Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – One of the well-known Indonesian entrepreneurs of Indian descent is perhaps Sri Prakash Lohia. Because, he is the 6th richest person in Indonesia Forbes (2023) with assets of US$ 8.5 billion. This amount of wealth was obtained thanks to running a petrochemical business through the Indorama Group.
Apart from Lohia there are also other Indians who are not well known but have great influence and have ties to Indonesia because they have lived in Indonesia. Call one of them Lakhsmi Narayan Mittal who owns the largest steel company in the world, Arcelor Mittal.
Thanks to his steel business, Mittal is in the 94th position as the richest person in the world with assets of US$ 17.1 billion or Rp. 266 trillion. Even though he is now in the bottom position, he was ranked at the top of the richest people in India and Asia in 2007. In fact, in the same year he was ranked 3rd richest person on earth.
Interestingly, he got his fortune not from his homeland, but from Indonesia.
Reported Britannica, his business began when he and his family left India to come to Surabaya in 1976. This arrival occurred after he graduated from college majoring in business and accounting from St. Xavier College. After that, he was tasked with managing the steel business of his father, Mohanlal Mittal, so that he could expand overseas. And he arrived in Surabaya.
Arriving in Surabaya, this man born in 1950 rushed to set up a steel processing factory in Waru, Sidoarjo, East Java. The name of the factory is PT Ispat Indo which is located in a former rice field area of 16.5 hectares and was founded in the same year when it arrived in Indonesia
Through this factory he produces various types of wire rods and carbon rods. However, the turning point for his business was when he pioneered the development of an integrated factory and the use of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) as a substitute for scrap iron which is the basic material for making steel.
Moreover, according to Zia Permata Dalam Lakshmi Mittal Success Story (2007), thanks to pioneering new techniques in the steel mill business, Mittal's company was able to connect with the global steel industry. In fact, the company is able to collaborate with the global steel industry. Several times he also acquired steel companies in other countries.
As a result, PT. Ispat Indo then truly became the sole player in the steel business, not only in Indonesia, Asia, but the world. It was recorded that within 1-2 years after being founded, PT. Ispat Indo has successfully exported 70% of its products to Asian and Asia Pacific markets.
Until finally in 2004, Mittal chose to merge PT Ispat Indo into his international business network. The new company was later named Mittal Steel Co. NV which later changed to Arcelor Mittal. This company later became the ruler of the world steel industry with production of 42.1 million tons of steel per year and managed to make a profit of more than US$ 22 billion.
However, he is different from Lohia who chose to become an Indonesian citizen. Mittal still holds Indian citizenship to this day. Regardless of his status, Lakshmi Narayan Mittal then became CEO until 2021. During that time he also managed to make profits of trillions of rupiah from businesses operating in Indonesia. Now, PT. Ispat Indo is managed by his wife, Ushal Mittal.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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