Dr Mirza Shan’s dental clinic in downtown Jakarta has never been fuller. The number of new patients asking for braces is so great he hired two orthodontists and three nurses to ease the workload. It’s the latest sign of rapidly rising prosperity in Indonesia, an emerging democracy of 240m, where the number of registered orthodontists quadrupled to 160 this year, according to the Indonesian Medical Council. “I’m putting on 10-15 sets of braces per month. When I started in 2006, we might have done one in a good month,” says Mirza, whose clients include Jakarta’s rich and famous. “Most of them are young professionals who come to have their teeth straightened for aesthetic reasons.” Indonesia is enjoying an economic boom, with growth of more than 6.5 per cent, inflation near a record low and rising consumer spending and incomes. This year, Indonesia became a middle income country, with per capita GDP passing $3,000. That is creating jobs for university graduates, being hired by the thousands by companies. One of them is Ria Syafitri , 24, who recently started working as a data analyst at a marketing magazine. In August, after six months of research, she got braces with fashionable pink elastics for $500. “I spent quite a lot on these braces and still have to spend another 100,000 rupiah ($11) for a check-up every two weeks. But it’s alright, I will have a better smile and it increases my self-confidence,” Syafitri says. While many countries are in the grip of double-dip recession fears, Indonesians are more bullish than ever about their finances. They are borrowing, investing and spending more on everything from motorcycles and life insurance to private jets and yachts. A survey by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Roy Morgan research last month found a record 54 per cent of respondents expect their finances to improve in the coming year. Almost as many believe now is a good time to spend on major household appliances. The signs of growth are overwhelming in urban centres. In Jakarta, custom bike shops have popped up, catering to hip youth caught up in the ‘fixie’ fad that swept the US in recent years. The brightly coloured, single-gear bikes take over Jakarta’s roads on car-free Sundays. Jakarta’s 100 or so malls have been joined by a thriving online marketplace as households get wired. Khairiyyah Sari, a former fashion editor and TV anchor, started selling high-end fashion accessories once owned by celebrities in January. Dozens of Louis Vuitton, Channel and Prada handbags and shoes have sold for as much as $2,300. “Our target market is middle class women in the provinces who like the idea of wearing labels used by celebrities. They’re not just housewives, but also working class women,” Sari said. Not everyone is spending on dental work or clothing. Purchases of Ferraris, yachts and private jets are on the rise, powered by booming commodities prices and stock market returns. Indonesia’s wealth is expanding more rapidly than China’s and India’s, with the number of individuals with more than $1m, excluding property, projected to triple by 2015, a study published this month by CLSA and Julius Baer found. “Indonesia is turning into a capitalist society,” said Adil Hakim, owner of JetRoyal, a new private charter service catering to business executives and the elite. “The new mindset is: If you can afford it, you can flaunt it.” News and photo source: Financial Times (by Anthony Deutsch)
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