Mr Dahlan is in fast forward mode when it comes to growing the Jawa Pos group. Already the largest media conglomerate in Indonesia in terms of number of newspapers and TV stations and geographical reach, he is now working to take his company public in the near future.

'We are halfway to becoming a public company,' he told BT in an interview. 'Last year we issued 200 billion rupiah (S$39.2 million) worth of bonds and through that exercise we learnt about the money market.' The issue was well received and is trading at a premium.

Mr Dahlan said that his strategy is to grow the company's existing products, which include 87 newspapers and magazines and three TV stations. 'We operate regional publications in all primary and secondary cities in the country. So there is not much room for new mastheads but we can boost circulation of our existing product range.'

Unlike other media groups in the country, Mr Dahlan has concentrated on regional publications and TV stations instead of trying to compete on the national stage. His flagship newspaper, the Jawa Pos, has the largest circulation in East Java, but is only now being promoted as a national newspaper.

His strategy seems to have worked as the company's turnover has grown by between 25 and 30 per cent per annum over the past few years. 'We are now riding on the growth of regionalisation,' noted Mr Dahlan. The Jawa Pos group, he said, intends to be the largest and most profitable fully integrated media company by leveraging on the trend towards decentralisation and the emergence of strong regional economies.

Source: Business Times - Southeast Asia and Shoeb Kagda in Surabaya.