Profile of Gang Ye, Garena and Shopee Boss, Who Allegedly Provides Private Jet to Kaesang-Erina

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The tycoon and top executive of SEA Limited, Gang Ye, is suspected of being the individual who provided private jet facilities for President Joko Widodo or Jokowi's youngest son and daughter-in-law, Kaesang Pangarep and Erina Gudono. SEA Limited is a Singaporean company overseeing the e-commerce giant Shopee and Garena, a business unit that produces the popular game Free Fire.

A source at Shopee Indonesia, speaking anonymously, has been unable to confirm whether the private jet used by Kaesang was affiliated with the SEA Group. “Since 2021, all operational vehicles for the directors have been gone,” they stated.

Meanwhile, another Shopee employee, who also requested anonymity, admitted that the SEA Group has had close ties with the Solo family in the past three years. Additionally, Shopee now operates two offices in Solo, located at Solo Paragon Mall and Solo Technopark. The issue of the private jet used by Kaesang and Erina has been a topic of discussion among employees.

“It seems plausible that the private jet belongs to a Shopee executive,” the source suggested.

Indonesian netizens recently highlighted Kaesang and Erina's vacation in the United States using a private jet, which coincided with demonstrations held by thousands of Indonesians protesting the Regional Election Bill. This bill was suspected of being an attempt to facilitate Kaesang's participation in the upcoming election.

Netizens also discovered that the private jet used by Kaesang and Erina was a Gulfstream G650ER with registration number N588SE. One netizen shared a document clipping indicating that the owner of this Gulfstream G650ER was Garena Online (Private) Ltd.

Who is Tycoon Gang Ye?

Gang Ye is a Singaporean tycoon and one of the founders and executives of SEA Group. According to Forbes, he co-founded the company with Forrest Li and David Chen and has a net worth of approximately US$3.3 billion or around Rp51 trillion as of August 26, 2024.

As stated on the official SEA Limited website, in addition to being a founder, Gang Ye has served as a member of the SEA Group board of directors since March 2010. He held the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) from January 2017 and previously served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from March 2010 to December 2016.

Prior to joining SEA Group, Gang Ye worked at the Singapore Economic Development Board and the palm oil company Wilmar International. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Economics from Carnegie Mellon University.

Gang Ye's business endeavors are supported by Tencent, which holds a significant stake in the SEA Group. The company's involvement in media and entertainment has attracted substantial investments from various sources, including the private equity firm General Atlantic and Kuok Khoon Hua, the son of Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok.

According to Forbes, SEA recorded its first annual net profit of US$163 million in 2023. Beyond e-commerce and online gaming, SEA has expanded its operations by launching digital banking services in Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines through Seabank.

RADEN PUTRI ALPADILLAH GINANJAR | NANDITO PUTRA

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