Saratoga's Uno elected deputy governor of Jakarta

The official result will not be released until next week, but Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the incumbent governor, conceded to Baswedan within hours of the polls closing. The election took place against a backdrop of religious and ethnic tensions: Baswedan is a Muslim and Purnama, Indonesia’s most prominent Christian politician in years, appeared in court late last year on charges of blasphemy against Islam.

“We ask the blessing of all citizens of Jakarta, not only from those who have chosen us, but the whole community of Jakarta,” Uno said in a post on his Facebook account. “We, Anies-Sandi are ready to be leaders who can unite all religious, racial, ethnic and social classes. Let us together build Jakarta into a developed city, with happy citizens.”

Uno, who is one of Indonesia's wealthiest and most high-profile business people, started scaling back his formal corporate roles in 2015, with a view to entering politics. He gave up director or commissioner posts with nearly 20 companies, including Adaro Energy, the mining company through which he arguably made his name as an investor, and Saratoga Investama Sedaya (SIS), a listed vehicle containing legacy assets that predate Saratoga Capital's institutional funds.

The moves followed Uno's appointment to the advisory board of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, also known as Gerindra. The party is headed by Prabowo Subianto, who was defeated by Joko Widodo in the 2014 presidential election. Uno served as Subianto's spokesman during the campaign. Purnama was Widodo’s deputy when the latter was governor of Jakarta prior to his election as president.

Uno and Edwin Soeryadjaya set up Saratoga in 1998 and made early investments such as Adaro, Sumalindo and Tower Bersama Group. Kay Mock arrived from GIC Private in 2006 and led the firm's transition from a family office-style approach to managing third-party capital on a formal basis. Saratoga closed its third fund in 2012 at $600 million.

Saratoga Investama Sedaya listed the following year and was intended to provide most of the GP commitment to Saratoga Asia III. The stock opened up 21% at IDR4,350 on April 20 before falling back to IDR3,830 by the end of morning trading.

It is not unprecedented for Indonesian private equity executives to take up roles in public service. Gita Wirjawan, one of the founders of Ancora Capital, entered politics in 2009 as chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and subsequently served as trade minister between 2011 and 2014. Tom Lembong, former CEO of Quvat Capital, is the current trade minister, having been appointed in 2015.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• People
• Appointments
• Indonesia
• Saratoga Capital Group
• Sandiaga S. Uno
• GPs