Advertise
New investigations by environmental advocacy groups have uncovered evidence suggesting that companies involved in deforestation in Borneo are likely controlled by First Resources, a Singapore-listed plantation giant that markets its palm oil as sustainable.
A comprehensive report by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) draws on shipping records, internal accounting data, and employee testimonies to link Indonesian palm oil producers Kalimantan Agro Sejahtera (KAS) Group and FAP Agri to First Resources, which is managed by Indonesia's billionaire Fangiono family.
The investigation, conducted between January and July 2026, tracked crude palm oil from mills operated by the three entities to a First Resources storage and shipping terminal on the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan. The oil was reportedly mixed at this facility before being dispatched to refineries for further processing. Parallel findings from the Environmental Investigation Agency and Kaoem Telapak also suggest these firms operate as a single corporate group despite their separate legal identities.
These revelations amplify long-standing concerns within the industry regarding the use of opaque corporate structures by major agribusinesses to bypass sustainability commitments. First Resources adopted a No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE) policy in 2015 and has been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2008. While FAP Agri adopted an NDPE policy in 2019, KAS Group—formerly known as the Sulaidy Group—has no such zero-deforestation commitment.
The current findings build upon a 2023 exposé by The Gecko Project, which alleged that First Resources secretly controlled a network of 'shadow companies' responsible for clearing over 95,000 hectares of rainforest. Interviews with 14 employees at the time suggested a unified operation where staff shared offices and reported to the same senior management. In response to those findings, major consumer brands, including Danone, Beiersdorf, and Procter & Gamble, terminated their supplier contracts with First Resources.
First Resources CEO Ciliandra Fangiono has consistently denied these ties, asserting that FAP Agri is merely a supplier and that the company maintains no ownership stake in it. Furthermore, the company stated that a similar complaint filed with the RSPO in 2021 was dismissed in 2025 due to a lack of definitive proof of control over affiliates.
However, satellite analysis cited by RAN indicates that eight companies associated with the three groups cleared more than 9,800 hectares of natural forest across 11 concessions between January 2021 and May 2026. The KAS Group accounted for the largest share of this loss, clearing 8,796 hectares—an area roughly half the size of Washington D.C. The reports maintain that First Resources’ board may have misled shareholders and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in previous transparency statements regarding these connections.
Source: Mongabay