The partnership that became the most powerful business group during Suharto's time started from very modest premises. In the late 1960s, when the four men — Liem, Sudwikatmono, Djuhar Sutanto and Ibrahim Risjad — began working together, their office was a non-airconditioned room measuring 8 × 6 metres on the top floor of a nondescript building in the heart of Jakarta's Chinatown. One had to hoof it up four storeys to get to the austere office at Number 20 Jalan Asemka, as there were no elevators. Initially, the room had only one desk and two chairs. There was a single telephone, and even that line was shared with another office. Sudwikatmono, or Dwi, as he was often called, recalled that in the early days, when the four partners had their meetings, two of them would be standing while two sat. Dwi remarked that the highly superstitious Liem was always reluctant to make changes that might affect his luck or disturb the good feng shui of a room or building.

IN THE BEGINNING

The conglomerate that arose from those humble beginnings, usually simply called the Salim Group, was essentially a Suharto creation. At the very least, he played the role of midwife in its birth. After all, he put Liem together with Dwi, and suggested Liem team up with Djuhar. Match-making business partners seemed to be an activity the new leader liked to make time for. He got his financial generals working on ventures with Chinese businessmen. In 1967, a Sukarno-era trading company, Hanurata, got new shareholders — two of his yayasans, Trikora and Harapan Kita. Liem Sioe Liong provided the capital and was asked to run it. Suharto also installed his brother-in-law in the company and arranged for his cousin Dwi to be there. The successful pairing of Liem and Dwi was a Suharto initiative, but other business match-making propositions did not work out so well.

Liem Sioe Liong was a relative newcomer to the Suharto inner sanctum; as mentioned earlier, two other Liems preceded him: Jantje Liem and Liem Oen Kian (Djuhar Sutanto). Suharto suggested that the three Liems joined forces. They tried but it didn't last.