NEA issues notices to 10 Singapore-based firms for first time under haze law
The notices are an important next step in establishing the facts and gathering the evidence to determine whether companies have contributed to the haze, says Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.
A view of the haze from Chinatown on the afternoon of Oct 23, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)
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SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) on Friday (Oct 23) issued notices to 10 Singapore-based firms to seek documents and information, the first time the agency has done so since the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) went into effect.
These 10 Singapore-registered companies are in the palm oil or forestry business and own land concessions in Indonesia or have related companies with such land concessions, NEA said. The agency is also seeking more information from the 10 Indonesian firms that were issued notices in the past week.
The Singapore-registered companies issued notices on Friday are:
- Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Company
- Asia Pulp & Paper Company (China)
- Bumitama Agri
- Golden Agri International
- First Resources
- Indofood Agri Resources
- Kencana Agri
- TSH Global Plantation
- TSH Oversea
- Wilmar International
These firms are required to furnish information about their linkages with associated companies in Singapore and Indonesia, the locations of land concessions owned by them, as well as fire preventive measures and any firefighting efforts taken during the dry season.
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Previously, NEA had only issued notices to companies that were not listed on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s BizFile portal.
Last Friday, NEA said it would issue preventive measure notices to seven companies in Indonesia responsible for fires causing the haze in Singapore. It added that it would issue notices to three more companies on Monday.
For the 10 Indonesian firms that have already received notices this year, NEA said it is seeking documents and information on the occurrence of fires in their concessions.
It is also asking the companies about measures taken to put out these fires and their links with associated companies in Indonesia and Singapore.
These firms, which had been named previously, are:
- PT Bumi Andalas Permai (BAP)
- PT Bumi Mekar Hijau (BMH)
- PT SBA Wood Industries (SBAWI)
- PT Paramitra Mulia Langgeng (PML)
- PT Sumatera Alam Anugerah (SAA)
- PT Hutan Lestari Raya (HLR)
- PT Bangkanesia (BKN)
- PT Buana Megatama Jaya (BMJ)
- PT Mananjung Hayak (MH)
- PT Baratama Putra Perkasa (BPP)
Under the notices, the companies are required to deploy firefighting personnel to extinguish fires or prevent them from spreading on land they own or occupy.
The firms must also stop any ongoing burning activities, refrain from starting new ones and submit action plans to NEA on how to put out the fires and prevent them from recurring.
FOLLOWING THE EVIDENCE
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said on Facebook that Friday’s actions are an important next step in establishing the facts and gathering the evidence to determine whether companies have contributed to the haze.
The government will examine the links between companies in Singapore and Indonesia, while looking beyond individual concession holders to larger corporate groups and persons who may ultimately control them, she said.
“Whether companies are based overseas or registered here in Singapore, we will follow the evidence and take errant companies to task where the evidence supports it,” she said.
Several of the companies that were issued notices this year also previously received legal notices from NEA because of the severe haze in 2015.
“NEA is firmly committed to identifying and holding accountable all local or foreign companies that have caused or contributed to the transboundary haze in Singapore under the THPA,” the agency said.
Separately, the Ministry of Law said it would set up a specialist panel comprising law firms, audit firms and investigative firms to investigate firms potentially linked to transboundary haze.
SINGAPORE-BASED COMPANIES
Several of the firms served notices on Friday had been questioned by the Singapore Exchange or flagged by non-profit organisations in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) said APP, an Indonesian paper firm that is registered in Singapore, has been placed under temporary green certification restrictions after three of its wood-fibre suppliers were linked to fires in Indonesia that caused haze.
APP is required to make daily fire response reports and will be subject to strict monitoring to ensure effective fire prevention and suppression for the land areas managed by its suppliers.
On Tuesday, APP said the restrictions do not constitute a suspension of its enhanced Singapore Green Labelling Scheme certification, and that there is no specified timeline for the restriction to be lifted.
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) had earlier asked questions of Bumitama Agri, Golden Agri International, First Resources, Kencana Agri, Wilmar International and Indofood Agri Resources.
Kencana Agri said in response to SGX queries last week that Indonesian authorities have launched a preliminary inquiry into a fire incident at its subsidiary.
The company added in the bourse filing that based on information currently available, its subsidiary did not carry out land clearing or land preparation in the affected area.
Golden Agri-Resources and Wilmar International also issued statements to distance themselves from the fires and haze.
SGX also sent queries to TSH Resources, which owns TSH Global Plantation and TSH Oversea.
The company said on Thursday that 274 hotspots were detected in its estate boundaries from January to Oct 21 but they were outside its operational areas.
First Resources and Bumitama Agri were also highlighted in a Greenpeace report earlier this month as being associated with companies whose plantation concessions are contributing to the haze.
The two firms pointed to the El Nino event and said some fires began outside their boundaries before spreading into their land.
Source: CNA/an(nj)
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