With John Riady, CEO, PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk & Managing Director, PT Multipolar Tbk
The Lippo Group is viewed as a proxy for the state of the Indonesian economy. Its performance across key business verticals – real estate, private healthcare, and its tech bets – place it at the centre of Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The group has been in the news recently with ride-hailing and payments decacorn Gojek investing in its retail business, and Axiata Group Bhd., Malaysia’s biggest wireless carrier, being in talks to pick up stake in its portfolio company PT Link Net.
In 2019, in a surprise move, John Riady, grandson of Lippo founder Mochtar Riady, became the CEO of IDX-listed Lippo Karawaci, and was tasked with restoring the property developer’s many challenges at that time. Lippo Karawaci is also the majority shareholder of Indonesia’s largest private healthcare services provider Siloam International Hospitals, where John serves as Chairman of the Board, and owns a stake in SGX-listed Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust, which owns and operates one in every four malls in Indonesia.
As Lippo CEO, John Riady has focused on concentrating on the sweet spots in real estate and healthcare businesses. He is betting on macro drivers like urbanisation and demographics, as well as the digitalisation of healthcare to spur growth at the group’s businesses.
Prior to taking over as CEO, Riady led the group’s digital efforts and investments in SE Asia’s technology sector including in e-payment platform OVO, which counts Grab and Tokopedia among its backers.
The group has made over 40 investments in Indonesia’s tech sector, which Riady believes is at an inflection point. We will hear more from Riady on how he is applying learnings from leading digital initiatives on hardcore brick-and-mortar businesses in the remaking of Lippo Group.
