CMA has several professionals of different nationalities with overseas education in the finance & accounting, the industrial, civil and other engineering disciplines and the information technology from well known educational institutions. These professionals have gained several years of versatile and trying experience in the debt restructuring, capital raising, M&A, and strategic alliances and industrial ventures, particularly in the oil & gas, telecommunications, agribusiness, steel pipe industry and real estate etc., and are capable of anticipating and providing solutions to very intricate and complex business problems in a wide variety of situations.

CMA believes that the companies should be run by talented professionals whose full time attention is focused in creating value for the shareholders and, therefore, it is always on the look out for bright professionals having hands-on experience in the field. CMA recruits highly educated & talented managers having a strategic vision, who are self motivated, and also provides very attractive incentives and growth prospects for its professionals in order that they may do their best for the companies they are involved in; these executives are all the time on the move and looking for bright and innovative ideas in order to surpass previous records. CMA also plans to concentrate towards purchasing equity and the Distressed Debt acquisition as well as the M&As since it believes that South East Asia provides a lot of scope in these areas. It also sees a big scope in respect of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Indonesia in 3-5 years for the exit strategy if not for the strategic investors.

Running a start up company is a bracing challenge; nevertheless, in such cases, we would examine the situation threadbare, deliberate on it and identify the main factors responsible for it. We employ managers with strategic vision but if it is discovered that the staff responsible to run the company were delinquent, they would be asked to remedy the situation with a time bound target and their progress shall be very closely monitored. If the situation still cannot be controlled, and if it is not due to economic downturn to which no one is immune, we shall either bring in a specialist as head of the team or change some of the key positions.

CMA is very well aware of the modus operandi in this respect and knows the tricks of the trade and can thus successfully engineer a take over in the right earnest. It will be appreciated that it is very difficult to generalize and narrate a categorical framework in this respect but we shall be pleased to discuss the issue from case to case since handling such situations is more of an art than theory. But, nonetheless, generally speaking the strategy to be adopted could , very briefly, be as follows:

1. Chalk out a strategy;
2. Locate a target, issue letter of intent;
3. Make due diligence studies;
4. Interact with existing shareholders and professionals;
5. Negotiate with the target company; and
6. Draw out an Integration Plan.

It is true that the economic situation in South East Asian countries leaves a lot to be desired and that the lenders are most careful before making any commitments for funding but at the same time it is also a fact that the various banks and financial institutions are willing to lend to sound projects since lending is their business & if they do not do so, they cannot earn profits. Thus, everything depends on the judicial selection of the project, its evaluation and its proper presentation to the financial institutions by an experienced and credible financial advisor having experience in the local affairs. Moreover, as against the conventional methods of financing a project, there are several innovative ways of financing which can be structured to meet the challenge. Thus, CMA is of the conviction that a viable project or a plan should never have to starve for financing.

Admittedly, CMA has not been very aggressive in its activities but is growing at a
steady pace; much of the slow progress was caused by the South East Asian crisis
emanating in mid 1997. But it is consoling to note that its growth has been steady and that it has had no set backs. CMA believes in developing a proper culture, which takes time to nurture, as it gives continuity in business practices and thus provides customer satisfaction which in turn leads to clients’ referrals. It is our belief that that in actual practice, this phenomenon enhances, by itself, the business profile of an entity. CMA is thus, hastening to enhance its profile but at a rather slow pace; it also believes in the old adage that “a good wine needs no bush ! ”

CMA’s vision is to become one of the leading fund management and financial advisory companies of Indonesia and to be a creative enterprise, caring about its customers by keeping a continual personal touch and providing them with quality service at costs lower than the competition. Thus, its mission is to develop the kind of business capability which shall make it the envy of its competitors vis-à-vis a significant growth.