Indonesia's Emtek, invest in Malaysia’s Netflix

JAKARTA. Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek), the owner of national TV stations SCTV and Indosiar, has spread its wings by investing in Malaysia’s streaming movies and TV series provider iFlix.

Along with European investor Sky plc, owned by mogul Rupert Murdoch, Emtek through PT Surya Citra Media has become a new investor in iFlix. Sky said it has injected $45 million into the company.

"The investment will support our continuing commitment to providing our members with the best in entertainment," said iFlix CEO and co-founder Mark Britt in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Providing a service similar to Netflix’s, iFlix is available in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Indonesia is likely to be the company’s next market for expansion.

In April 2015, iFlix got a $30 million injection from Malaysia's Catcha Group and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). PLDT is owned by Indonesian tycoon Anthony Salim and his family through Hong Kong-based First Pacific Finance.

Sariaatmadja family, who owns Emtek, is known to have tight business relations with the Salim family. It can be seen from the share ownership-swap deal between Sariaatmaja’s London Sumatera Plantations (Lonsum) and Salim’s Indosiar Visual Mandiri (Indosiar TV).

Salim bought Lonsum from Sariaatmadja in 2007 through plantation company PT Salim Ivomas Pratama In 2011, Sariaatmadja bought Indosiar through PT Surya Citra Media.

It strengthened both families in their core business. Salim is prominent in the consumer goods business, mainly with Indofood, while Sariaatmadja is strong in the media business. (Anton Hermansyah)