Malang-based transportation tycoon Gilang Widya Pramana has his sights set on acquiring shares in the region’s top flight football club Arema FC. Having just showed off his newly-purchased private jet on Instagram, Gilang declares his interest in acquiring a stake of the Singo Edan.
Born in the city of Probolinggo, around one and a half hour’s drive away from Malang, 31-year old Gilang established the Juragan 99 Trans, a transportation company based in Malang that provides charter buses for organizations, schools, and tour groups. He’s also one of the co-founders of cosmetics company MS Glow for Men, who sponsored both Arema and Bali United in the recently-cancelled 2020 Liga 1 Indonesia season.
Gilang shows no hesitation in spending his wealth that he had earned from his business ventures, purchasing a Cessna private jet worth 280 billion Rupiahs on January 22nd. And now, the business man is planning to splurge his cash once again, but this time, he’s planning to use his money to purchase shares in Arema.
According to BolaSport, the idea of Gilang injecting some cash into Arema did not come from Gilang himself alone. Arema’s chief executive officer Iwan Budianto has been trying to lobby one of East Java’s richest men to invest in the Singo Edan with hopes that Gilang’s money would take Arema into the next level.
“The desire to buy Arema has been there since the start,” Gilang said, as quoted from both Surya Malang and BolaSport, “Iwan has been repeatedly trying to set up a meeting with me to discuss this matter in more depth.”
When asked about the exact date of when he will purchase shares in Arema, Gilang revealed that he’s still biding his time, as he must estimate wisely the perfect opportunity to invest his money as the current state of Indonesian football is still uncertain due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However he will make his investment “sooner or later.”
“I’m a businessman,” Gilang said, “And as a businessman I must calculate things carefully when in regards of investing my wealth. If I just jump straight in because of my passion for football and without any financial backbone to back me up, things won’t end nicely. I’m certain about this investment, but I must form a team for this regard first.”