Despite all its achievements in Norway, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge recognizes the contributions of its headquarters in Japan.

“We have cooperated with our Tokyo headquarters as they have been providing us with technical and commercial support ever since we started our business here in Norway,” shared Arikawa.

As well as growth, Arikawa said there are bigger plans for the company in the future, including a more environmentally friendly approach to oil production.

“With Norway being one of the world leaders in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, we are able to learn from this great region by developing windpowered turbines to power our Snorre oil field, thus reducing our carbon footprint,” said Arikawa.

“As an energy company, we are mindful of the environment and the social implications of our business. We seek harmony of the environment and society together with energy security,” he concluded.

www.idemitsu.no

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In 2012, Tatsuno India commissioned its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the production of petrol and diesel dispensers in addition to other related equipment. The facility is Tatsuno’s largest investment outside Japan and reflects its commitment to the ambitious “Make in India” initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to Arup Chatterjee, Managing Director of Tatsuno India.

“Tatsuno is a research and development-driven company with close to 2,500 patents and registered designs. Our products are renowned for their durability and consistent performance, and our technology sets us apart from the competition. Our tamperproof products have now been proven to be the most secure in India and we are encouraged that our customers and Indian society see the value we deliver,” said Chatterjee.

Recently, Tatsuno has also begun designing more price-competitive products in India by utilizing cutting-edge technology from Japan, which is adapted to the local market. Prestigious clients in India include the National Oil Companies, Shell and Reliance Industries.

In 2013, Reliance Industries invited Tatsuno India to explore opportunities in East Africa. Since then, Tatsuno has grown its business in the region and this year began operations in Nigeria. Tatsuno also supplies dispensers for clean fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas; it is also currently working on introducing hydrogen dispensers to the Indian market.

“As a family-owned global business, we are flexible and can move faster than large conglomerates,” said Chatterjee. “While we take small steps, each step allows us to grow in a sustainable manner. Our goal is to continue to grow with the market and be involved in every sphere of automobile fueling in India while developing the brand in Africa.”

www.tatsuno-corporation.com/en/

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Citramas is developing Nongsa Digital Park, a technology park on Batam Island, on which a subsidiary of Citramas Group is located.

‘The oil and gas industry has changed considerably over the years and being flexible and adaptable to change is crucial to our success in the future’, says Wiluan. ‘With Nongsa Digital Park we are developing an ecosystem for digital businesses in the region’.

In addition to having an international airport, Batam Island is only a forty minute ferry ride from Singapore. The island has a population of over one million people and is already home to world-class beach resorts. Notably, the island is also far from major earthquake zones making underground fiber-optic cable installation viable; a significant advantage when attracting tenants to the Park.

Citramas Group’s subsidiary, Infinite Studios, is a media entertainment and creative services company already employing three hundred staff in Batam. The company has already won numerous awards including The Grand Prix Nouveau Genre Award at L’etrange Festival Paris 2016.

‘Indonesia recognizes the importance the digital economy will play in the future and we are proud that Citramas Group is contributing to this vision,’ says Wiluan. ‘Our business is supported by the Singaporean Economic Board and President Joko Widodo and we will work hard to make a positive difference to the region through our commitment to innovation-driven solutions’.

www.citramas.com

Foresight is key to the success of every business. With the company’s profitable venture into the energy industry, ‘Timber’ was dropped from the company name and Barito Pacific entered the renewable and sustainable energy sector in 2003 through Star Energy Group. Today the company focuses on oil, gas and geothermal energy through its state-of-the-art power plants.

Lead by President and Chief Executive Officer Rudy Suparman, Star Energy Group has developed into one of the world’s largest geothermal power producers with a combined production capacity of 875 megawatts throughout three facilities operating in Indonesia: Wayang Windu, Darajat and Salak.
With environmental responsibility a priority for Star Energy Group, the company exceeds all international safety and environmental standards and regulations.

‘When establishing and running our geothermal plants and other facilities, we work extremely hard on community capacity building within the local communities who live and work in the area’, says Suparman, ‘Our decisions are based on our desire to be responsible corporate citizens. Each of our facilities has received a ‘Gold’ or ‘Green’ ranking; the highest ecological standards certification awarded by the Government of Indonesia. Today, we are recognized internationally and domestically as the ‘Partner of Choice’ in the Indonesian energy sector’.

