My name is Steven Nilam, and I come from Medan in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Even though I’ve lived in Singapore for 8 years, I’ve never forgotten my roots and in fact through my voluntary work throughout my studies in Singapore, I’ve started to grow my passion for giving back to the community.

Abundant sunshine, regular rainfall and tropical climate are fecund conditions for the growth of oil palm, and nowhere do the oil palm flowers bloom more proudly than along the tropical equator belt.

The temperate autumn days of Rizhao may be slowly giving way to the crisper climes of an approaching winter, but warm smiles and bright laughter filled the air as a group of Asia Symbol staff from its Shandong-based pulp and paperboard plant walked side-by-side 14 excited and energetic children along the Rizhao river.

Congratulations to Pof Stuart Cook, Tanoto Foundation Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, for having the multinational study on “Titin truncating variants affect heart function in disease cohorts and the general population” where Prof Cook is a co-senior author published in leading medical journal Nature Genetics.

Palm oil production is a vital pillar of the Indonesian economy, and its versatility has made it an indispensable ingredient in many consumer products ranging from chocolates to lipsticks. In recent years, palm oil has also been used in the process of manufacturing biofuels—a renewable source of energy. Today, Indonesia is the world’s largest supplier and consumer of the renewable energy source.

The Tanoto Foundation traces its roots to 1981, when founders Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto started a kindergarten and elementary school in rural Besitang located in the Sumatera Utara province of Indonesia. Today, the  Tanoto Foundation  has grown into a full-fledged, multi-faceted philanthropic organisation.