Shares in several Singapore-listed agricultural companies fell on Tuesday after Senior Minister K Shanmugam warned that businesses potentially linked to fires causing regional haze would not escape responsibility, as Singapore considers legal and financial measures to secure accountability.
Bumitama Agri fell as much as 6.5%, while First Resources dropped to a low of 4.83%. Golden Agri-Resources and Wilmar International each declined by almost 2% after Shanmugam disclosed that the Singapore Exchange had questioned seven companies about their operations and possible connections to the haze.
“Companies cannot play hide and seek” by using different corporate structures to avoid scrutiny, Shanmugam said. He warned that Singapore would use all available legal and regulatory measures to pressure companies suspected of contributing to the problem, including action affecting their financial performance, access to financing and standing with investors.
Shanmugam, who also serves as home affairs minister, said some fire or smoke source points appeared to be associated with First Resources, Bumitama Agri and unlisted First Borneo Plantations. The statement identified possible associations rather than establishing that the companies were responsible for the fires.
The other companies named by the minister were Golden Agri-Resources, Wilmar International, Kencana Agri, Indofood Agri and TSH Resources. The seven firms have been questioned by the Singapore Exchange, according to Shanmugam.
Addressing First Resources specifically, he acknowledged that the company had issued a detailed statement outlining its zero-burning policy and firefighting efforts, but said assurances alone were insufficient.
“It issued a detailed statement on its zero burning policy and firefighting efforts … but statements, no matter how well drafted, are not good enough. Show us the evidence,” he said.
Shanmugam said the government was prepared to consider additional measures if existing laws proved insufficient. Singapore could amend legislation or introduce new laws “on an urgent basis” to ensure companies co-operated with efforts to address the haze, he said. Authorities would also examine whether businesses potentially connected to the fires continued to meet the requirements for government grants and incentives.
The warning comes as haze has affected businesses and daily life in Singapore and Malaysia for several weeks. Air quality in Singapore has reached levels not recorded since 2015, while schools and educational institutions in Malaysia’s Johor state have been ordered to close for another five days after pollution reached unhealthy levels.
Shanmugam rejected suggestions that enforcement against companies potentially linked to fires in Indonesia should be restrained because of possible diplomatic repercussions between Singapore and Jakarta. Responding to concerns raised by legal experts in local media, he said protecting the population from the effects of the haze remained the government’s priority.
“Our people are suffering. What do these experts think we are supposed to do? Shiver in our shoes before we take any action to protect our own people? That’s not the Singapore approach,” he said.
He also disputed the suggestion that action against the companies should necessarily create bilateral difficulties, arguing that Indonesians were suffering from the pollution as well. Tackling businesses responsible for the problem, he said, was in the interests of both countries.
Shanmugam added that Singapore’s approach was consistent with the broad policies of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. The city-state hoped to secure Jakarta’s full co-operation in pursuing companies linked to the fires, he said.
“We will use every legal and regulatory lever at our disposal to exert pressure where it matters, including on their bottom lines, including on their access to financing, and including on their standing with investors,” Shanmugam said.
