Indonesian Palm Oil Billionaire Bachtiar Karim's Son Is Building A

This story appears in the June 2023 issue of Forbes Asia. Subscribe to Forbes AsiaThe House of Tan Yeok Nee is one of Singapore’s most iconic buildings, a low-slung traditional Chinese-style mansion built in 1885 and adorned with thick wooden beams and elaborate carvings, centered around an open courtyard with a koi pond. It’s also a national monument with a premier location, a few minutes’ walk from The Istana, the president’s official residence, in central Singapore. While the building has had many owners in its long history, it is now held by Indonesian palm oil tycoon Bachtiar Karim, who shares an estimated $4 billion fortune with his brothers, through his family’s Singapore real estate company, Invictus Developments. The purchase of the house is part of the family’s strategy to diversify out of palm oil, the main source of their wealth, and add a new money-spinner to a group of carefully curated properties across the Asia-Pacific. Sitting in a room that overlooks the koi pond, Bachtiar’s 31-year-old son, Chayadi Karim, outlines his vision for Invictus: To build a portfolio of high performing and bespoke accommodation assets across the gateway cities in Singapore, Australia and Japan, with a focus on the hospitality sector. Chayadi has already done much to realize that goal. Founded in 2018, Invictus has spent about $236 million since late 2019, and its holdings include a heritage hotel in Sydney and a serviced apartments building in Brisbane, with a new hotel opening soon in Singapore. Aside from the House of Tan Yeok Nee, Invictus has other properties in Singapore, where the firm is based, including the KINN Capsule Hotel, shophouses and industrial units. The family holds Invictus separately from Musim Mas Holdings, the major palm oil company run by Bachtiar and his two younger brothers Burhan and Bahari. Chayadi says Invictus now owns about $500 million in assets, with the goal to double that figure to $1 billion within five years. And to make money from them. “I enjoy looking at heritage properties and, of course, owning them,” says Chayadi. “But from an investment standpoint, it all boils down to the returns [on] the asset.” In October last year, Invictus purchased another iconic building, the Harbour Rocks Hotel in Sydney, from Australian developer Robert Magid for A$40 million ($26 million). The hotel, which dates from 1887, is a few minutes’ walk from Sydney Harbour Bridge. Invictus funds its acquisitions with an undisclosed mix of family money and bank loans, according to Chayadi, who oversees day-to-day operations and makes key investment decision as the firm’s principal. Chayadi says Invictus is currently looking to buy co-living properties in Singapore and elsewhere, and to enter the hospitality market in Japan and the U. K. “We are already placing bids for properties in Australia and Japan,” Chayadi says later by email.


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