Pushed by Danantara to IPO, Here's What Pegadaian's Boss Says

PT Pegadaian has spoken out regarding the potential for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI). President Director Damar Latri Setiawan said the company continues to perform well and is ready to carry out orders from its controlling shareholder, BPI Danantara. “Alhamdulillah, Pegadaian’s performance continues to grow and is good. We are always ready to carry out the directives from Danantara,” Damar told CNBC Indonesia on Thursday (6/8/2026). However, he declined to elaborate on the estimated timing of the IPO, stating only that the company is following the existing process. Previously, Head of BUMN and COO of Danantara Dony Oskaria said several state-owned enterprises (BUMN) would be encouraged to become public companies in the near future, including PT Pegadaian. According to analysts, the prospect of a Pegadaian IPO is positive. However, they believe the company cannot list on the IDX immediately, given the unconducive market conditions. Capital market observer Elandry Pratama assessed that the IPO discourse is quite attractive because the company fundamentally has a strong, defensive business, a powerful brand in society, an extensive network, and a large customer base. He views the IPO as a strategic step to strengthen capital, support business expansion, develop digital services, and improve transparency and corporate governance. “In addition, investors will later need to see the fairness of the valuation compared to growth prospects and other financial sector issuers,” Elandry said. Regarding timing, he argued that the Pegadaian IPO is ideally conducted when market conditions are more conducive, liquidity increases, and investor risk appetite improves. “With positive market sentiment, the opportunity to obtain an optimal valuation for the company and a positive response from investors will be greater,” Elandry stated. Similarly, Investment Analyst at Infovesta Kapital Advisori, Ekky Topan, assessed that the prospects for the Pegadaian IPO are quite positive and have the potential to receive a good market response. He noted that Pegadaian has a relatively defensive business model because most financing is secured by liquid collateral, especially gold. Furthermore, Ekky highlighted its strong competitive position with a pawnbroking market share of around 80% and a base of approximately 19 million customers. Moreover, synergy with BRI and PNM within the Ultra Micro Holding can expand the customer base, strengthen distribution, and improve funding efficiency. Ekky explained that Pegadaian’s financial performance is also supportive. As of April 2026, Pegadaian’s assets reached Rp183.8 trillion, growing 56% year-on-year (yoy), outstanding loans rose 58.8% to Rp153.6 trillion, and net profit grew 87.2% to Rp4.38 trillion. He also highlighted Pegadaian’s other business beyond pawning, namely the bullion business. Ekky mentioned that Pegadaian already has a customer base, a gold storage network, appraisal experience, and a gold flow from the pawning business. “This business has the potential to become a new source of growth through gold savings, gold deposits, gold trading, custody, and gold-based financing,” he said. Similar to Elandry, Ekky stated that the success of the Pegadaian IPO will still heavily depend on the valuation and offer structure. “Investors need to see whether the IPO funds are used to strengthen capital and fund expansion, or if the majority is merely a divestment of shares by existing shareholders. The free float portion, dividend policy, relationship with BRI as the parent, and protection for minority shareholders will also be a concern,” he explained. Regarding timing, Ekky also opined that the Pegadaian IPO should not be forced in 2026 because market conditions are still quite challenging and foreign investors still tend to reduce their exposure to Indonesian stocks. “A more ideal time would be in 2027, after the full 2026 financial report is available and the market can see the sustainability of financing growth, asset quality, and the contribution of the bullion business,” he concluded.