Recollections of My Career

The Bulletin's occasional series of interviews with the older generation of economists has so far focused upon those who have served as ministers or held high positions in the civil service. A rather different perspective on economic conditions and economic policy under the Old Order is offered here by one of Indonesia's veteran pribumi (indigenous) entrepreneurs, Soedarpo Sastrosatomo, best known for his involvement with Bank Niaga and the Samudera Indonesia shipping group. Notable as one of the few pribumi to have survived in the forefront of business since the early years of Independence, he aimed in his business ventures to be an agent of soaoeconomic progress, a goal for which he is still working. His experience covers the fields of importing, office machines and computers (Soedarpo Corporation, est. 1952), insurance (Asuransi Bintang, est. early 1955), banking (Bank Niaga, est. late 1955) and, in the transport industry, agencies, stevedoring, shipping and freight forwarding (Samudera Indonesia and associated firms, 1964 onwards).

In view of the priority given after Independence to fostering the emergence of an indigenous business elite and the generally disappointing results, an underlying theme is that elusive factor of production, entrepreneurship. The interview therefore devotes some attention to Soedarpo's atypical family and educational background, as a prelude to his acquisition of banking skills and foreign contacts during a posting to the United Nations in New York (1948–50). By 1952, when he embarked on a business career, he was still inexperienced but better prepared than most of his contemporaries. The middle sections of the interview focus on the problems of capital formation, import licensing and inflation under the Old Order. Finally, Samudera Indonesia's role in the development of Indonesia's deepsea liner shipping is traced from the mid 1960s into the 1980s, showing how, even for a mature enterprise, survival still depends upon a judicious combination of local knowkdge, foreign Connections, and scarce capital.