Indonesia’s richest woman Marina Budiman loses half her wealth in 3 days

For three weeks straight, Marina Budiman became roughly US$350 million richer each day.

By mid-March the president commissioner of Indonesia’s biggest data centre operator sat atop a US$7.5 billion fortune after her company repeatedly soared by the daily limit, making her the country’s wealthiest woman, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Then the stock of DCI Indonesia crashed. In just three days, Budiman’s net worth fell by half, and Indonesia could add yet another infamous boom-and-bust stock price run to its growing tally.

All told, Budiman and fellow billionaires and DCI controlling shareholders – Otto Toto Sugiri and Han Arming Hanafia – saw their combined fortunes soar by over US$17 billion before they plummeted. At Tuesday’s close, the shares had given up more than half the gains since the rally began in mid-February.

Wild price swings in stocks are a common and increasingly problematic feature of Indonesia’s equity market.

Dozens of firms have moved by 1,000 per cent or more in recent years, their shares seemingly unshackled from the underlying financials. DCI closed on Tuesday with a market value of close to US$17 billion, compared to last year’s revenue of US$112 million and US$49 million profit. The company trades at 416 times earnings.