Palm Oil's Paper Trail: Who Really Owns Indonesia's Burning Concessions
Twelve fires, seven shell companies, one Jakarta office tower. Tracing the ownership behind Sumatra's smoke.
Whose Fires?
Every dry season the haze returns. Every dry season the concession maps get harder to read.
Method
We cross-referenced NASA FIRMS fire alerts (Jul–Oct 2025) with concession polygons published by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment, then walked corporate ownership through Sayembara and Singapore ACRA records.
Findings
- 12 of the top 20 fire-affected concessions trace to just four ultimate beneficial owners. - Three of those four are Singapore-registered holding companies with the same registered address on Cecil Street. - Two supply chains eventually reach RSPO-certified buyers in the EU.
Response
Two of the named groups declined comment. One denied ownership despite Singapore registry documents to the contrary. The RSPO said it was "reviewing the findings."
The fires, meanwhile, are still burning.
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