Salim Group

The etymology of the group was initially formed after the acquisition of CV Waringin Kentjana by the Gang of Four during the early days of New Order era that export coffee, pepper, rubber, tallow nut, and copra. Salim Group would later consolidate its business by forming Indocement that focused on cement industry and Bogasari that focused on flour mill industry and was granted permission to monopolize both sectors by the state with profit sharing scheme. The group would later diversify its business by entering various sectors such as banking, real estate, automotive, and mass media.

The Salim Group was closely tied to Indonesian politician and dictator Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for 31 years and was Sudono Salim's "friend and patron".

During the May 1998 riots that led to Suharto's downfall, Sudono Salim's house was burned down and he was forced to flee to Singapore. In the aftermath of the crisis, Salim Group were forced to hand some of its assets to Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (BPPN) including Bank Central Asia and Indocement.

In 1999, the group called off talks to sell a stake in Indofood to San Miguel Corporation, the largest food and beverage conglomerate in the Philippines, because of control questions.

Projects in West Bengal

The Salim Group is involved in a number of projects in West Bengal, an eastern state of India. It is involved in the construction of Kolkata West International City. Salim and Universal Success are investors in the project, Ciputra is the developer, and Singapore-based Surbana is the project manager.

The proposal of the Salim Group for chemical hub and multi-product SEZ were cleared in principle by the board of approvals of the Union Commerce Ministry, Government of India, in October 2006.