Trump Organisation’s luxury Bali project considers scaling back amid slowdown

Indonesian partner PT MNC Investama is looking at remodelling the design of the Trump-branded six-star hotel and residential venture to make it more affordable

Indonesians are cutting back on spending, especially luxury items, as the coronavirus pandemic hits the economy

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The Trump-branded six-star hotel, beach club, golf course and 144 ultra-luxury homes, will be located behind Bali’s Tanah Lot temple, and may be remodelled to make it more affordable to investors. Photo: Handout

Published: 1:00pm, 24 Jun 2020Updated: 1:24pm, 24 Jun 2020

Less than a year after Donald Trump Jnr visited Jakarta to mark the Trump Organisation’s foray into Southeast Asia’s biggest country, his ultra-luxury project in Bali is facing a new reality: Indonesians are holding back spending as the coronavirus ravages the nation’s US$1 trillion economy.

The US developer’s local partner and conglomerate, PT MNC Investama, is now considering remodelling the design of the Trump-branded six-star hotel and residential venture in a bid to make the property more affordable to buyers seeking to save, according to tycoon and chairman Hary Tanoesoedibjo.

“I see people have become more modest,” Tanoesoedibjo, 54, said. “It shouldn’t be too lavish. Maybe it will be just a five-star or a tad below five-star because lifestyle in the future will change drastically.”

The pandemic has hit Indonesia harder than the 1997 Asian financial crisis, battering small and big businesses alike, President Joko Widodo said last week. With the economy on course to contract as much as 3.8 per cent this quarter, even rich Indonesians are not in the mood to splurge. Average monthly sales of luxury cars from Mercedes-Benz to Lexus and BMW plunged 50 per cent in April and May from the previous quarter.

Donald Trump with MNC Group CEO Hary Tanoesoedibjo and his wife Liliana at the signing ceremony of the venture in August 2015. Photo: Handout

Luxury properties are not just falling out of favour in Indonesia. Home prices in London’s wealthiest districts fell the most since early 2009 in April as the spread of the virus derailed a nascent recovery in the city’s priciest postcodes. Manhattan deals came to a near standstill in May, as contracts to buy co-ops fell 80 per cent from a year earlier and condo sales plunged 83 per cent.