Trump Jr. kicks off sale of luxury condos in Indonesian projects

Bloomberg

PT MNC Land, an Indonesian builder, began a sale of luxury condos and mansions in two projects being developed in Indonesia in partnership with the Trump Organisation, marking the US developer’s foray into Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Donald Trump Jr., who attended a pre-launch event in Jakarta for condos and villas that will be built in West Java and Bali, said Indonesia was “an under-served market” and the projects are “a dream becoming a reality” for the Trump Organisation. The projects will be completed in stages within three years, according to MNC Land.
The US president’s eldest son said Asia is “a natural market” for the Trump Organisation and that Indonesia is “a big component of that” but no new deal will be done until after Donald Trump leaves office.
Indonesian business tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo’s MNC Land is investing $1.7 billion to develop the two sites, including a Trump-branded six-star luxury hotel in Bali and a resort and condos in Lido in West Java. The partnerships signed in 2015 entitles Trump Organisation to receive royalty from the Indonesian developer for the use of the Trump brand.
The West Java project, in an area known as Lido Lakes will eventually be spread over 3,000 hectares sandwiched between two volcanoes. The initial phase includes a Trump-branded resort, as well as villas and condos, and a golf course. Tanoesoedibjo’s plans for the project include a concert venue that can accommodate 100,000 people, a production facility for film and television studios and a theme park that he has said would be twice as big as Universal Studios in Singapore.
Bali Resort
The Trump International Hotel and Tower Bali will be the largest resort on the popular tourist island and will be managed by the U.S. developer, according to MNC Land. Tanoesoedibjo is the founder of media and real estate conglomerate MNC Group and also runs his own political party. The businessman was on the guest list for Trump’s inauguration, and has often touted his friendship with Trump’s children.
The Trump Organization will not pursue new deals globally to avoid “impropriety,” Trump Jr. told reporters. The developer will focus on completing projects signed before Donald Trump won the presidential election and doesn’t see any impact of the ongoing trade war on the group’s business, he said.
“After politics we’ll look to come back into the market,” Trump Jr. said, adding new ventures could be in Indonesia or India where he had spent years building relationships with developers. “We voluntarily chose to put that aside so as not to create the impression of any kind of impropriety.”
Trump broke with the practice of previous presidents who either divested assets that could cause conflicts of interest or put those assets in blind trusts. Instead, Trump transferred his assets to a revocable trust administered by his elder son, Trump Jr., and Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization.
Tanoesoedibjo said he had been in talks with potential Chinese backers for financing the theme park that will be built near to the Trump-branded properties in Lido, but no deal had been done. “There is no financing from China,” he said.
Trump Jr. said the theme park had nothing to do with the Trump Organization. “My father is not at all involved, and he wouldn’t make decisions that affect the country based on a real estate deal,” he said.