Anthoni Salim

Mr. Anthony Salim’s company began with humble beginnings when his father Liem Sioe Liong started it under the Suharto era in Indonesia, and grew it to an annual turnover of US$20 billion in 1995 or an estimate 5% of the country’s GDP. This also meant that in 1995, the company was not just the largest conglomerate in Indonesia but also in Southeast Asia. With assets including Indofood Suskes Makmur, the world’s largest instant producer, and Bogasari, a large flour-milling operation. The business tycoon was voted as Marcopolis’ #2 most powerful businessman in Indonesia.

Whilst Salim Group has also been involved in property development and the leisure industry for over 30 years. Its businesses include hotel and resort development, golf courses, and commercial real estate The listed companies that the Salim Group is involved in include Indofood (instant noodles), Indomobil (automotive), Indocement (cement), First Pacific Company (Telecoms, Trading, Property and food), amongst others. It employs more than 100,000 staff around the Pacific region. In 1993, the company was handed over to Anthony Salim. Born in 1949, the third son of Salim Group founder Liem Sioe Liong. He studied business in the U.K. and after returning home quickly became a top manager in the group.

Ever since he has played a crucial role in diversifying its businesses, a strategy that fell apart when the Asian financial crisis struck. When most of the group’s assets were placed under government control, Salim took steps to hold on to Indofod Suskes Makmurthe group’s crown jewel. Under Chairman and CEO Anthoni Salim the conglomerate is expanding beyond its core food business and extending its geographic reach.

Indeed, Salim Group, which comprises more than 30 listed companies and numerous private businesses, is sprinting ahead with acquisitions and partnerships. The conglomerate’s moment of crisis – when it nearly collapsed in the late 1990s – seems like eons ago.

Drastic changes are occurring in the group’s core food businesses. Consider the diversification of Indofood Suskes Makmur. Already the world’s largest producer of instant noodles, Indofood over the past three years has established joint ventures in bottled beverages and restaurants. Indofood is extending its reach in agricultural commodities, too. Listed Singaporean unit Indofood Agri Resources has acquired stakes in sugar producers in Brazil and the Philippines.

Whilst on the retail front, Salim Group owns a stake in Indomarco Prismatama, which runs Indonesian convenience store chain Indomaret. All of this is part of Anthoni Salim’s long-term vision, which is based on a projection of 50% global population growth over the next 30 years, and the steady rise in the purchasing power of Southeast Asians.