Predicting a country’s long-term direction and potential based on a series of capital markets deals is rarely a sensible idea. But there are exceptions.
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Indonesia has focused the minds of investment bankers and global investors this year, having spent decades being largely overlooked by both. For all its manifest advantages – chiefly natural resources – the sprawling Asian nation was perceived, often correctly, as a perpetually slumbering giant: corrupt, unworkable, economically unvaried and controlled by a handful of families who squirrelled away their private wealth in nearby Singapore.
Is that long and often stagnant era over? Is Indonesia finally set to shine?
Through the first five months of this year, Indonesia’s main bourse, the IDX, hosted 32 initial public offerings, raising a total of $2.12 billion, according to Dealogic. Most of these sales were small, but three key transactions stand out.
In mid February, Pertamina Geothermal Energy, a division of state energy company Pertamina, completed its $595 million IPO.
