Wilmar International

Wilmar International
Public
Traded as SGX: F34
OTC Pink: WLMIY
Industry Food processing
Founded 1991
Headquarters Singapore
Key people
Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman
Products Palm Oil, Protein Meal, Consumer pack edible oils, Sugar, Specialty Chemicals and Biodiesel
Revenue Increase $43.09 billion USD (2014)
Profit Increase $1.16 billion USD (2014)
Total assets Increase $43.56 billion USD (2014)
Total equity Increase $30.31 billion USD (March 2010)
Number of employees
92,000
Website www.wilmar-international.com

Wilmar International Limited[1] founded in 1991, is Asia’s leading agribusiness group. It ranks amongst the largest listed companies by market capitalisation on the Singapore Exchange, being the second largest as of the September of 2010.[2] It is a Singaporean investment holding company that provides management services to its 400+ subsidiary companies.[3] It is also ranked 252nd in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2015.[4]

Wilmar International business activities include oil palm cultivation, edible oils refining, oilseeds crushing, consumer pack edible oils processing and merchandising, specialty fats, oleochemicals, and biodiesel manufacturing, and grains processing and merchandising. It has over 450 manufacturing plants and an extensive distribution network covering China, India, Indonesia and some 50 other countries. The Group is backed by a multinational workforce of over 92,000 people.

Wilmar's merchandising and processing segment encompasses merchandising of palm oil and laurics-related products, operations of palm oil processing and refinery plants and crushing, further processing and refining of a range of edible oils, oilseeds, grains and soyabean. Its consumer products segment has an oil-bottling business in the People's Republic of China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Its plantation and palm oil mills segment engages in oil palm cultivation and milling. Other segments include manufacturing and distribution of fertiliser and ship-chartering services.

Business profile

Unilever is one of the main customers of Wilmar. Unilever and Wilmar are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) which brings together retailers, producers and NGOs like Oxfam and WWF.[5]

The founder of Wilmar International was Martua Sitorus from Indonesia. The Chairman is Kuok Khoon Hong. Forbes named Hong the third richest person in Singapore in 2009. Martua Sitorus was the 2nd richest person in Indonesia in 2009.[6][7] Official figures, such as Yeo Yeng Tang, a former ambassador of Singapore to the European Union, sit on its board of directors. [8]

Palm oil

Palm oil, extracted from palm fruit pulp, is Wilmar's main product. Palm oil is the most widely used edible oil, and there is 42 million acres under cultivation worldwide. Commercial production has helped many communities in Africa and South-east Asia tackle local poverty. However, environmentalists have been concerned that such widespread cultivation has led to deforestation and air pollution, and is a threat to endangered species. In 2013, Wilmar changed its approach and endorsed sustainability principles, and now encourages their suppliers and customers to do likewise.

History

Wilmar commenced operations as a palm oil trading company in 1991. In 2003, it established the first compound fertiliser manufacturing plant with a production capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year, and in 2004 opened the first oleochemicals plant in Shanghai.

2005

2006

2007

2008

2010

2011

2012

2013

2015

Ethical Issues

In 2004, Friends of the Earth Netherlands performed a review of Wilmar's palm oil operations in Sumatra Riau as undertaken by PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa. Wilmar had 20,800 hectares of land there and the operation was financed by the Dutch Rabobank and the International Finance Corporation. Satellite photos proved that in 2004 the plantations were on sea shore peat rain forests, the depth of the peat being four meters, whereas such land is actually protected under Indonesian law. Nevertheless, in 1997 Wilmar received permission to plant there despite it being peat land. According to locals, the plantation endangers the Sumatran tiger population that inhabits the area, and this became a point of conflict with Wilmar in 2004. Soon after, Wilmar sold PT Jatim Jaya Perkasaand and joined the WWF Palm Oil Association (WWF for World Wide Fund for Nature).

