MVP mourns passing of Salim

SALIM

Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan has hailed the late Soedono Salim—his boss in Hong Kong-based First Pacific Group—as “Indonesia’s first industrialist” who never forgot his humble beginnings as an immigrant from China.

In an e-mail to the Inquirer, Pangilinan described “Oom Liem” (Dutch for “Uncle Liem”) as the “archetypal Mandarin taipan—a self-made man who never forgot his humble roots, a people person and very much an entrepreneur.”

At the same time, a statement released by the holding firm of the Salims’ pan-Asian business empire indicated that the death of the family patriarch would not affect the leadership of the group.

“At the time of his passing away, Mr. Salim was long retired from active involvement with the group’s businesses but stood at the peak of a long and distinguished career,” First Pacific said in a statement.

First Pacific—which controls Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the country’s largest telecommunications firm, as well as a host of other key Philippine companies—is chaired by Salim’s son, Anthoni.

Pangilinan, meanwhile, serves as the firm’s managing director and CEO.

Salim was also known by his Chinese name, Liem Sioe Liong, and was First Pacific’s honorary chair and advisor to the board of directors.

He passed away last Sunday in Singapore due to old age. He was 97.

Pangilinan recalled that he first met the elder Salim in 1978 while working for the American Express Bank in Hong Kong.

“I was then syndicating a term loan for Cement Line # 6 of Indocement—the Salim Group’s first foray in the international financial markets,” he said.

Also called by his initials “LSL,” Salim was born in Foochin, Fujian and emigrated to Kudus, Central Java in 1938.

His first business was coffee-making and trading, then quickly moved to importing and selling cloves for the popular Kretek cigarettes.

“LSL was not embarrassed to admit that he has failed at least twice in his business, only to recover eventually,” Pangilinan said. “As a result of his large, asset-heavy businesses, Oom Liem is considered Indonesia’s first industrialist.”

Apart from his success in business, however, the elder Salim was also criticized for his close ties to the late Indonesian strongman, Suharto, whom he befriended when the latter was still an officer in the Indonesian armed forces.

After Suharto staged a successful coup d’état in 1967, Salim became a close ally of the Indonesian leader. Salim’s empire grew rapidly—at its peak, holding an estimated $20 billion in assets and employing 200,000 people in some 500 companies—until the region was hit by the 1997 East Asian financial crisis.

This eventually led to Suharto’s downfall, and Salim left Indonesia to live out his the rest of his years in Singapore.

First Pacific holds a direct stake of 25.6 percent in PLDT, a 59.1-percent stake in Metro Pacific Investments Corp., 50.1 percent in Indonesian noodle maker Indofood, and 31.3 percent in Philex Mining Corp., excluding another 15-percent stake held by a local affiliate in the mining firm.

“From the outset, Mr. Salim provided steadfast support and leadership to First Pacific and contributed greatly to the success of the company following its establishment,” the firm said.

First Pacific’s chair, Anthoni Salim, is estimated by Indonesian media to be worth $8.5 billion, making him one of the wealthiest men in Southeast Asia.