Lippo launches Internet portal

JAKARTA (JP): The Lippo Group launched on Thursday its first Internet portal, Lippostar.com, offering news and Internet gimmicks such as games, e-mail and message board.

"In its first stage, Lippostar provides eight channels ... but it is expected that by the end of this year it will have at least 10 channels with around 50 subchannels," Lippo Online, the operator of the website, says.

The eight channels are on general news, banking news, sports, women, lifestyle, leisure, Hollywood and city news.

The company further plans to offer an English version of Lippostar.com, which it expects to go online next year.

Lippo Online chief executive officer Hari Sulistyono expressed confidence that Lippostar.com would become Indonesia's number one Internet portal.

He said that Lippo's strengths compared to other dotcoms were its support from foreign investors and the synergy from cooperating with its sister companies.

Lippo Online is a subsidiary of Across Asia Multimedia Ltd. (AAM), a Hong Kong-based company, in which the Lippo Group also has a share, Hari explained.

Grouping under AAM, he said, were Lippo products like cable television provider Kabelvision, Internet access provider Linknet and shopping service provider Lippo-shop.

Hari said the company made extensive use of its sister companies' existing businesses.

"We have the infrastructure, we have the Internet access provider, we already e-commerce facilities and we already have customers," he said.

Furthermore, he said, the Lippo community comprised 27,000 employees.

"I don't think there is a dotcom which on its very first day has that many employees," he added.

Hari said total investment of setting up the portal reached between Rp 40 billion (US$4.5 million) and Rp 50 billion, with AAM owning more than 50 percent of Lippo Online.

Lippo Online, he said, expected to reach a break-even point on its investment in less than three years.

The greater part of the company's revenue will come from producing Internet content for other companies.

"There aren't many content producers in Indonesia, so that is something we can sell," he went on.

Lippo Online's second largest part of company revenue, he said, would come from advertisements on with Lippostar.com followed by revenue from Web-hosting services.(bkm)