Martua was born, went to high school and then university (University of HKBP Nomensen, Medan where he studied economics) in North Sumatra. His first job was as a fish trader, before turning his attention to palm oil. To that end, in 1991 he founded Wilmar International Ltd with Kuok Khoon Hong, the nephew of Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok. The business grew rapidly, and a little over two decades later owned over 50 companies and 300 manufacturing plants worldwide. When he stepped down from the board in 2018 it was the largest trader and producer of palm oil in the world.

Away from Wilmar, Martua owns the Aviva Tower building in London, and is heavily involved with Roys Poyiadjis who are building Japan’s largest biofuel power plant. He also founded the Gama Corporation alongside his brother Ganda Thio, who concentrate on among other things, real estate and cement.