications was the key to the company's success.

Satelindo, which celebrated its fourth anniversary on
Wednesday, is planning to float shares on the Jakarta Stock
Exchange in 1998; a rare action for a young firm.

Iwa said he had tried to adapt the art of communications in
discussions with the company's commissioners, shareholders and
staff.

"You have to converse horizontally and vertically and the
conversation must be appropriate with your lower staff, counter
colleagues and those of higher position," he said.

He said that "building trust" was also important in a working
environment.

Iwa, born May 12, 1942, is married to Asih Bandini and has
three sons and a grandson. But he still manages to work almost 20
hours a day.

Larger than most Indonesians, this softly spoken man is gentle
and humorous.

"We have to create jobs through our thinking and ideas. We
have to create concepts. We can't wait for them from outside,"
Iwa said on his work philosophy.

Before joining Satelindo, he worked for state-owned insurance
firm PT Jasindo, state-owned PT Danareksa and state-owned
domestic telecommunications firm PT Telkom.

"Building Satelindo from the beginning is meaningful to me,
how we have increased our public service through rapidly
improving technology which, one day, can become our rival."

On his ambitions and plans, Iwa, who graduated from Jakarta's
University of Indonesia in 1967, said he wanted to go "back to
basics". He said: "I want to work as an accountant, just like my
school background."

Iwa did not give much thought to failure or have any regrets.

"By mastering the art of communications there will not be any
unsolved problems."

He said he usually wanted a second opinion before making an
important decision. "I don't want to make any subjective
judgments. I have to make a decision with a basis, not a baseless
decision."

With just 50 employees when it began in 1993, Satelindo now
has now about 750 staff, putting it among the leading
telecommunications players in Asia.

Satelindo secured loan guarantees last year worth more than
$150 million from international banks for the construction and
launch of its telecommunications satellites.

Iwa said the loan guarantees would help Satelindo's plan to
list some of its shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange by 1998.

But he refused to disclose details on the planned float or the
company's financial structure.

Satelindo last year reported that it expected Rp 584.5 billion
in revenue in 1996 from its satellite, international telephone
and digital cellular services.

The company estimated a Rp 55 billion net profit for 1996: Rp
30.35 billion was expected from cellular telephone services, Rp
20.2 billion from satellite transponder leasing and Rp 4.45
billion from international telecommunications services.

The government has licensed Satelindo to run satellite
telecommunications services. It owns and operates Palapa C-1 and
C-2 satellites.

The company, which was licensed in 1994 to use a Global System
for Mobile Communications (GSM) system, aims to get 850,000 GSM
subscribers by 1998.

PT Telkomsel and PT Excelcomindo also offer GSM cellular
systems in Indonesia.

The company gained $586 million in 1995 when DeTeMobil of
Germany acquired 25 percent of its shares. Satelindo is now 22.5
percent owned by state-owned domestic telecommunications company
PT Telkom, 7.5 percent by state-owned international
telecommunications company PT Indosat, 25 percent by DeTeMobil
and 45 percent by PT Bimagraha Telekomindo.

Bimagraha is majority owned by the Artha Graha Group, which is
controlled by businessman Tomy Winata and Bambang Trihatmodjo's
Bimantara Group.

Iwa said that Satelindo's assets were estimated at Rp 2.7
trillion this year and would be worth Rp 3.6 trillion by 1998
when the company floats.

Iwa said that Satelindo's was planning to get involved in
several overseas telecommunications projects.

He said that he would court the projects offering the biggest
benefits to Satelindo. "It was Satelindo's long-term plan to
participate in several international telecommunication projects.
"We may set up joint ventures, joint operations or other forms of
partnership."

Satelindo believes that it can still lead the digital cellular
race, backed by qualified human resources and a strong financial
structure.

When the company launched its customer care center on Jl.
Sudirman, Iwa said he wanted Satelindo to be a customer driven
firm especially for GSM services.

Satelindo plans to invest Rp 900 billion this year mainly to
expand its GSM mobile cellular and satellite services.

Iwa said that Satelindo would spend Rp 700 billion of this
expanding its cellular service.

"We will focus on the GSM service because we have already
launched two satellites to support the company's satellite
transponder leasing service," he said.

Satelindo will offer GSM services in the country's 27
provinces from next March. The company's 200,000 subscribers
should grow to about 500,000 by the end of this year.

The company plans to install at least 1,000 radio base
stations across the country by the end of 1997.

Satelindo has signed roaming agreements with 28 GSM operators
in 19 foreign countries, allowing its subscribers to use their
cellular phones when visiting these nations.

The company's GSM service made Rp 360 billion in revenue last
year, representing 60 percent of its total revenue. Satelindo
expects to double its revenue from GSM this year.