Leasing in Indonesia: gaining momentum

Mr. E. Stefan Meurling, President Director of PT Surya Nordfinans talks leasing in Indonesia.

How did you come to be in Indonesia? How did PT Surya Nordfinans come to be?

I arrived here to set up an investment bank for an Indonesian bank. When that was finished, I worked for an Indonesian group, and then the crisis of ’97-’98 came. The Indonesian corporations needed assistance with respect to renegotiating international loans. They were not prepared for that at all, and did not know how to handle foreigners. PT Surya Nordfinans assisted them in tidying up their companies.
When that was over, it was very clear that the financial community was undermanned and was not perfectly well-functioning. We acquired a finance company in order to see if we could do something better, and I think we have. PT Surya Nordfinans has now been in operation for nearly 15 years and it is working very well.

What services do you provide?

PT Surya Nordfinans provides primarily operating leasing within its finance company, which makes vehicles, industrial equipment, IT equipment. And the company is only dealing with other corporates. The company’s prime target market would be multi-nationals, because they are used to operating leasing, and that is an activity that is only recently starting to become appreciated in the local community.

Which sectors?

PT Surya Nordfinans is looking less at sectors, because a lot of its activities is car leasing, which makes it multi-nationals who have had offices in Jakarta. There is some industrial activity, but it is comparatively small. The company is looking at expanding that in the energy sector.