Queen of the Philip Straits

Entrepreneur's Story

By: Agustinus Gius Gala

Globe Asia-23 Maret 2009. Batam's Nada Faza Soraya has a business vision that includes eco-tourism, tourism training and the establishment of an Indonesian Coast Guard. Famed locally for her stamina and fighting spirit, she is likely to grow her influence in national maritime issues. The tide around the Riau Islands in mid-January 2009 was quite high but Nada Faza Soraya did not cancel her trip to Labu Island where she had been invited by local fishermen for a crab harvest ceremony. Later in the day she returned to Batam Island to chair a meeting of the local chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). In the evening she met with Captain Holly Graf, the female commander of the USS Cowpens, a guided-missile cruiser resupplying in Batam.

Nada is a very busy businesswoman. She entered the business world rather late, opening a coal trading business in 1996, followed by a company supplying raw materials to a number of pharmaceutical companies belonging to friends. She now controls two companies: shipping outfit PT Citra Bahari Nusindo, and property concern PT Surya Sei Nongsa. Although she doesn't fully control the two firms, GlobeAsia estimates her business assets as worth about Rp 500 billion ($50 million) Nada was raised in an entrepreneurial environment. Her step-father was a shipping businessman and her mother was owner of a music recording studio. She grew up with various business obsessions particularly those related to the maritime world. “My step father was an entrepreneur in shipping whose operation covered the islands in Riau.

In 1996, one of his vessels hit a tanker in the Phillips Strait, and we had to pay the damage because we (the vessel) were considered in the wrong path,” the 51-year-old businesswoman recalls. “After that incident, we started from zero again. I took over the business because my father was ill. I had to struggle to obtain licenses,” she explains.This resulted in the establishment of PT Citra Bahari Nusindo, which commenced with no vessels as the family had been forced to sell its fleet to cover damages in the earlier incident.The first opportunity came from Singapore. Penguin Boat International, which ferries passengers between Batam and Singapore, appointed Citra Bahari as its agent in Batam through a joint venture, PT Penguin Indoraya, which operates 10 ferries in the Riau Islands.Several years later, Penguin set up a cargo business, Penguin Speed Cargo, in which Nada has a 30% stake. She has owns three vessels in the venture, each with a capacity of 170 dead weight tons.

Nada says she plans to expand her shipping fleets this year: adding two more cargo vessels and seven ferries, which will require total investment of around Rp 500 billion.However, according to information gathered by GlobeAsia, Penguin sold its entire stake in the venture, in December 2008, to PT Kyorisa International Service. Expanding Batam's tourism potentialIn 2000, Nada set up a resort business dedicated to Korean tourists in a joint venture with PT Inko Batam, a Korean-owned company. She says that the resort business is part of efforts to help turn Batam into a MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) destination. “Batam has the potential to become a MICE city,” she says. Inko owns 70% of the Nongsa Beach Resort on Batam facing the Philip Straits and is developing the 10-ha, 325 room resort as an international class facility. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Nada's 30% share is owned through PT Surya Sei Nongsa. “I want to expand the tourism business to the Southeast Asian region, by setting up resorts in Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as expanding the marketing network of products from Batam. This will start once the construction of the Nongsa Beach Resort has been completed,” Nada says. Nada joined Kadin in 2000 as head of the grouping's environmental committee.

A year later, she became deputy chairwoman of the Batam chapter of Kadin. During Kadin's national leadership meeting in 2001 in Bali, she pushed for the setting up of a maritime committee in Kadin and she succeeded. In 2005, she was appointed as chairwoman of the Batam chapter of Kadin for the 2005-2010 period. Through Kadin Batam, Nada set up a social foundation called the Indonesian Maritime Education Foundation. She says that this was the first step in her effort to set up the Indonesian Maritime University, which will provide scholarship for children of fishermen or other poor people to study about maritime. “Unfortunately, until now our plan to set up the university has yet to be realized because the necessary permit has yet to be issued,” she grumbles.

Building an Indonesian Coast GuardNada has also been successful in helping to push the central government to revise Law No. 21/1992 on shipping to become Law No. 17/2008. Her other obsession is to set up the Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard as the sole regulator in the Indonesian waters. “We need to have the Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard. I talked about this on CNN, and I was questioned by Intelligence. Indonesia needs to have this kind of institution so that the shipping vessels owned by our businessmen are not seized easily at any time - arrested by the navy, then released, then seized again by the Ministry of Maritime, by the customs office, or by the Air Force water police. How much money do we have to spend because each office has its own rulings?” she says. Nada seems to have strong stamina.

Supriyadi, head of the Riau Islands chapter of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi), describes her as a fighter lady. “If she has set up a target, she will fight until that target is achieved. One example was when she fought for the setting up of the maritime committee at Kadin. She struggled until that committee was realized.” According to Supriyadi, being too firm in what she believes has often led her into confrontations and suggests she adopt a more flexible approach in dealing with others. “This is important so that more people will support her. We know that she has also worked a lot for the interest of the people.” Nada is currently active in promoting the development of Lengkana Island, which is only a 25-minute ferry trip from Singapore's Sentosa Island.

She says that by 2010, Singapore will complete the construction of the world's largest casino on Sentosa Island, which is being developed by the Star Cruise Group from Malaysia and a gaming giant from Las Vegas. Nada wants to make the group of islands near Singapore a 'bastion' against the negative effects of the gambling center in Singapore. Her plan is to develop the nearby islands as an eco-tourism destination as well as a center for the development of local culture and leading products. She insists the people in Batam must be protected against nearby gambling. “We can't fight Singapore. The only option for us is to develop integrated eco-tourism. Perhaps it could be like the Mezzo Island in China, where there are no automotive vehicles,” she explains. On Lengkana Island, Nada and other Batam-based investors have set up a consortium to develop townhouses, a three-star hotel, an environment-friendly tourism facility, and education center for tourism training as well to train people to work in Singapore.

On the same island, the Kadin Batam chapter is also developing a trading house, an exhibition hall, and center for the development of leading national products. Development of Lengkana Island will begin this year and cost an estimated Rp800 billion. Nada says that the biggest expense will be the construction of a solar energy facility for electricity and a waste processing facility. The 60-ha island will also have its own special terminal so people don't have to transit in Batam. There will be no cars, motorcycles or other vehicles which emit carbon dioxide on the island. The means of transportation will be bicycle, tricycle, horse wagon, or electric cars. Will Asians appreciate the quiet?Lengkana Island, which is located near Sambu and Lengkan islands, has huge potential for tourism development with its various Malay dishes, arts and culture, handicrafts and a virgin tropical nature. Nada says at this moment, around 1,500-3,000 local and foreign tourists visit the island every holiday season.“Here (in Batam), money can come anytime, can meet any one including big global business people.

Many world-class businessmen came here quietly. They walk around the island without anyone noticing. It will be much better if it (the tourism sector) is managed properly,” says Nada. Ben Sukma, chairman of the travel agency association (Asita), warns that Asian tourists have different characteristics; they love to go to destinations if there are many people there. Thus, according to Ben, the market segment for eco-tourism in Asia is still small.“The investors must be able to convince tourists who normally visit Singapore that Lengkana Island is also worth visiting. Asian tourists prefer crowded places,” Ben explains.

Regarding the move by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in January to declare Batam a Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Nada laments the facts that it was made before various other problems such as weak bureaucracy, lack of international-class port facility, conflicting regulations, and the absence of Indonesian Sea and Cost Guard have been settled first. Nada is concerned that after the President launches Batam as an FTZ, and the law and implementing regulation have been issued, the real conditions in the field are yet to meet the requirements of international conventions.