I truly appreciate President Joko Widodo’s focus on the logistics sector as prior to his administration, the sector was advancing poorly. Reflecting this past under-performance is the fact that there is yet to be a logistics company that has become a publicly traded company. The notion that had prevailed in the public also viewed freight forwarders and similar companies as merely small operations, denying the reality that this sector actually employs a large workforce. Moreover, logistics companies also contribute to the broader economy by helping reduce the cost of transporting goods. That said, we have indeed seen improvements after Mr Joko Widodo took office. Going forward, I am optimistic about the continued growth of the freight forwarding and logistics business. This industry is closely linked to goods and their movement, thus it is as inevitable as electricity.

It should be noted that most logistics companies in Indonesia are not true logistics companies in the sense that they provide comprehensive supply chain management services; most merely act as brokers or handle custom clearance requests. A further challenge is that the majority of large manufacturing companies in Indonesia carry out their tenders overseas in hiring a supply chain management company; local companies simply find it difficult to compete. Our own strategy to overcome this is by engaging the opportunities abroad. As for our project cargo division, we primarily cater to domestic clients such as state-owned companies.

We can choose to see the ASEAN Economic Community as a gate that will bring in regional competitors or we can embrace it as an opportunity, it is only a matter of perspective. The challenge is that perhaps companies from abroad will have the advantage of having larger capital; that is our only concern. Our way around this is by finding investors to become our partners.

We are open to working with international companies. As a matter of fact, our plan to offer the company’s stock to the public is in part to serve this purpose as it will make it easier for us to find overseas partners. One of the advantages of becoming a publicly traded company is that the company will be on the radar of both local and foreign investors. DFI Logistics welcomes joint venture opportunities as well as other forms of partnerships. For example, we are currently in talks with a German company for a prospective joint venture. If everything goes according to plan, an agreement will be signed possibly in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in December this year or January 2016.

The first priority for us in terms of international cooperation is for the purpose of expanding our business network. For freight forwarding and logistics companies like DFI Logistics, having a far-reaching network is the foremost advantage in furthering our marketing and sales efforts. Having an alliance with logistics companies worldwide puts us in a good position in matters such as negotiation, etc. The second is to be able to obtain technology such as software and operational systems. The third is to acquire additional capital.

My vision is to establish DFI Logistics as the leading logistics and freight forwarding service provider in Indonesia, while my immediate goal is to secure the company’s IPO. I expect us to be the first logistics company to go public in Indonesia. The transparency as a public company through sales and financial reports will allow us to better showcase our company to investors. DFI Logistics is seeking overseas partners whether as prospective investors in equity or in exploring the possibility of joint operations.