Putera Sampoerna.
Antara/Nyoman Budhiana
This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Indonesia’s Richest 2025. See the full list here.
Tycoon Putera Sampoerna, who sold his family’s clove cigarette business to U.S. tobacco giant Philip Morris for $2 billion in 2005, has offloaded another substantial asset recently.
In November, he divested the family’s entire 66% stake in Indonesia-listed palm oil producer Sampoerna Agro to a unit of South Korean steel giant Posco, in a deal that valued the company at $885 million. Posco, which already has steel and energy ventures in Indonesia, aims to expand its biofuels presence in the country, which accounts for around 60% of global palm oil production.
Sampoerna’s family holding outfit, Sampoerna Strategic Group, said the sale to Posco allows it to refocus resources on its existing businesses, which include banking, plywood and property, while seeking new frontiers. In another palm oil deal inked in May, tycoon Ciliandra Fangiono’s Singapore-listed First Resources bought a 91% stake in palm oil company Austindo Nusantara Jaya, controlled by brothers and former rich listees George and Sjakon Tahija for $330 million.