Indra Philippines mulls tie up with Indonesia’s Salim Group

Tech company Indra Philippines Inc is mulling business expansion in Southeast Asia with a possible tie-up with the Indonesia-based conglomerate Salim Group, reports said.

Avionics and air defense radar systems are some of the main business targets of Indra in the region, according to Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC).

Headquartered in Jakarta, Salim Group has subsidiaries operating in agribusiness, food, distribution and retail, telecommunications, automobile, building materials, infrastructure, real estate, hotels and resorts, banking and financial services, international trade, including chemical manufacturing.

Only last week, MPIC bought a 26 per cent stake in Indra from its unit the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) for $7.1 million, reducing the latter’s ownership to 24.95 per cent.

Indra has worked on a number of large systems projects for various MPIC portfolio companies. MPIC is now seeking to further commercialize the expertise developed as part of these projects.

Indra is a joint venture between Meralco and Indra Sistemas SA of Spain. It has been operating in the Philippines for the past 18 years as provider of information technology solutions to various businesses and industries with engagements in utilities and telecommunications, financial services and public administration.

The company offers its customers management solutions – consultancy, project development, integration and implementation to IT outsourcing, and business process outsourcing (BPO).

MPIC and Meralco’s last trading prices remained at P5.07 and P308 since Friday.