Singapore may tighten financing for the plantation sector to tackle Southeast Asian haze

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Singapore tightens plantation financing

Highlights

Fragmented structures and enforcement gaps in Indonesia's plantation industry make it difficult to determine corporate liability for fires and regional haze.
Major Indonesian companies listed or headquartered in Singapore face limited legal action due to data-access disputes between the authorities of both countries.
Singapore has been urged to tighten financing requirements for the plantation sector, mandating concession maps and supplier chains to reduce unsustainable raw materials.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Focus on regional accountability gaps

The Edge Malaysia published the view that the main weakness in addressing haze is not merely the difficulty of identifying those who started the fires, but also legal and enforcement gaps that allow companies and suppliers to continue operating without clear accountability.

The article argues that the fragmented structure of Indonesia's palm oil, timber and paper industries makes it difficult to determine liability. Large companies control key nodes such as palm oil mills and pulp mills, while raw materials also come from extensive supplier networks, including smallholders and forestry concessions whose ownership links to major producers are not always transparent.

According to the argument, the problem is compounded by the fact that many major Indonesian businesses are listed or headquartered in Singapore, the region's leading capital markets and wealth management hub. Under these circumstances, disputes between Indonesian and Singaporean authorities over access to company directors and concession maps meant that legal action related to the 2015 fires failed to reach a meaningful resolution.

Financial market pressure as a policy tool

The article suggests that Singapore use the influence of its financial sector to close these governance gaps. Plantation companies seeking listings, loans or capital in the republic should be required to submit up-to-date maps of their concessions and supplier chains.

The approach is likened to the traceability principles being adopted by the European Union for palm oil, whereby products must be traceable back to the plot of land where they were grown. Such measures, according to the view, could reduce the scope for products from questionable sources to be mixed with supplies that comply with sustainable practices.

The article also stresses that turning the haze issue into a bilateral dispute merely makes it easier for both countries to point fingers at each other. At the same time, groups benefiting from the weak status quo remain protected, while regional residents bear the health impacts, economic disruption and continued degradation of rainforests.

In our earlier report on the Financial Lines Forum 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, we highlighted cross-sector discussions on corporate and director liability, AI governance, and the role of insurance in closing protection gaps and meeting policyholder expectations. The pro bono forum organised by Chan Ban Eng & Co together with Universiti Malaya emphasised the importance of institutional oversight, documentation and clearly defined responsibilities for managing risks before they escalate into disputes.

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