SINGAPORE: Indonesia’s richest woman, Marina Budiman, just lost half of her wealth, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday (March 19). Until a few days ago, Ms Budiman, the president commissioner of the largest data centre operator in her country, had US$7.5 billion (almost S$10 billion).
The report said she had been adding US$350 million (S$467 million) to her fortune each day for three weeks. However, billions were wiped out when the stock of DCI Indonesia crashed in Indonesia’s most severe market fall in 10 years. The stock collapsed due to several domestic factors, including the economic policies of President Prabowo Subianto and a worsening fiscal outlook. Economic factors across the globe, including trade wars and the US tariff policy, were also to blame.
The crash caused the 63-year-old Ms Budiman’s net worth to fall by half in just three days. She is by no means alone in this predicament as fellow ultra-high net worth individuals Otto Toto Sugiri and Han Arming Hanafia also suffered losses. The three, together with Anthoni Salim, own 78 per cent of DCI’s shares.
Ms Budiman, Mr Sugiri, 71, and Mr Hanafia, 68, co-founded DCI in 2011.
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DCI was the most affected by Indonesia’s stock market meltdown, and its tumble triggered a trading pause that lasted half an hour.
Mohit Mirpuri, a fund manager at SGMC Capital Pte in Singapore, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that DCI’s price swings “are largely a function of its tight free float”. He added that bid-offer spreads are narrow, so any substantial positioning can move the stock significantly.
A profile of Ms Budiman in Forbes says she is married and based in Jakarta. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in economics at the University of Toronto.
Ms Budiman had worked with Mr Sugiri at Bank Bali in 1985 before joining Sigma Cipta Caraka, an IT company, four years later. By 1994, Ms Budiman founded the first internet service provider in Indonesia, Indonet. She and the company’s other co-founders sold their stakes in the company just two years ago.
Last year, she ranked 40th among Indonesia’s wealthiest individuals and 2692nd among the billionaires in the world. /TISG