Halim was born Tjoa Too Hing (蔡道行;[4] Hokkien: Chhoà Tō-hêng) in Kediri, East Java to a prominent Chinese Indonesian (Hokchia totok) family.
[4] He was the first son of Surya Wonowidjojo (Tjoa Jien Hwie), founder of Gudang Garam, a major Indonesian kretek (clove cigarette) manufacturer.
[4] Halim succeeded his father to become the CEO of Gudang Garam in 1984, and expanded the company into other fields, such as the Halim Indonesia Bank[5] (now, Bank ICBC Indonesia).
Forbes, an American business publication, ranked him and his family as the richest in Indonesia for a number of years[6] and listed them in 2005 as having a net worth of US$2.8 billion.
[7] Halim died at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore in 2008 after a week of treatment for a coronary illness.