According to Friends of the Earth Netherlands, Wilmar International starts forest fires and violates the rights of local populations.[13] In July 2007 Friends of the Earth and two local environmental organizations criticized Wilmar's illegal forest felling in Kalimantan, in Indonesia.[5] As a result of this campaign against Wilmar's projects in Sambas, West Kalimantan, the company agreed to implement a number of new measures and policies.[14]

In July 2013, a report published by the WWF which documented that Wilmar (as well as the Indonesian company Asian Agri) were purchasing palm oil fruit which was grown illegally in Tesso Nilo National Park, Sumatra.[15] According to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, both Wilmar and Asian Agri took immediate action to stop this illegal sourcing.[16]

In October 2015, Wilmar and Sinarmas, reportedly involved with the case of forest fires in Indonesia that led to the island of Sumatra and Kalimantan burn and cause catastrophic smog[17]

Wilmar Initiatives

On 5 December 2013, Wilmar committed to a No Deforestation, No Peat & No Exploitation Policy for both its own operations and third party suppliers.[18] It promised to stop buying from suppliers who cleared forest, drained peat land, or exploited locals.[19] This was lauded as a transformational step towards responsible and sustainable palm oil development.[20] Preliminary analysis estimates that Wilmar’s commitment will eliminate more than 1.5Gt CO2 emissions in total between now and 2020.[21]

In 2015, Wilmar won the Special Recognition Award at the Singapore Apex CSR Awards 2015 organised by the Global Compact Network Singapore, Singapore Business Federation and The Business Times. It was hailed for being the first major palm oil player to step up to ensure its supply chain is de-linked from any forest destruction and human rights abuse.[22]


References

  1. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot_article.asp?ticker=WIL:SP
  2. "Wilmar's Harvest". Forbes. 9 August 2010.
  3. http://www.wilmar-international.com/investor/annualreports/2009/Wilmar_International_Limited_2009_Annual_Report.pdf
  4. http://fortune.com/global500/wilmar-international-252/
  5. 1 2 Losing land to palm oil in Kalimantan bbc 3.8.2007
  6. Kuok Khoon Hong on Singapore's 40 Richest (2009) Forbes 9.9.2009
  7. Martua Sitorus on Indonesia's 40 Richest (2009) Forbes 2.12.2009
  8. Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 90
  9. http://palmnews.mpob.gov.my/palmnewsdetails/palmnewsdetail.php?idnews=3031
  10. [Green Rankings 2012: Global Companies http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/22/newsweek-green-rankings-2012-global-500-list.html]
  11. Aftenposten: Oljefondet kvittet seg med «verdens verste selskap» (in Norwegian)
  12. Sindre Heyerdahl, E24. "OLJEFONDETS GIGANTTAP PÅ AKTIV FORVALTNING: Mener Gjedrem bløffer om investeringene" (in Norwegian).
  13. Company involved in forest fires, deforestation and illegal activities
  14. "Communities force Wilmar to address bad practices". Down To Earth. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  15. "REPORT: Palming off a National Park: Tracking Illegal Palm Oil Fruit in Riau, Sumatra". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  16. "STATEMENT FROM THE RSPO ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPARENT AND RESPONSIBLE SOURCING OF FRESH FRUIT BUNCHES". Roundtable On Sustainable Palm Oil. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  17. "Perusahaan Grup Wilmar dan Sinar Mas Paling Banyak Menyumbang Titik Api". Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  18. http://www.climateadvisers.com/tft-and-climate-advisers-welcome-wilmars-transformative-policies-to-protect-forests-and-people/
  19. http://grist.org/food/48-hours-that-changed-the-future-of-rainforests/
  20. http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/wilmar-no-deforestation-commitment-food-production
  21. http://www.climateadvisers.com/the-climate-impact-of-wilmars-no-deforestation-no-peat-no-exploitation-policy/
  22. http://www.eco-business.com/news/singapore-businesses-mark-10-years-of-csr-push/

External links

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