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Media giant Emtek wins public markets before Bukalapak’s record IPO

Indonesian media giant Emtek is a major backer of Bukalapak, the e-commerce player shooting for a record US$1.1 billion IPO. But Emtek has already profited from public markets using a clever tech play

Nadine Freischlad, 12 Jul 2021

Thanks to its digital bets and smart corporate action, Emtek’s share price has grown more than 500% since mid-2020

This has made Emtek one of Indonesia’s top 10 listed companies by market cap

New liquidity allows new bets: Emtek is cozying up with Grab and making bold moves in healthcare

But fundamentally, Emtek still relies on its media arm for income. It needs to think about the next chapter

The media conglomerate behind Indonesia’s well-loved TV channels SCTV and Indosiar is riding the tech stock hype machine. Emtek, founded back in 1983, entered the top ten of listed companies by market cap on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) as recently as February 2021.

This makes it an outlier. The usual suspects among the “big caps” are top-tier banks, FMCG majors, and industrial firms. There isn’t all that much movement when it comes to who makes this list.

That is, before the pandemic led to seemingly irrational stock market rallies. Emtek’s share price grew by more than 500% in the months since July 2020, and there’s no ceiling in sight.

AUTHOR

Nadine Freischlad

Nadine is based in Indonesia. She covers Southeast Asia's super apps, the changing nature of work and employment, and other structural shifts happening as a result of digital disruption.

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