Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Starting from three classmates setting up a business with capital of NT$1,500 or around US$50 in 1949, “plastic king” Lin Shu-hong has now managed to become a successful conglomerate. He is on the list of the richest people from the petrochemical industry.
As of Wednesday (1/11/2023), Forbes recorded Lin’s total wealth at US$6.4 billion or the equivalent of IDR 102 trillion. With this amount of wealth, Lin is ranked 394th richest person in the world and 3rd in Taiwan.
Lin, who was born in Taipei on August 1 1928, successfully graduated after studying at Taipan Industrial College (now called National Taipei University of Technology). He was conscripted for World War II in 1945.
After his military service, Lin, together with Liao Ming-Kun and Tseng Shin-Yi, founded the “Chang Chun” plastic factory. The name “Chang Chun” in Chinese means “long spring” and reflects the desire between the three for their bond to last.
The three of them started the business with small capital from selling bicycles, namely NT$1,500 or around US$50. At that time, each of the three friends deposited NT$500 as initial capital.
The three founded the company based on research and development. For six decades, the three of them worked together to grow the Chang Chun Group.
As time went by, Chang Chun also utilized research and development to establish the international status of its petrochemical products.
After 15 years of existence, the company management decided to expand into the petrochemical industry by establishing Chang Chun Petrochemical in 1964. The company then established Dairen Chemical Corporation as another chemical business line in 1979.
One of the keys to Chang Chun Group’s success is prioritizing the research and development (R&D) division. Every year, this company reportedly sends dozens of research teams to attend the annual chemical industry exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.
Lin’s role in encouraging the company’s R&D was so great that Commonwealth Magazine (CW) magazine even called him the “Thomas Alva Edison” of the petrochemical industry in 1990.
Currently, the Chang Chun company has 35 subsidiaries spread across Asia, Europe and the US. In 2022, Chang Chun Group’s total revenue was reported to reach NT$181 billion.
Lin led Chang Chun Group until 2013. After Liao and Tseng died in 1999 and 2016, Lin became the only surviving founder of Chang Chun Group. Descendants of the three founding families are still involved in the business.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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