Key Takeaways
- • Singapore's government has issued legal notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) to 10 companies, including two Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) entities: Asia Pulp and Paper Company Limited and Asia Pulp and Paper Company (China) Limited, over smoke from forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
- • Senior Minister K Shanmugam said at an Oct. 19 doorstop that investigations show APP buys from three of the companies that received NEA preventive notices, and that the government will examine links to large corporate groups.
- • APP says it is cooperating with authorities, attributes spread of fires to areas outside its suppliers' concessions based on satellite analysis, and reports over US$250 million invested in fire management over the past decade.
- • Three of the 10 Indonesian firms that received preventive notices in 2026 also received notices in 2015, when APP was previously linked to haze, and APP's supplier links are central to the current probe.
- • Singapore-listed agribusinesses including Golden Agri-Resources, First Resources, Bumitama Agri and Wilmar have been questioned by SGX over possible haze links.
Summary
Indonesia's neighbours, including Singapore, are once again affected by smoke from forest fires raging across Kalimantan and Sumatra, roughly 11 years after the last serious haze episode in 2015 and 12 years after the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) was enacted, according to Mothership. Under the THPA, Singapore's government has so far sent legal notices to 10 companies, including two entities of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). Preventive measure notices were also issued by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to 10 other companies, asking them to stop burning and extinguish fires.
Senior Minister K Shanmugam named APP at an Oct. 19 doorstop, stating that investigations show APP buys from three of the companies that NEA sent preventive notices to, and that the government would look beyond individual concession holders to large corporate groups and the persons who may control them. APP told Mothership it is "cooperating with the authorities" and "reviewing the notices." The company said that, based on satellite analysis reported to Business Times on Oct. 19, the fires originated outside its three suppliers' concessions but spread into those areas. Business Times noted APP did not identify these suppliers or provide the satellite data. APP said it has invested more than US$250 million (S$319 million) in fire management over the past decade and that 2026 efforts involved more than 6,000 firefighters, 1,700 pumps, 15 helicopters and 108 drones.
APP was also linked to the 2015 haze crisis. In 2015, NEA asked APP for information about its supplier network after four linked companies were issued notices, and a 2017 Straits Times report said APP had provided limited information, according to NEA. Three of the 2026 notice recipients, PT Bumi Andalas Permai, PT Bumi Mekar Hijau and PT SBA Wood Industries, were also issued notices in 2015. APP's sustainability dashboard lists them as exclusive pulpwood suppliers in South Sumatra, and a fourth recipient, PT Buana Megatama Jaya, is listed as a West Kalimantan supplier.
APP is owned by the Sinar Mas conglomerate. Ultimate beneficial ownership passed from Teguh Ganda Wijaya to Jackson Wijaya Limantara on Jan. 13, 2025, as part of succession planning, according to APP. Forbes puts the Widjaja family's net worth at US$28.3 billion as of 2025. Golden Agri-Resources, Sinar Mas's agribusiness arm and also a recipient of an NEA legal notice, has been listed on SGX since 1999; it told SGX on Oct. 16 that its plantations had not experienced a material negative impact from the fires and that it has maintained a zero-burning policy since 1997. SGX has also questioned seven Singapore-listed agri-companies, including First Resources, Bumitama Agri and Wilmar, over possible haze links. First Resources said it welcomes on-the-ground inspections, and both First Resources and Wilmar said they intend to comply with NEA's notices.
Senior Minister K Shanmugam named APP at an Oct. 19 doorstop, stating that investigations show APP buys from three of the companies that NEA sent preventive notices to, and that the government would look beyond individual concession holders to large corporate groups and the persons who may control them. APP told Mothership it is "cooperating with the authorities" and "reviewing the notices." The company said that, based on satellite analysis reported to Business Times on Oct. 19, the fires originated outside its three suppliers' concessions but spread into those areas. Business Times noted APP did not identify these suppliers or provide the satellite data. APP said it has invested more than US$250 million (S$319 million) in fire management over the past decade and that 2026 efforts involved more than 6,000 firefighters, 1,700 pumps, 15 helicopters and 108 drones.
APP was also linked to the 2015 haze crisis. In 2015, NEA asked APP for information about its supplier network after four linked companies were issued notices, and a 2017 Straits Times report said APP had provided limited information, according to NEA. Three of the 2026 notice recipients, PT Bumi Andalas Permai, PT Bumi Mekar Hijau and PT SBA Wood Industries, were also issued notices in 2015. APP's sustainability dashboard lists them as exclusive pulpwood suppliers in South Sumatra, and a fourth recipient, PT Buana Megatama Jaya, is listed as a West Kalimantan supplier.
APP is owned by the Sinar Mas conglomerate. Ultimate beneficial ownership passed from Teguh Ganda Wijaya to Jackson Wijaya Limantara on Jan. 13, 2025, as part of succession planning, according to APP. Forbes puts the Widjaja family's net worth at US$28.3 billion as of 2025. Golden Agri-Resources, Sinar Mas's agribusiness arm and also a recipient of an NEA legal notice, has been listed on SGX since 1999; it told SGX on Oct. 16 that its plantations had not experienced a material negative impact from the fires and that it has maintained a zero-burning policy since 1997. SGX has also questioned seven Singapore-listed agri-companies, including First Resources, Bumitama Agri and Wilmar, over possible haze links. First Resources said it welcomes on-the-ground inspections, and both First Resources and Wilmar said they intend to comply with NEA's notices.
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