Musim Mas (or the company that was to become Musim Mas, originally it was simply called Nam Cheong Soap Factory) was founded by Bachtiar’s grandfather in 1932 in Medan, North Sumatra. His farther took over the reins when he reached the age of twenty, eight hears after the death of the founder. In those days it was just a soap manufacturer, but in the 1980’s they began to expand their operations to include the plantations.

Bachtiar runs the family business alongside his two brothers Bahari and Burham, and enjoyed sales of $7.6 billion in 2018 alone. As well as palm oil, the company still a global leader in the manufacture of soaps and margarine, and bought Infinita Renovables, a Spanish producer of biodiesel.