Arya News - The National Environment Agency (NEA) has issued legal notices to 10 companies in Indonesia under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA), requesting them to stop burning on their land and to submit plans on how they plan to prevent the fires from recurring.
SINGAPORE – As fires continue to rage across Indonesia, sending smoke haze to Singapore, the authorities here are putting more pressure on plantation companies to control and put out the fires on their land.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) has issued legal notices to 10 companies in Indonesia under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA), requesting them to stop burning on their land, and to submit plans on how they plan to prevent the fires from recurring.
The 10 firms have plantations in South Sumatra and Kalimantan – where most of the haze-causing hot spots are located.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said on Oct 16 that NEA used a combination of data points, including concession maps and satellite imagery, as well as information sourced from public avenues, to trace the source of some of the haze to several companies.
Satellite information, wind speed and direction, and meteorological information are used to determine if the smoke from a fire is likely to move in the direction of Singapore.
Those guilty under the Act can be fined up to $100,000 a day, capped at a total of $2 million.
This is the second time this law has been wielded against errant companies. In 2015, during the last severe haze crisis to blanket South-east Asia, NEA issued notices to six firms, and closed two cases. Investigations into the remaining four are still open.
Checks by The Straits Times showed that three of 10 firms were repeat offenders who were also issued notices in 2015.
On Oct 19, Senior Minister K. Shanmugam warned firms that they cannot hide behind complex corporate structures, nor attempt to shirk responsibility simply because the burning plantations are located in Indonesia while they are based in Singapore. For instance, he said companies cannot claim that the fires originated outside their plantations, but spread within their boundaries.
He added that if they do not cooperate, the Government will look at who they are linked to, before deciding on a course of action. And rather than tackle the individual concession holders, he said action will be taken against the large corporations behind them.
Beyond using the law, Shanmugam also said that Singapore will be exploring other mechanisms, including economic measures to exert pressure on complicit companies where it matters most, including on their bottom lines.
ST combed through corporate database records, company transparency documents and archival Indonesian news reports to learn more about these 10 entities.
Asia Pulp & Paper links
Of the 10 companies issued notices, four of them are officially linked to one of Indonesia’s largest pulp and paper companies, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), which has a presence in Singapore.
The four are listed on APP’s website as being pulpwood suppliers to the company. A fifth company issued a notice in 2026, Baratama Putra Perkasa, may also have APP ties, according to past media reports, but public information on it is scant.
APP is part of the larger Sinar Mas conglomerate owned by the Widjaja family, which has businesses across eight different sectors, including agroforestry, telecommunications, energy and real estate development.
According to APP’s financial statement for 2025, it recorded an operating profit of US$1.65 billion (S$2.1 billion).
APP had also come under fire for causing the haze back in 2015. That year, three of the six companies issued notices under Singapore’s haze law were APP-linked.
NEA’s actions in 2015 had prompted local supermarket chains to pull APP’s products from shelves, including its line of Paseo toilet rolls. These products have since returned, after receiving green certification from the Singapore Environment Council, which administers the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme.
In 2026, the same three firms were issued notices under the law again. They include Bumi Andalas Permai, Bumi Mekar Hijau and Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries. All three have plantations in South Sumatra.
A separate analysis by environmental watchdog Greenpeace Indonesia also found that these three firms “have been repeatedly burning since 2015”, said its forest campaigner Belgis Habiba.
She noted that in 2024, 11 South Sumatra residents, supported by Greenpeace and other organisations, filed a lawsuit against the three pulpwood companies over chronic smoke haze from fires in their concessions.
Belgis said: “This is solid evidence that APP has failed to ensure that its long-term suppliers comply with its commitment to prevent fires.
“Companies often try to escape responsibility by arguing that fires started outside their concessions. In fact, under strict liability in Indonesian environmental law, companies must take full responsibility if their concessions burn.”
Asked for its comments on the notices issued to its suppliers in the 2026 haze crisis, an APP spokesperson said it maintains a “strict zero-burning policy” across its operations, including its supply chain.
“The presence of fires within a concession does not necessarily indicate that land was deliberately burned or that the concession holder was responsible for starting the fire.
