Bakrie Group

H. Achmad Bakrie founded Bakrie & Brothers (then known as N.V. Bakrie & Brothers) in 1942 in Telukbetung, South Sumatera. Bakrie & Brothers was established as a general trading and distribution company. In the 1950s, the Bakrie Group’s business activities expanded to include general trading, construction services, agribusiness, coal mining, oil and gas, and telecommunications, while continuing to develop manufacturing operations such as making steel pipes, building materials, and automotive components. In 1986, Bakrie & Brothers acquired a 75% stake in the local rubber plantation company PT Uniroyal Sumatera Plantations (UNSP), which was later renamed PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations. Also in 1993, Bakrie Group obtained the license to operate fixed wireless telecommunication and entered the telecommunications sector with PT. Bakrie Telecom. In 2001, Bakrie Group entered the gas and oil sector with the founding of PT. Energi Mega Persada (ENRG), a company focused on developing and exploring for oil and gas in Indonesia. In 2007, Forbes Asia estimated the Bakrie family were worth US$5.4 billion, however, after the 2008 financial crisis, this dropped to $850 million. In 2014, Bakrie Group, through Bakrie Global Ventura, made a US$25 million investment in a California-based private social network, Path, which is enabled with photo sharing and messaging service for mobile devices. Bakrie Group has a limited partnership with Convergence Ventures. In 2019, Bakrie Group made an undisclosed investment in BumiLangit Studios, an Indonesian character-based entertainment company in Indonesia. The investment was made by VIVA group, who are currently focusing on developing Indonesia's own superhero cinematic universe through the library and intellectual property rights of BumiLangit Studios. The first movie in line, Gundala, released in August 2019, was a theater hit grossing 48.3 billion Rupiah (US$3 million). In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bakrie & Brothers of Bakrie Group furloughed 153 of its staff for at least 3 months. Additionally, the company also introduced salary reduction plans affecting 800 employees in their attempt to reduce financial burdens due to limited business activity. ==Companies==

Bakrie Group is made up of at least 11 individual companies, of which 10 are still listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange, without a controlling parent company. Each of the Bakrie companies has more subsidiaries involved in various industrial, digital, energy, and agricultural sectors. Core members ==Business sectors==

Mining The Bakrie Group operates in the mining sector, primarily focused on coal mining through PT Bumi Resources Tbk (IDX: BUMI) and its subsidiaries, including PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk (IDX: BMRS), PT Arutmin Indonesia, PT Kaltim Prima Coal, PT Pendopo Energi Batubara, and PT Fajar Bumi Sakti. In May 2020, Bakrie Capital Indonesia signed an agreement with Air Products (APD) to develop a US$2 billion coal-to-methanol manufacturing facility in East Kalimantan. Oil and gas PT Energi Mega Persada operates several oil and gas assets in Indonesia. In 2011, Energi Mega Persada expanded its operations to the Buzi Block in Mozambique through its subsidiary EMP Mining Overseas Pte. Its current operations include: Bentu PSC, Riau Buzi EPCC, Mozambique Kangean PSC, East Java Korinci Baru PSC, Riau Malacca Strait PSC, Sumatra Tonga PSC, Sumatra Bakrie group's mining business, PT. Lapindo Brantas, caused an erupting mud volcano in the Sidoarjo mud flow disaster that displaced more than 40,000 people in Indonesia's East Java province. Media and entertainment Bakrie Group owns PT Visi Media Asia Tbk (VIVA), which has interests in Free to Air (FTA) TV networks with antv, tvOne, VTV, and in digital media portal viva.co.id. Agribusiness Through PT. Bakrie Sumatra Plantations Tbk (IDX: UNSP), Bakrie Group manages an estimated 100,000 hectares (ha) of rubber and palm oil plantations on the island of Sumatra. BSP has extensive landbanks. One of its directors is Bungaran Saragih, a former minister of agriculture. It operates or used to operate on peatlands. Infrastructure Through Bakrie & Brothers, Bakrie Group is involved in transportation, water, electricity, and industrial projects in Indonesia through several of its subsidiaries. From the 1990s, the Group worked to build a 600MW coal-fired power station, "Tanjung Jati A", in Central Java. This plant had an estimated build cost of $2.8 billion and the group would hold 20% of the equity. As late as 2019, the government of Indonesia still included the project on their National Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL). In 2022, the project's environmental permit was revoked by the State Administrative Court of Bandung in response to a legal challenge from WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia). This decision was not appealed by the project's sponsors before the deadline, so its current status remains cancelled. ==Sports team ownership==

Basketball club Pelita Jaya Bakrie (1987–present) The Pelita Jaya Basketball Club was founded in 1987 by the Bakrie Group. Pelita Jaya is a three-time national basketball league champion. The club is managed by Syailendra Bakrie and competes in the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). Football clubs Pelita Jaya F.C. (1986–2011) Bakrie Group founded Pelita Jaya F.C. in 1986, and the club won three Galatama titles. Originally based in Jakarta, the club relocated several times, beginning in 2000, before being sold in 2012. The club is currently known as Madura United. At the time of Bakrie Group's sale of Pelita F.C., the group purchased Arema F.C.; a merger between the two was considered, but was later cancelled in 2012. C.S. Visé (2011–2014) C.S. Visé, a second division league Belgium football club was acquired by Bakrie Group in 2011, during Bakrie's ownership Indonesian youth players such as Syamsir Alam, Manahati Lestusen, and Alfin Tuasalamony were called to play for the club. C.S Vise was eventually sold by Bakrie Group in 2014. Brisbane Roar (2012–present) Bakrie Group, through PT. Pelita Jaya Cronus, acquired A-League title-holders Brisbane Roar FC in 2011. Bakrie Group initially purchased 70% of the club shares, but in 2012 the Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced that the Bakrie Group has acquired 100% ownership of the club. In May 2016, Brisbane Roar faced administrative and financial turbulences when the team ownership held investment in the club, resulting in Brisbane Roar failure to pay staff and players. ==References==