Singapore Exchange (SGX) questioned seven listed agricultural firms about possible ties to haze from Indonesian fires, Senior Minister K Shanmugam said, as some of their shares fell Tuesday.
At their session lows, Bumitama Agri shares had lost 6.5% and First Resources shares 4.83%, CNBC reported.
The seven identified by Shanmugam were Bumitama Agri, First Resources, Golden Agri-Resources, Indofood Agri, Kencana Agri, TSH Resources and Wilmar International. Officials also plan to ask about possible connections between fire or smoke locations and First Resources, Bumitama Agri and First Borneo Plantations, he said. First Borneo Plantations is unlisted and was not among the seven companies questioned by SGX.
Singaporean agencies are considering legal, regulatory and economic measures concerning companies potentially linked to the fires, Shanmugam said. He said the government could exert pressure on firms’ finances, access to funding and standing with investors. Officials will also examine whether companies under scrutiny still qualify for government grants or incentives.
Shanmugam said complex ownership arrangements would not shield companies from scrutiny. He said the haze was harming residents’ health and linked the recurring problem to companies pursuing profit. He recalled addressing haze in 2013 and 2015.
First Resources said in an exchange filing that some fires near its West Kalimantan operations started outside areas it managed and spread into them. It said satellite detections alone could not establish where a fire began or who caused it. Bumitama Agri said its preliminary inquiries found no evidence that its operations started the fires under investigation or caused the haze.
In a separate process, the National Environment Agency (NEA) sent notices to seven companies in Indonesia on Oct. 16 over fires in Sumatra. On Oct. 19, it announced plans for three more notices after finding indications that smoke from fires on Kalimantan concessions might have reached Singapore. The notices call for firefighting, an end to burning and plans to prevent further fires; the three additional notices had yet to be sent.
Shanmugam said Singapore could amend existing laws or introduce new ones urgently if further cooperation was needed. Officials plan to seek more information from the companies, while NEA prepares the three additional notices.