In addition to Star Energy Group’s commitment to environmental sustainability, the company is also actively involved in education, medical assistance and social development programs. In addition to providing text books, equipment, computers and libraries to local communities, the company has provided scholarships to over 1,600 students.

‘We are driven to continue contributing to the betterment of the country’, says Suparman. ‘Our priorities are to contribute to the Indonesian economy and improve people’s lives. Profitability is important to us as a company and giving back to society is a key pillar of our business model’.
These value shavea positive effect on the company’s balance sheet. Star Energy Group’s revenues more than doubled from 2015 to 2016 and this growth trend looks set to continue as the company moves forward.

‘Compared with other ASEAN member nations, Indonesia is in a unique position’,says Suparman. ‘With a population of over 250 million and GDP growing at five per cent per year, demand is thriving within the Indonesian economy. The market has been good to us; especially in our petrochemical division and we expect this to continue’.

Star Energy Group’s close ties with Singapore provide the company with key strategic advantages. Another division of Star Energy Group operates off-shore oil and gas fields in West Natuna Sea – such produced gas has been transported to Sembawang Corporation by underwater pipeline and has helped in providing power to parts of Singapore for more than 15 years.

The close relationship between Indonesia and Singapore also ensures both countries benefit from strong shared financial services and bilateral investment initiatives.

Singapore’s reputation as a leader in banking and financial services guarantees many of the region’s deals are done in Singapore under strict fiscal controls which offer transparency to companies in Indonesia and across ASEAN.

‘Singapore’s financial services industry is highly advanced and as a company, and a country, we enjoy doing business together to our mutual benefit’, concludes Suparman. ‘Our long-standing relationship with Singapore is based on shared trust and we appreciate Singapore’s role as a stepping-stone to the world while we strengthen our strategic partnership and close friendship’.

www.starenergy.co.id

How has Chandra Asri’s business evolved since being founded 25 years ago?

Since the establishment of the company in 1992, CAP has evolved tremendously. It all started when the two companies; PT Tri Polyta Indonesia Tbk (the largest Polypropylene producer in Indonesia) and PT Chandra Asri (a major producer of Olefins and Polyethylene) merged on January 1st, 2011 to create PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk – CAP.

After the merger, CAP’s reputation as Indonesia’s leading and preferred petrochemical company became more robust. We became the sole domestic producer for Ethylene, Styrene Monomer and Butadiene, the largest producer of Polypropylene, and one of the two producers of Polyethylene in Indonesia. Today CAP delivers the basic ingredients found in various consumer and industrial products. Over the years, the company kept its focus and continued growing by expanding production capacity and diversifying its product portfolio.

CAP always focused on business integration by delivering added-value solutions across the company’s production chain, leading us to become the largest integrated petrochemical company in Indonesia.

Chandra Asri contributes to the Indonesian economy in various ways. What are you most proud of in terms of the company’s successes and role as an economic growth driver here in Indonesia?

Increasing the scale of our business is very important to us and we continue to expand our capacity, integrate plant facilities and diversify our portfolio. These steps have enabled us to strengthen our leading position in the domestic petrochemical industry and have a positive impact on the Indonesian economy.

One of Chandra Astris’ State of the art facilities

Furthermore, CAP products help the nation to reduce its reliance on imported goods and help to save the country’s foreign exchange reserves. As a profitable company and responsible corporate citizen, we also contribute to the country’s tax receipts – both direct and indirect taxes – which fund the country’s development initiatives.

As our business continues growing, so we also require more manpower. We create numerous job opportunities across Indonesia and are proud of the fact that we have developed a locally-skilled labour force.

In addition, our company also creates a positive impact on newly established businesses and creates employment opportunities; especially for downstream industries, suppliers and other stakeholders.

What can we expect from the company in the next 2-3 years regarding investments, partnerships and growth strategies?

CAP always seeks opportunities to develop reliable partnerships. We established a strategic partnership with SCG Chemicals Co. Ltd., one of Thailand’s largest integrated petrochemical companies, and also one of our major shareholders.

