Royal Golden Eagle Group is international
name of what formerly known as PT Raja Garuda Mas, a corporate owned by Chinese
descendant Indonesian who now resides in Singapore, Sukanto Tanoto. While he is
famous for his international business that expands to ten countries, his main
businesses in Indonesia are Asian Agri Palm Oil Company and Riau Pulp and
Paper. Having no opportunity to finish formal education in his youth did not
stop him to earn success.
From
Family Business to Successful National Company
Born on December 25th 1949,
Sukanto Tanoto was raised by parents that established values of discipline,
hard work and business instinct. He is also an avid reader, and he always loves
reading books about history, success stories and business. When his Chinese
public school was shut down by the government for fear of communism idea
spreading in the 60’s, Sukanto Tanoto quickly applied real life skills in his
family business, helping his father selling gasoline, oil and car accessories.
He later moved to Medan, the capital city of
North Sumatra, and opened a store that also sold oil and car accessories, and
later started general contractor business. His big break came when an
acquaintance offered him a project for Pertamina facility in Aceh. From there,
his newly acquired business skill, knowledge and experiences brought him to
starting a plywood company. His plywood was a highly sought out commodity,
since plywood was rare in Indonesia during the 70’s.
Riau Pulp
and Asian Agri
Sukanto Tanoto later started a pulp company
called PT Indorayon in Riau, but because of environmental issues, the company
was closed. He later applied his experience in the establishing of Riau Pulp
and later Asian Agri, which later became giants of pulp, paper and palm oil
commodities in Indonesia. Riau Pulp and Paper is now said as one of the biggest
pulp and paper companies in the world, and the success of these companies later
prompted him to start expanding to other businesses.
His other businesses include Unibank,
property business through the purchase of Thamrin Plaza and Uni Plaza, and
acquisition of companies in several countries such as Philippine, Brazil and
Norway. Businesses that are included in Royal Golden Eagle now consist of
Sateri Holdings, Pacific Oil and Gas, Apical, Asia Symbol and APRIL. However,
outside these businesses, Sukanto Tanoto is also active in several philanthropy
activities through Tanoto Foundation, which focuses on activities related to
social, economy and education of local communities around his company
facilities in Indonesia.