“Fires can originate outside concession boundaries and spread into managed areas, making it important to establish their causes through proper investigation,” the spokesperson said.
When asked for its comments about three of its suppliers being recalcitrant offenders, the spokesperson said it has invested to the tune of US$300 million in fire management since 2015. APP added that it remains committed to working with suppliers to continually improve fire prevention and compliance with zero-burning requirements.
Asked how APP acts against suppliers if they are found to use slash-and-burn land clearance mechanisms, the company said it will investigate first. If its suppliers are found to be non-compliant, then it will undertake corrective action, which potentially includes suspending or terminating the relationship if serious breaches are found.
1. Bumi Andalas Permai
Singapore link: Supplier to APP Concessions in South Sumatra The Indonesian firm, which lists its office address in South Sumatra, was one of those issued an NEA notice in 2015.
It has a working area spanning about 190,000ha – roughly 2½ times the size of Singapore – in South Sumatra, according to a corporate transparency document published in January 2026.
Business records indicate that this firm has a history of rapid executive turnover.
The current president director is listed as Ahmad Rusdi.
But an earlier corporate transparency document in January 2023 listed an individual named Wagimin in that role, while in 2021, the president director was Sapto Nurlistyo. Sapto had held the position since at least 2015, when the firm was first issued a notice under the THPA.
Despite the rotating directorships, checks on corporate intelligence platform Sayari indicate the firm’s ultimate shareholding is linked to Lioe Tha Nen, an Indonesian national, with an address in West Jakarta.
Lioe is also listed in corporate records as the owner of several other pulpwood plantation companies that supply APP across West Kalimantan and Riau, though those additional entities were not named by NEA.
2. Bumi Mekar Hijau
Singapore link: Supplier to APP Concessions in South Sumatra The second repeat offender is owned by Muliadi Sutjitro, who owns several other pulpwood plantation companies.
Its concession in South Sumatra measures approximately 250,000ha. This is about three times the size of Singapore.
Greenpeace Indonesia had in an Oct 5 report identified Bumi Mekar Hijau as the firm with the highest concentration of haze source points. In an update to ST, Greenpeace said there were 928 areas under its purview that contributed to the haze between Aug 8 and Oct 18.
3. Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries
Singapore link: Supplier to APP Concessions in South Sumatra This firm, known as SBA Wood Industries, was also issued an NEA notice in 2015.
The firm’s corporate transparency report published in January 2026 showed that it was granted a working area that spanned 136,525ha in South Sumatra. This is almost twice the size of Singapore.
Data from Sayari showed that its beneficial owner is currently an individual named Jelian Anak Kasim, whose address is listed as a luxury bungalow in Sabah.
This individual, whose name follows the Iban tribes’ naming conventions, is also identified as being the owner of two other pulp plantation companies. The Iban tribes primarily reside in Sarawak, Malaysia.
The company’s January report identifies its president director as Ruzkia Rahman.
Between Aug 8 and Oct 18, 50 haze-source spots – where smoke originates – were found in its concessions.
4. Buana Megatama Jaya
Singapore link: Supplier to APP Concessions in West Kalimantan This APP supplier was issued an NEA notice for the first time for its link to the 2026 haze crisis.
Its corporate transparency records show that it manages a working area of 43,800ha. This is just slightly larger than half of Singapore.
It was ranked 17th in Greenpeace’s Oct 5 report that outlined the top 20 plantations with the most haze-source points.
Business records list its beneficial owner as an Indonesian man named Mulyadi Gani.
His name appears as the beneficial owner of other pulpwood plantation firms, and in 2023, he was identified as the owner of Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries, another APP supplier that had been issued a notice under the THPA in 2015 and 2026.
Other haze-linked companies
5. Baratama Putra Perkasa
Sector: Pulp Singapore link: Personnel involved have links to APP; held directorships in Singapore Concessions in Kalimantan Also identified as being a source of haze in the Oct 5 Greenpeace report, this pulp plantation firm in Kalimantan lists Lee Mon Lun as its beneficial owner, with a Hong Kong address.
Other information about Baratama Putra Perkasa is not publicly available.
