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Indonesia
This Week in AsiaPeople

Indonesia’s Belinda Tanoto on net zero goods, philanthropy and Royal Golden Eagle’s China challenges and opportunities

  • The youngest daughter of Indonesian tycoon Sukanto Tanoto talks about the family’s pulp-and-paper business and the rise of climate-friendly industries
  • Read on for her thoughts on the importance of renewables, demand for net zero products – and why China remains crucial to the global economy

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Belinda Tanoto chairs the China division of her family’s sprawling business empire, the Singapore-headquartered Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group. Photo: Handout
Su-Lin Tanin Singapore
Asia’s richest families are set to hand down US$2.5 trillion in intergenerational wealth by 2030, throwing long-deferred succession plans into sharp relief. This is the first of two profiles this week on the next generation of crazy rich Asians. Read the main story here and the second profile, on Mamee’s Pierre Pang, here.
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Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto’s youngest daughter Belinda Tanoto believes the days are over when selling almost anything in China would result in a windfall and says within the decade, there will be “clear winners and losers”.

By the same token, she says moving away from China’s trickier business environment – especially for companies that want to steer clear of sanctions Washington has imposed – will not always be practical since the country remains a critical part of global supply chains. You truly have to be partners with China, she says.

A worker on a production line at a factory in east China’s Shandong province. China “remains crucial to the world economy thanks to its strong manufacturing”, Tanoto said. Photo: Xinhua
A worker on a production line at a factory in east China’s Shandong province. China “remains crucial to the world economy thanks to its strong manufacturing”, Tanoto said. Photo: Xinhua

“Despite any economic uncertainty, China remains crucial to the world economy thanks to its strong manufacturing, focus on exports, and expanding consumer market,” she told This Week in Asia.

The mother of two small children chairs the China division of her family’s sprawling business empire, the Singapore-headquartered Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group which includes some of the largest pulp and paper producers in the world.

She says the group, which also spans palm oil concerns and energy businesses such as natural gas, is doubling its business interests in China.

The 37-year-old Tanoto cut her teeth in palm oil upon joining the family business in 2008 before moving onto China.

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