Indofood Agri tracking hotspots, says no legal notices received over haze

[SINGAPORE] Indofood Agri Resources said that it is “continuously monitors and identifies” hotspots on its plantations to prevent fires that may contribute to transboundary haze choking the region.

It also confirmed in a regulatory filing on Sunday (Oct 18), in response to queries from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), that it had not received any “allegations, inquiries, or notices” from government authorities or the media regarding about the haze.

This disclosure comes as Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) invoked the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act against seven other Indonesian forestry and agriculture companies, demanding preventive action plans.

SGX on Friday had warned that it would take “appropriate regulatory action” where companies failed to meet their disclosure obligations under its listing rules.

While Indofood Agri said that small-scale hotspots had randomly appeared within the concessions of its listed subsidiary, Salim Ivomas Pratama (SIMP), the company denied that it was a source of the haze.

Management stated that aggressive ground monitoring allowed specialised teams to extinguish these flare-ups immediately, preventing actual fires and ensuring its operations did not contribute to the regional pollution.

The company attributed this containment to a zero-burning land clearing policy and daily tracking. To monitor its estates, Indofood Agri said it cross-references US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellite data against its official concession maps.

The group also said it updated its internal mobile app in 2025 to include fire incident reporting to speed up ground-level response times, adding that it complies with Indonesia’s tightened March 2025 regulations that mandate dedicated fire brigades and formal fire management plans.

Because of such containment measures, Indofood Agri said that the haze crisis has not resulted in any material operational, financial or reputational impact on the group. The only regulatory inquiry it faced came directly from the Indonesia Stock Exchange to SIMP on Thursday, which the company has already addressed.

Indofood Agri’s defensive stance echoes similar rebuttals from other major Singapore-listed palm oil players under scrutiny over the persistent transboundary haze affecting the region.

Firms such as First Resources and Bumitama Agri – both recently flagged in a Greenpeace report regarding haze-linked concessions – have said that hotspots within their boundaries were largely caused by outside fires spreading into their managed areas.

First Resources also said that the severe dry conditions due to El Nino have heightened regional fire risks, adding that the mere presence of a hotspot on satellite imagery does not prove a company initiated or condoned a fire.

Shares of Indofood Agri rose 1.6 per cent to close S$0.005 higher at S$0.325 on Friday.