SINGAPORE – On Oct 23, the National Environment Agency (NEA) issued notices to 10 Singapore-based firms under the Republic's haze law. This marks Singapore's widening probe into companies believed to be linked to the transboundary haze choking the region. NEA also issued legal notices to 10 Indonesian firms earlier in October. Of the Singapore companies, some responded to the notices within a day of receiving them, saying they would cooperate with the authorities. Senior Minister K. Shanmugam warned on Oct 19 that errant firms will no longer be allowed to hide behind complex corporate structures or geographical borders to evade responsibility, and that the Republic is ready to use "every legal and regulatory lever" to confront them. Using corporate documents and filings, The Straits Times takes a deeper look at these Singapore companies. Three of the 10 firms issued NEA notices on Oct 23 are subsidiaries of Sinar Mas, a conglomerate with businesses in eight sectors, including agroforestry, telecommunications, energy and real estate development. They are APP Company, APP Company (China) and Golden Agri International. The conglomerate is under the control of the Widjaja family, with an estimated net worth of US$28.3 billion (S$36.1 billion). In 2025, Forbes placed the Widjajas in third place out of Indonesia's top 50 richest individuals and families. APP Company (China) APP Company (China) APP had been linked to the haze during the 2015 crisis as well. Back then, three of its Indonesian pulpwood suppliers had been issued preventive measures notices under Section 9 of Singapore's haze law by the NEA. Their cases were never closed. These three – Bumi Andalas Permai, Bumi Mekar Hijau and Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries – were again issued such notices in 2026. Another supplier, Buana Megatama Jaya, was also implicated in 2026. A fifth Indonesian firm that received a Section 9 notice from NEA in 2026, Baratama Putra Perkasa, may also have ties to APP. ST reported on Oct 20 that its beneficial owner, Lee Mon Lun, was listed as a director and chairman of the board for Greenrich Group, a logging company in Cambodia. Greenrich Group does not appear anywhere on APP's website, but its public relations manager in 2020 was quoted in Cambodian news outlets as saying the firm is an APP subsidiary. According to APP's financial statement for 2025, it recorded an operating profit of US$1.65 billion. Some of its popular brands include Paseo and Nice. Corporate registry filings reveal that APP Company lists Japanese national Kunihiko Naito and Indonesian national Suresh Kilam as directors. APP China lists Singaporean Jennifer Loy Huey Ling and Singapore permanent resident Linda Suryasari Wijaya Limantara as directors. Linda is a scion of the Widjaja family. Leading APP Group's sustainability committee is Bernard Tan, a former brigadier-general who served as chief of armour in the Singapore Armed Forces and previously helmed the Football Association of Singapore. He is also the former country head for DBS Bank in Indonesia and former marketing head of ST Engineering. Golden Agri International Golden Agri International This oil palm company is also under the Sinar Mas group, according to the latter's website. It shares an office building with the APP companies. The firms are located at Golden Agri Plaza in Pasir Panjang Road. According to corporate documents, Golden Agri International has six different directors of various nationalities. The main shareholder of this firm is Golden Agri Resources, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The same directors also appear on the website of its parent company, where they hold senior positions, including executive director, chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Golden Agri-Resources' chairman and chief executive is Franky Oesman Widjaja. His daughter Jesslyne – a Singapore citizen – is its executive director of strategy, people and transformation. Wilmar International The largest agribusiness among the 10 companies named, Wilmar International was founded by Singaporean billionaire Kuok Khoon Hong and Indonesian businessman Martua Sitorus. Kuok remains the chairman and chief executive. Its board of directors includes Singapore's former foreign minister George Yeo; Jessica Cheam, the founder and chief executive of sustainability-focused media organisation Eco-Business; and Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of the Chinese Media Group at SPH Media. On Oct 16, Wilmar International acknowledged that fires had been detected in some of its Indonesian concessions. However, it said the blazes originated outside the boundaries or on land farmed by local communities within them. Indofood Agri Resources Indofood Agri Resources is also listed on the SGX. Its parent company – Indofood Sukses Makmur – is the manufacturer of popular instant noodle brand Indomie.

