Bachtiar Karim

While Bachtiar Karim prefers to keep away from the public eye, his family’s work with Musim Mas, one of Indonesia’s biggest palm-oil companies, is a familiar topic in business talk. In 2019, the palm-oil company’s turnover reached US$6.6 billion. Karim runs the company along with his brothers Burhan and Bahari.

Karim learned how to run a business in his twenties, when he stepped in to help handle the Nam Cheong Soap Factory, which his father set up in Medan, Sumatra in 1932. Under his tutelage, the company’s production grew from 120 tons to 400 tons per month. Karim completed a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore, which provided the necessary expertise to allow him to make technological and operational improvements in the company.

In 1970, the Karim family made their foray into the palm-oil industry, setting up the first palm-oil refinery in Indonesia. Musim Mas was formally established two years later. Headquartered in Singapore, the company initially supplied palm oil to the Asian market, but began to expand their business to Europe and America. It has received recognition for its sustainability efforts.

Musim Mas has 100 per cent RSPO Principles & Criteria certification for all its mills with plantations, received the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil certification and attained Palm Oil Innovation Group verification in 2019.