Anthony Salim
Everyone in Indonesia has ever heard and consumed the instant noodle brand of Indomie, and Anthony Salim is the man behind the popularity of this brand. He is the owner of two popular food companies in Indonesia: PT Indofood Sukses Makmur and PT Bogasari Flour Mills, and his companies’ products have become staples in many households and establishments, and have even been exported to many countries. Anthony Salim might just continue his father’s companies, but his ability to grow and expand the product ranges finally brought him to Forbes list of richest Indonesians.
From Crisis to Success
Anthony Salim is the son of famous Indonesian taipan, Sudono Salim, who owned Salim Group. The group was famous for its many successful companies beside Indofood and Bogasari, such as PT Indomobil Sukses International, PT BCA and PT Indocement Tunggal Perkasa. Anthony Salim managed to continue the legacy of his father until sudden monetary crisis in 1998, which left the group with IDR 55 trillion of debt. He finally had to sell several companies, until only PT Indofood and Bogasari left.
However, crisis and financial disasters did not deter Anthony. He started to work on the two companies, making them giants among other consumer goods companies in Indonesia, especially food and beverages. Indofood produces famous instant noodle brands and other products like cup noodle, soy sauce, cooking oil, milk, ketchup and margarine, while Bogasari produces various types of cooking flour.
Indofood as the Peak of Success
PT Indofood now gains even more success after Anthony Salim took over the ownership. Indofood products were among those that were not really affected by the crisis. Also, just last year, Indofood acquired PT Pepsi Cola Indobeverages, the company that produced 7-Up and Pepsi in Indonesia. This year, Indofood even starts to enter beverage business by acquiring PT Tirta Bahagia that produced Club mineral water and importing two famous Malaysian beverages, Cafela Latte and Ichi Ocha.
Indomie brand became so famous that it made Indonesia the second most country with most consumption of noodle, under China. Indomie instant noodles have been exported to countries such as Australia, United States, and many other countries in America, Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. It also became generic name for instant noodle, so popular and well remembered the brand is in Indonesia. No wonder that Anthony Salim continues to hold his place among the top 10 of Indonesia’s richest in Forbes list.