This partnership benefited us in terms of production know-how and enabled us to share best operational practices, raw material procurement savings and ultimately accelerated CAP’s expansion plans.

We are also a strategic partner with Michelin, one of the world’s leading tire companies. Together we constructed a synthetic rubber facility which enriched the value chain across our petrochemical products.

We also strengthen and leverage our advantages as a leading company to retain exceptional relations with all of our stakeholders. CAP is also committed to maintaining and improving its best-in-class operating standards, cost efficiency, health and safety standards and environmental initiatives.

In order to ensure the implementation of these strategies, we invest in our human capital. By developing and nurturing our workforce, we have a skilled and competent human-resource pool for our current operations and future expansion.

In addition to expanding our product offerings, we intend to increase our production capacity by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of six per cent over the next few years.

What final message would you like to share with our readers across ASEAN in this important 50th anniversary year about Chandra Asri and Indonesia’s economic potential?

Indonesia is a country with huge potential and we have a burgeoning population of some 250 million. In line with this, annual GDP growth is forecast to exceed five per cent and the Government is continuing to improve the country’s infrastructure.

However, in our industry, Indonesia is structurally deficient in terms of the production of petrochemical products and relies heavily on imports from other countries. Throughout our twenty five year of operations, we always aimed to grow in order to contribute to Indonesia’s economic growth.

By expanding capacity, diversifying our product portfolio, and integrating our businesses, we are not only gradually replacing imports and reducing the country’s foreign exchange outflows; we are also expanding our petrochemical footprint in Indonesia to meet the growing market demand for plastic products which is increasing in line with the country’s GDP.

Looking forward, CAP will continue to strengthen its commitment to the country’s industrial development. As a pillar of the country’s industrial sector, we look forward to playing a role in Indonesia’s continued economic development.

www.chandra-asri.com

Veerasak Kositpaisal, CEO, Thai Oil

With a strong foundation built on more than 50 years of experience, Thai Oil (Thaioil) has developed into an industrial leader in Thailand. Its core oil refinery business has enabled Thaioil to become a recognised leader in the industry. As it looks towards the future, Thaioil is set to develop its legacy as a trusted company with a driven management team.

Thaioil operates a comprehensive refinery that uses advanced and efficient processing technologies to produce 275,000 barrels per day.

Its products are primarily for domestic distribution.

Expansion into petrochemical, lube base businesses, power generation and the marine transport of petroleum and petrochemical products has enabled Thaioil to strengthen its core business while continuing to benefit from its refinery’s strategic location.

Thaioil’s CEO Veerasak Kositpaisal says: “Bangkok and the surrounding regions account for 70 per cent of demand and our refinery is strategically located only 120 kilometres from Bangkok. This gives us the advantage of being in close proximity to our customer base and enables us to supply the domestic market efficiently and deliver products on time.”

Thaioil achieved Level B with its recent sustainability report published in partnership with the Global Reporting Initiative, a non-profit organisation that promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability.

“As a leading production company, safety, efficiency and environmental awareness are part of our DNA,” Kositpaisal says. “In Thailand, we contribute to the country’s development by creating partnerships with local people in the areas in which we operate. We are committed to continually working alongside local authorities and communities by providing employment opportunities and building community centres and dental clinics to ensure we help improve the quality of people’s lives in communities.”

Kositpaisal sees huge opportunities within the Asia-Pacific region. “There are 600 million people in Asean and demand for products and services is expected to increase with the establishment of the Asean Economic Community in 2015. Asean economies will grow in line with the increase of free movement of capital, skilled labour and services, and Thaioil is in a strong position to benefit from these opportunities. We have established an international footprint and we expect this to increase across the region.”

China’s continued economic engagement with Asean countries continues to be a significant catalyst for growth within the region. Since the earliest traders, Thailand and China have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship.

“Thaioil already has customers in China who purchase our chemical products for use in the important Chinese textile industry, and business opportunities between our two countries will continue to present themselves,” Kositpaisal says. “As we look towards the future, we want to be seen as one of the most competitive players in the industry and, through the work of our talented staff, we are on track to achieve our goal. As we build on the legacy of the last 50 years, we will ensure Thaioil is seen as a responsible business group with a strong desire to achieve our growth expectations.”