What to know about the 10 Singapore-based companies issued notices over transboundary haze

What to know about the 10 Singapore-based companies issued notices over transboundary haze From the group behind Indomie instant noodles to a palm oil giant with plantations across Indonesia, here's what we know about the 10 Singapore-based companies issued notices over transboundary haze. SINGAPORE: All 10 Singapore-based companies issued notices under Singapore's haze law have now acknowledged receiving them, with most saying they will cooperate with the authorities. The latest responses came from two subsidiaries of Malaysian plantation group TSH Resources, which said on Monday (Oct 26) that it was reviewing the notices and would engage with the National Environment Agency (NEA). The companies, which include some of the region's biggest palm oil and pulp and paper businesses, were asked last Friday to provide information relating to the transboundary haze that has affected Singapore in recent weeks. Several have reported fires or hotspots within their Indonesian concession boundaries, although they maintain that their operations did not cause or contribute to the haze. This is the first time NEA has issued such notices to Singapore-based companies since the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) came into force in September 2014. The law allows Singapore to take legal action against companies responsible for causing or contributing to haze pollution here, even if their activities take place overseas. Following NEA's announcement, Singapore Exchange (SGX) said it expected listed companies to comply with the notices and disclose any material information to ensure orderly trading. Here is a closer look at the companies, their operations in Indonesia and what they have said about the fires. ASIA PULP & PAPER Two of the companies, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Company and Asia Pulp & Paper Company (China), are entities within APP, the pulp and paper business of Sinar Mas Group, one of Indonesia's largest conglomerates. Founded in 1972, APP has operations in Indonesia and China, producing pulp, paper, tissue and packaging products sold in more than 150 countries. The company has previously faced scrutiny over its links to forest fires in Indonesia. On Oct 18, the Singapore Environment Council placed APP under temporary green certification restrictions after three of its wood-fibre suppliers were linked to fires in Indonesia that caused haze in Singapore. APP also came under scrutiny during Singapore's severe haze episode in 2015, when some retailers pulled the company's products from their shelves over its alleged links to fires. GOLDEN AGRI INTERNATIONAL Golden Agri International is a Singapore subsidiary of Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), an integrated palm-based agribusiness that is also part of Sinar Mas Group. GAR has been listed on SGX since 1999. As of June 2025, it had about 534,000 hectares of planted area, including plantations held by smallholders, and produces a range of palm-based products. In response to SGX queries on Oct 16 about forest and peatland fires in Indonesia and the resulting haze, GAR said it was not aware of information indicating that its operations had caused or contributed to the haze, based on its assessment at the time. It also said it maintained a zero-burning policy and a no-peat policy. BUMITAMA AGRI Bumitama Agri is an SGX-listed oil palm plantation company with operations in Central and West Kalimantan, as well as Riau in Indonesia. Founded in 1996 by Indonesian conglomerate Harita Group, it operates under a separate corporate structure and has been listed on SGX since 2012. In an Oct 16 clarification, Bumitama reaffirmed its strict zero-burning policy but said unusually severe fire conditions had affected parts of Kalimantan during the 2026 dry season. It attributed the heightened fire risk to prolonged drought and exceptionally dry conditions associated with a strong El Niño event, which had made vegetation and peatlands more combustible. The company said fires originating on surrounding land could spread rapidly under such conditions. “Based on field observations and the information currently available, a number of incidents appear to have developed outside the Group’s directly managed areas before spreading across surrounding landscapes,” the company said. It added that it had mobilised resources to contain and suppress the fires. FIRST RESOURCES First Resources is another SGX-listed palm oil producer, established in 1992 and listed since 2007. It manages more than 200,000 hectares of oil palm plantations across Riau, East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan in Indonesia. Its business spans oil palm cultivation and milling as well as processing of palm oil into products including biodiesel and refined oils. On Oct 20, First Resources issued a statement acknowledging the Singapore government's intention to pursue legal and regulatory measures against companies linked to the haze. It reaffirmed its commitment to a zero-burning policy and said it would cooperate with the relevant authorities. INDOFOOD AGRI RESOURCES Indofood Agri Resources is an SGX-listed agribusiness company whose parent