Our company’s main business concentrated predominantly on small property developments during our early days and in 1996 we embarked on a project to develop a mall. Unfortunately, the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998 occurred soon after the mall opening which we were able to survive. Our company’s property portfolio extended into hotels and property developments in cities such as Yogyakarta, Bengkulu, Malang, Bandung, and Kuningan. Currently, we employ 1,000 staff members and have successfully built two malls in Cirebon and seven hotels in the Sumatra and Java regions.

Moving forward, we have numerous projects including property developments in Cirebon and Kuningan whereby Grage Group owns 55 hectares of land in the city of Cirebon. We will allocate 40% of the land for residential property and the remaining 60% will be for commercial projects including malls, an international school, office space, and a hospital in partnership with Pondok Indah Hospital. Additionally, there is also a plan to create apartment towers in the township development, however, we will decide on the continuation of the plan in the coming two to three years depending on the economic outlook.

Moreover, we have plans to develop three to four star hotels consisting of a maximum 100 rooms in Banyuwangi, Bojonegoro, Bali, Lombok, Bukit Tinggi, and Palembang providing excellent service for our guests.

One of our bigger projects is the creation of an international airport in West Java scheduled for 2017 whereby we will also build a toll road to the location from Cirebon. Grage Group maintains an extensive project development portfolio in keeping with the numerous new opportunities from the Indonesian government’s plans to revamp nationwide infrastructure.

An increase in fuel prices is a potential challenge for our company and though Indonesia’s economy has recently slowed down, we are able to maintain healthy growth.

Human resources is another challenge for the group which is a result of Indonesia’s education system. I believe that education reform is important for the future of the country’s youth, and fresh graduates must be prepped to enter the workforce with the knowledge, hard skills, and if possible early exposure to the professional world.

Before proceeding with any infrastructure project, our company conducts market research in keeping with our understanding of market needs which varies for every region.

Property developments for Grage Group will remain heavily dominated in Cirebon because we see huge potential in this city. Most recently, the Ciputra Group developed properties in Cirebon requiring us to remain one step ahead in spearheading infrastructure growth in the area as a means of maintaining pace with our competitors.

As such, we progressively expand our array of projects particularly in hotels throughout Indonesia in keeping with rising numbers in the tourism industry. Hotels under the Grage Group offer our guests quality service in highly-strategic locations and we ensure that each property offers unsurpassable services and facilities that are not provided by other competitors.

The majority of our guests choose our hotels for resting purposes therefore we understand the need to position our hotels in central locations that are nearby to malls, public venues, and renowned tourist spots. An example of our expertise to cater to an increasingly urbanised market demand includes our hotels in Cirebon that are located next to the group’s iconic Grage Mall. In the city of Kuningan, our hotel is situated near our own hot springs and our two hotels in Yogyakarta are located 50 metres from the famous tourist area, Malioboro. Moreover, we have development plans for hotels in Indramayu to meet rising demand for hospitality services from workers in the oil and gas industry.

Partnering with foreign investors has long been a part of our company’s history and we encourage investments in Indonesia because of its business potential. Our most recent request came from a strawberry company in France seeking to set up farmlands in Indonesia. Another French company also approached us and as a result, we are partnering for an upcoming project to build a 180-room hotel in Cirebon and Banyuwangi.

Furthermore, we have a project development for two apartment towers and one office space in T.B. Simatupang Road along with an upcoming project in Senopati whereby both developments involve partnerships with foreign investors. Joint ventures with overseas companies provide us with the chance to benefit from technology transfer and marketing strategy know-how which are important to our company.

In an increasingly borderless world, there are plenty of opportunities for business ventures particularly in Indonesia and we encourage investors to share expertise and knowledge on technological advancements that will be beneficial towards the progression of Indonesia as a nation.