GIC to invest $261m in Indonesian cinema operator

According to a statement, the capital will be used for a national expansion of NSR's footprint, which currently includes the Cinema 21, Cinema XXI and The Premiere brands. It follows a liberalization of Indonesia's negative list for foreign investment, which included a 100% opening of businesses related to film production, distribution and cinemas.

"The investment by GIC reflects our confidence in Indonesia's long-term growth potential," said Amit Kunal, GIC's head of direct investments for Southeast Asia, PE and infrastructure. "NSR's operational expertise and portfolio of high quality cinemas positions it well to benefit from the rapidly expanding consumer class and economic development in Indonesia. We look forward to working with the team at NSR to accelerate its presence nationally and to achieve the vision of providing best-in-class cinematic experience to the country."

Indonesia's cinema market is considered to have one of the lowest penetration rates in the world, and is estimated to encompass only about 1,100 screens for a population of around 250 million. Recent activity in this space includes an expansion initiative by events ticketing site BookMyShow Indonesia, which is expected to leverage a INR5.5 billion funding round by its India-based parent company Bigtree Entertainment.

The deal follows a number of leadership changes at GIC, including the promotion of Chow-Kiat Lim from group chief investment officer to CEO, replacing Siong-Gim, who will retire. Jeffrey Jaensubhakij took over from Lim as CIO, relinquishing his position as deputy CIO and president for public markets.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Media
• Expansion
• Indonesia
• GIC Private
• Growth capital