is Indonesian food company Indofood Sukses Makmur. The latter also owns Indofood CBP, the maker of Indomie instant noodles. Indofood Agri operates an integrated palm oil business spanning seed breeding, cultivation and milling, as well as the refining and marketing of products such as cooking oil, margarine and shortening. In response to earlier SGX queries, the company said its Indonesian operations continuously monitored hotspots within and around its plantation areas to enable prompt action. KENCANA AGRI Kencana Agri is an SGX-listed palm oil company with plantations mainly in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Established in 1996, it has been listed in Singapore since 2008. On Oct 16, the company said it did not use fire to clear or prepare land and that its operational review had found no indication that its activities materially contributed to the recent forest and peatland fires or transboundary haze. The review included field inspections, incident and patrol records, drone surveillance and hotspot monitoring. Kencana said fires detected within its concession boundaries had spread from adjacent areas outside its concessions and were promptly contained by its firefighting teams. WILMAR INTERNATIONAL Wilmar International is one of Asia's largest agribusiness groups, with oil palm plantations mainly in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The SGX-listed company had more than 230,000 hectares of planted oil palm area as of the end of 2025, about 66 per cent of which was in Indonesia. It also has a deemed 20 per cent interest in Kencana through its wholly owned subsidiary Newbloom. In an Oct 16 statement, Wilmar reaffirmed its strict no-burning policy but said prolonged dry conditions associated with El Nino had significantly increased the risk of fires. The company acknowledged that fires had been detected in small areas within some of its Indonesian concessions. However, it said field checks indicated that the fires had originated either outside its concession boundaries or on community-farmed land within them, before spreading into areas under its management. TSH GLOBAL PLANTATION AND TSH OVERSEA TSH Global Plantation and TSH Oversea are subsidiaries of Malaysian palm oil plantation group TSH Resources Berhad. Both companies hold investments in Indonesian plantation businesses in Kalimantan. TSH Resources began as a cocoa business in 1979 before diversifying into oil palm cultivation and milling in the 1990s. It expanded into Indonesia in the 2000s. The group now has about 36,000 hectares of oil palm plantations and four palm oil mills. It is primarily listed on Bursa Malaysia and obtained a secondary listing on SGX in 2023. TSH Resources said on Oct 23 that 274 hotspots detected within its estate boundaries were in "community enclave areas" outside its operational areas. WHAT NEA HAS ASKED COMPANIES TO PROVIDE The 10 companies have been asked to submit documents and information about their links with associated companies in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as the locations of land concessions they own. They must also provide details of fire prevention measures and firefighting efforts undertaken by them or their associated companies in Indonesia during the current dry season. The notices were issued under Section 10 of the THPA, which allows NEA to seek documents and information to facilitate investigations into possible offences under the law. A person who fails to comply with such a notice without reasonable excuse can be fined up to S$5,000, jailed for up to one month, or both. Companies found responsible for causing or contributing to transboundary haze pollution can face fines of up to S$100,000 a day, capped at S$2 million. The issuance of a notice does not, in itself, mean that a company has been found responsible for causing the haze. The information gathered could help NEA establish the relationships between Singapore-based companies and their Indonesian operations, as well as what steps were taken to prevent and manage fires on concession land. HOW HAVE THE COMPANIES RESPONDED? All 10 companies have acknowledged receiving NEA's notices, although not all have explicitly committed to cooperating with the agency. Asia Pulp & Paper said it was cooperating with the authorities and would respond to NEA as required on behalf of the two entities that received notices. Golden Agri-Resources said on Oct 24 that its subsidiary Golden Agri International had received the notice and would cooperate with NEA in its response. Bumitama Agri also said on Oct 24 that it would provide the requested documents and information to the agency. First Resources said it was reviewing the notice and would provide the requested documents and information to NEA. Indofood Agri Resources acknowledged receiving the notice and said it would "make further announcements as and when there are material developments". Kencana Agri said it would "cooperate fully with NEA in accordance with applicable laws". Wilmar International said on Oct 23 that "work is in progress to comply" with the notice. TSH Resources said its subsidiaries, TSH Global Plantation and TSH Oversea, had received notices and it was reviewing them and "will engage with the agency accordingly".