IFC Officially Becomes AnterAja's Main Shareholder

International Finance Corporation (IFC) is now officially a shareholder in PT Adi Sarana Armada (IDX: ASSA) through the conversion of a $31 million bond (approximately Rp470 billion at current exchange rates) whose conversion period ends on July 27, 2023.

IFC holds a stake in the transportation and logistics services company after the conversion of bonds amounting to 97,33 million shares or 2,64% of the total shares in Adi Sarana Armada.

Please note, this convertible bond is funding obtained by the company from IFC in 2021. The bonds will be listed on the capital market for two years without interest, and issued through a limited public offering (rights issue) by Adi Sarana Armada.

Quoting BeritaSatu.com, IFC's investment in Adi Sarana Armada aims to enhance the growth of the logistics and connectivity sector in Indonesia. "We believe IFC's entry as an ASSA shareholder will strengthen our performance as a credible company in the eyes of business partners and public investors," said Adi Sarana Armada Main Director Prodjo Sunarjanto.

In an IFC report a few years ago, IFC revealed that the interest in investing had an impact (impact investing) is quite high with a value of $26 trillion. The impact is not only strong financial returns, but also social and environmental impacts.

The report states that if 10% of this potential funding is channeled into impact investments, there will be funding available to achieve sustainable development goals.

Apart from Adi Sarana Armada, IFC too investing in a number of Indonesian startups, includes PasarPolis (insurtech), Amartha (fintech lending), Evermos (social commerce), eFisheries (aquatech), We can (crowdfunding), and CloudCash (fintech lending).

Sluggish logistics

Meanwhile, logistics is one of the sectors with rapid growth in Indonesia, primarily boosted by industry E-commerce which is projected to grow at a CAGR of 17% and a GMV value of $95 billion through 2025 according to the 2022 e-Conomy SEA report.

Please note, Adi Sarana Armada is the parent of the AnterAja platform, a delivery service provider last mile operating in 2019. Meanwhile, AnterAja's performance has been sluggish throughout last year.

Based on the 2022 annual report, AntherAja experienced a net loss of IDR 198 billion from a profit position of IDR 5,8 billion in the previous year. Most recently, AnterAja's revenue in the first semester of 2023 was recorded to have fallen 56% to IDR 817 billion from IDR 1,8 trillion in the same period the previous year.

In his statement, Prodjo said that he was carrying out efficiency and restructuring actions within AnterAja to restore its performance this year. One of them is the plan to enter the B2B segment.

"For the Anteraja business, it is in line with the process right sizing capacity currently being carried out, the company adjusts capacity to logistical needs so as to make business operations more efficient," he said as reported by Bisnis.com.