Singapore business records show that Lee, a Chinese national, is a director of waste treatment company KL Resources in Loyang, which counts a Pan Yaw Cheng as a former director.
Lee’s name also appears in Cambodian business records as the director and chairman of the board for Greenrich Group, a logging company with operations in Cambodia. Pan is listed as a director.
Greenrich Group does not appear on APP’s website, but its public relations manager had in 2020 been quoted in Cambodian news outlets Khmer Times and Phnom Penh Post as saying that the firm is a subsidiary of APP.
6. Paramitra Mulia Langgeng
Sector: Pulp Singapore link: Key personnel of the parent company hold Singapore permanent residency status Concessions in South Sumatra Ranked 18th in Greenpeace’s report, with 14 active haze spots, Paramitra Mulia Langgeng is a subsidiary of the Sungai Budi Group – an agribusiness firm that ranks among Indonesia’s largest conglomerates – led by patriarch Oey Widarto.
On Jan 14, Paramitra Mulia Langgeng’s director, Djunaidi Nur, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to bribing a former president director of a state-owned forestry company, reported Indonesian media. The bribes, which amounted to about S$199,000, were delivered via an intermediary, who was an employee at the Sungai Budi Group.
Based on checks through corporate databases, Oey Widarto, as well as his nephew Santoso Winata – the vice-chairman of Sungai Budi Group – are Singapore PRs.
According to data from Indonesia’s Forest Ministry for the year 2022, Paramitra Mulia Langgeng had a concession size of 70,130ha in South Sumatra, which measures just slightly smaller than Singapore.
7. Sumatera Alam Anugerah
Sector: Pulp Singapore link: No records found Concessions in South Sumatra Ranked 14th by Greenpeace for the highest number of haze spots, Sumatera Alam Anugerah remains largely opaque in corporate databases, beyond a link to an individual named Sugeng Santoso. He is listed as its beneficial owner.
8. Hutan Lestari Raya
Sector: Pulp Singapore link: Key personnel hold Singapore PR status Concessions in the Bangka Belitung Islands Hutan Lestari Raya was ranked fifth in Greenpeace’s list with 32 haze hot spots.
In 2025, residents in South Bangka Regency, located east of Sumatra, had called for the authorities to revoke the firm’s permit to manage 31,360ha of land. The permit was approved in 2016, and granted Hutan Lestari Raya 60 years of access.
Hutan Lestari Raya is linked to the Setiawan family, which runs the Topjaya Group.
The conglomerate primarily dealt in consumer electronics, becoming the main distributor for Toshiba products in Indonesia, before diversifying across several industries including palm oil, coal mining and trading.
The group’s chief executive and the director of Hutan Lestari Raya is Erik Setiawan, a Singapore PR.
According to Singapore business records, he incorporated the company Esse First in June 2004 to manage the trading and export of coal. The company was struck off in 2016.
He is also listed as a director for a Singapore firm providing sustainability consultancy services, and records indicate he still has a registered address at The Orchard Residences condominium.
Erik is also identified as being the beneficial owner of Istana Kawi Kencana, which was labelled as being responsible for deforestation on Bangka Island.
9. Bangkanesia
Sector: Pulp/Palm oil Singapore link: No records found Concessions in the Bangka Belitung Islands Non-governmental organisation Forest Watch Indonesia reported in July 2024 that the country’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry had revoked Bangkanesia’s permit to run a plantation in 2022, although no reason was cited.
In 2023, local reports said the land had been converted into an oil palm plantation, although it is unclear who had taken control of it.
There was also no information regarding its ownership structure on corporate databases.
10. Mananjung Hayak
Sector: Palm oil Singapore link: No records found Concessions in Kalimantan An oil palm plantation company with concessions in Kalimantan, Mananjung Hayak’s beneficial owner is listed as Indonesian agribusiness and palm oil company Dwi Mitra Adhiusaha.
Provincial documents and corporate records list Nadia Putri Asrini Jenie as being the owner of Dwi Mitra Adhiusaha, as well as Sapta Karya Damai, which are oil palm plantation firms under the umbrella of the Asam Jawa group.
Additional reporting by Shabana Begum and David Sun