This firm is owned by the Salim Group. One of Indonesia's largest conglomerates, it is headed by Anthoni Salim, with business records showing that he is a Singapore PR. His son, Axton Salim, is listed as a non-executive director for Indofood Agri Resources. Its chairman is Philip Yeo, the former chairman of the Economic Development Board. Yeo had been a special adviser for economic development in the Prime Minister's Office from 2007 to 2011, and had taken over the chairmanship of Indofood Agri Resources from former Singapore Ambassador to Indonesia Edward Lee. Founded in 1996 and listed on the SGX since 2012, palm oil producer Bumitama Agri is helmed by chief executive Lim Gunawan Hariyanto, a Singapore PR. The firm operates under the Harita Group conglomerate, which was founded by his grandfather and later expanded by his father, Lim Hariyanto Wijaya Sarwono. The family's agricultural operations recently drew scrutiny when another plantation firm owned by the elder Lim, Damai Agro Sejahtera, was named in an Oct 5 report by environmental group Greenpeace, which monitors corporate links to the haze-causing fires. First Resources First Resources is controlled by a company called Eight Capital, which was set up in the British Virgin Islands. Associated with this company is a family trust that is held for the benefit of the Fangiono family. Beneficiaries of the trust include Wirastuty Fangiono, Wirasneny Fangiono, Myra Ting An, Ciliandra Fangiono, Fang Zhixiang, Ciliandrew Fangiono, their children and future descendants. These names are also outlined in First Resources' annual report, with ST checks showing that Myra Ting An is also known as Wirashery Fangiono, while Fang Zhixiang is also known as Sigih Fangiono. Corporate documents indicate that members of the Fangiono family are either Singapore citizens or PRs. The patriarch of the family, Martias, was sentenced to prison for corruption in December 2007 by Indonesia's Supreme Court after he was found guilty of obtaining licences for oil palm plantations to gain access to rainforest areas in Borneo. Court documents suggest he had logged the trees while barely planting any oil palms. That month, First Resources was listed on the SGX Mainboard, led by his son, Ciliandra, who is the chief executive. His other son, Fang, or Sigih, is deputy chief executive. In Greenpeace's Oct 5 report, an oil palm plantation firm – Kayung Agro Lestari – belonging to First Resources was identified as one of 20 oil palm concession entities with the most haze source points between August and Oct 1. It was ranked ninth, with 25 source spots that burned for seven days. On Oct 15, First Resources told ST that the detection of hot spots or other satellite-based observations within or near a plantation concession does not "by itself establish the origin of a fire, responsibility for its occurrence, or any deliberate use of fire for land clearing by the concession holder". On its website, it states that the company's chairman and independent director is Chang See Hiang, founder and senior partner of law firm Chang See Hiang and Partners. He was previously a board member for Spanish football club Valencia, having been appointed to the role after the club was acquired by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim in 2014. Listed on the SGX since 2008, Kencana Agri was incorporated in Singapore on Sept 26, 2007. According to information on the SGX, Kencana Agri is a producer of crude palm oil and crude palm kernel oil in Indonesia, with a total land bank of 107,782ha (or about 1.4 times the size of Singapore), along with a total planted area of 32,330ha of oil palm plantations. On Oct 16, the company said the Indonesian authorities had inspected a concession area in North Kalimantan that was operated by a subsidiary, noting that fires had affected about 62ha of concession land there. However, it maintained that the fires spread from adjacent land instead of originating from its suppliers' operations. Kencana Agri is run by the Maknawi family. Its chairman is Henry Maknawi, while its executive vice-chairperson is his sister, Ratna Maknawi, a Singapore PR. The chief executive and executive director is Henry's son, Albert. Charles Loo Cheau Leong was appointed as a director of Kencana Agri on Jan 1. Loo is also the deputy chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Wilmar International, one of the 10 companies that were issued notices by NEA. This firm is linked to two Singapore firms issued notices by the NEA. TSH Global Plantation TSH Global Plantation The two companies are under a Malaysian oil palm plantation group with a primary listing on Bursa Malaysia and a secondary listing on the SGX. The parent company is chaired by its co-founder – Kelvin Tan Aik Pen. Corporate records show him to be a Singapore PR, with a residential address at the Seascape condominium in Sentosa Cove. On Oct 22, TSH Resources said 274 hot spots were detected within its concession boundaries in Indonesia between Jan 1 and Oct 21. However, it maintained that none of the fires had taken place in its planted or operational areas. According to its 2025 annual report, it operates 36,000ha of planted areas in Kalimantan and Sumatra, measuring almost half of Singapore's size. In September, TSH Resources disclosed that an indirect Indonesian subsidiary in which it had a 90% stake was fined about RM42 million (S$13 million) for cultivating land outside the legally approved plantation area in Indonesia. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here