Who Owns Sarinah Mall Currently?

Sarinah Mall is one of Indonesia’s legendary shopping centres. However, not a few people still wonder who the actual owner of Sarinah is, which is the country’s oldest mall. Currently, both the management and ownership of Sarinah Mall belong to a state-owned enterprise (BUMN), namely PT Sarinah (Persero), which operates in the retail sector. Thus, ownership of Sarinah is entirely in the hands of the state. According to the company’s official website, Sarinah was founded on 17 August 1962 based on Notary Deed Eliza Pondaag Number 33 under the initial name PT Department Store Indonesia. Over time, the company’s name was changed to PT Sarinah (Persero) on 10 April 1978. In terms of ownership, Sarinah was initially 100 per cent controlled by the Republic of Indonesia. The company has an authorised capital of Rp 100 billion, with fully placed and paid-up capital amounting to Rp 46.85 billion. However, currently, all of Sarinah’s shares have been transferred to PT InJourney as the holding company for Indonesian BUMN in Aviation and Tourism, under Danantara. President Soekarno, familiarly known as Bung Karno, designed Sarinah as a shopping centre that is not only modern but also serves as a platform to promote domestic products. The aim was to encourage national economic growth through trade in people’s production outputs. This idea was realised through the construction of the Sarinah Building located on Jalan MH Thamrin, Jakarta. This building was inaugurated on 15 August 1966 and became Indonesia’s first shopping centre. The construction of Indonesia’s first mall used funds from Japanese war reparations. War reparations are compensation in the form of money, goods, or assets that must be paid by the losing country in a war to the winning country for damages, material losses, and suffering caused during the conflict. This is a post-war recovery mechanism, for example, Japan’s compensation to Indonesia as a result of Japan’s defeat by the Allies and Indonesia as a colonised nation. Now, after more than five decades of operation, Sarinah continues to develop by expanding its business lines through several subsidiaries. In addition, Sarinah’s business activities also include exporting and importing various commodities and furniture products. These products are marketed through Sarinah outlets spread across Jakarta, Semarang, and Malang. One interesting fact about Sarinah is the origin of its name. The name “Sarinah” is taken from the figure of President Soekarno’s childhood caregiver. The deep impression of her sincerity and dedication made Bung Karno immortalise her name as the identity of this shopping centre.