sgx f34 otc pink wlmiy industry food processing founded 1991 headquarters singapore key people kuok khoon hong chairman products palm oil protein meal consumer pack edible oils sugar specialty chemicals and biodiesel revenue us 43.09 billion 2014 profit us 1.16 billion 2014 total assets us 43.56 billion 2014 total equity us 30.31 billion march 2010 number of employees 92 000 website www.wilmar international.com wilmar international limited 1 founded in 1991 is asia s leading agribusiness group . it ranks amongst the largest listed companies by market capitalisation on the singapore exchange being the second largest as of september 2010 . 2 it is a singaporean investment holding company that provides management services to its 400 subsidiary companies . 3 it is also ranked 252nd in the fortune global 500 list in 2015 . 4 wilmar international business activities include oil palm cultivation edible oils refining oilseeds crushing consumer pack edible oils processing and merchandising specialty fats oleochemicals and biodiesel manufacturing and grains processing and merchandising . it has over 450 manufacturing plants and an extensive distribution network covering china india indonesia and some 50 other countries . the group is backed by a multinational workforce of over 92 000 people . wilmar s merchandising and processing segment encompasses merchandising of palm oil and laurics related products operations of palm oil processing and refinery plants and crushing further processing and refining of a range of edible oils oilseeds grains and soyabean . its consumer products segment has an oil bottling business in the people s republic of china vietnam and indonesia . its plantation and palm oil mills segment engages in oil palm cultivation and milling . other segments include manufacturing and distribution of fertiliser and ship chartering services . contents 1 business profile 2 palm oil 3 history 3.1 2005 3.2 2006 3.3 2007 3.4 2008 3.5 2010 3.6 2011 3.7 2012 3.8 2013 3.9 2015 4 ethical issues 4.1 wilmar initiatives 5 references 6 external links business profile edit unilever is one of the main customers of wilmar . unilever and wilmar are members of the roundtable on sustainable palm oil rspo which brings together retailers producers and ngos like oxfam and wwf . 5 the founder of wilmar international was martua sitorus from indonesia . the chairman is kuok khoon hong . forbes named hong the third richest person in singapore in 2009 . martua sitorus was the 2nd richest person in indonesia in 2009 . 6 7 official figures such as yeo yeng tang a former ambassador of singapore to the european union sit on its board of directors . 8 palm oil edit palm oil extracted from palm fruit pulp is wilmar s main product . palm oil is the most widely used edible oil and there is 42 million acres under cultivation worldwide . commercial production has helped many communities in africa and south east asia tackle local poverty . however environmentalists have been concerned that such widespread cultivation has led to deforestation and air pollution and is a threat to endangered species . in 2013 wilmar changed its approach and endorsed sustainability principles and now encourages their suppliers and customers to do likewise . history edit wilmar commenced operations as a palm oil trading company in 1991 . in 2003 it established the first compound fertiliser manufacturing plant with a production capacity of 120 000 tonnes per year and in 2004 opened the first oleochemicals plant in shanghai . 2005 edit acquired a controlling interest in jakarta stock exchange listed pt cahaya kalbar tbk a producer of specialty oils and fats for the chocolate cocoa confectionery industry bakery and cakes ingredient industry and beverage and food industry 2006 edit renamed wilmar international limited on 14 july 2006 upon completion of the reverse takeover of ezyhealth asia pacific ltd. 9 2007 edit completed the merger with kuok group s palm plantation edible oils grains and related businesses in a deal worth us 2.7 billion as well as a restructuring exercise to acquire the edible oils oilseeds grains and related businesses of wilmar holdings pte ltd whpl including interests held by archer daniels midland asia pacific adm and its subsidiaries in these businesses for us 1.6 billion ; formed a joint venture jv with olam international ltd and sifca group one of africa s largest agro industrial groups with significant interests across palm oil cotton seed oil natural rubber and sugar sectors in africa . the jv was aimed at developing a regional leadership position in palm oil natural rubber sugar and potentially in other agricultural plantation crops in africa ; entry into the philippines with the setting up of two coconut oil mills and refineries in roxas zamboanga del norte and gingoog misamis oriental 2008 edit formed a joint venture with nizhny novgorod fats & oils group and delta exports pte ltd to spearhead expansion in russia and the cis countries 2010 edit expanded into the sugar business through the acquisition of sucrogen limited the largest raw sugar producer and refiner in australia and pt jawamanis rafinasi a leading sugar refinery in indonesia acquired natural oleochemicals a leading oleochemicals producer with significant market share in europe and asia and a growing presence in the us 2011 edit further expanded into the sugar business through the acquisition of pt duta sugar international in indonesia and proserpine mill in australia expanded its african footprint to ghana through the acquisition of benso oil palm plantations limited a company listed on ghana stock exchange 2012 edit acquired approximately 30 000 hectares of land in nigeria for expansion of oil palm plantations ; established a 50 50 joint venture company yihai kerry kellogg foods shanghai company ltd with kelllogg company for the manufacture sale and distribution of breakfast cereals and savoury snacks in china ; formed a 50 50 joint venture with clariant ltd for production and sales of amines and selected amines derivatives ; formed strategic partnership with archer daniels midland company adm in tropical oils refining in europe global fertiliser purchasing and distribution and global ocean freight operations . launched olenex cv . headquartered in rolle switzerland to handle the sales and marketing of refined vegetable oils and fats to european area and switzerland completed four palm oil milling plants with an aggregate hourly capacity of 200 mt in 2012 wilmar was named the world s least environmentally friendly company by us news magazine newsweek . 10 2013 edit due to their poor environmental performance wilmar was excluded 11 in 2013 from the government pension fund of norway the largest stock owner in europe . 12 2015 edit together with first pacific acquired goodman fielder of australia and new zealand for 1.3 billion australian dollars . ethical issues edit in 2004 friends of the earth netherlands performed a review of wilmar s palm oil operations in sumatra riau as undertaken by pt jatim jaya perkasa . wilmar had 20 800 hectares of land there and the operation was financed by the dutch rabobank and the international finance corporation . satellite photos proved that in 2004 the plantations were on sea shore peat rain forests the depth of the peat being four meters whereas such land is actually protected under indonesian law . nevertheless in 1997 wilmar received permission to plant there despite it being peat land . according to locals the plantation endangers the sumatran tiger population that inhabits the area and this became a point of conflict with wilmar in 2004 . soon after wilmar sold pt jatim jaya perkasaand and joined the wwf palm oil association wwf for world wide fund for nature . according to friends of the earth netherlands wilmar international starts forest fires and violates the rights of local populations . 13 in july 2007 friends of the earth and two local environmental organizations criticized wilmar s illegal forest felling in kalimantan in indonesia . 5 as a result of this campaign against wilmar s projects in sambas west kalimantan the company agreed to implement a number of new measures and policies . 14 in july 2013 a report published by the wwf which documented that wilmar as well as the indonesian company asian agri were purchasing palm oil fruit which was grown illegally in tesso nilo national park sumatra . 15 according to the roundtable on sustainable palm oil both wilmar and asian agri took immediate action to stop this illegal sourcing . 16 in october 2015 wilmar and sinarmas reportedly involved with the case of forest fires in indonesia that led to the island of sumatra and kalimantan burn and cause catastrophic smog 17 wilmar initiatives edit on 5 december 2013 wilmar committed to a no deforestation no peat & no exploitation policy for both its own operations and third party suppliers . 18 it promised to stop buying from suppliers who cleared forest drained peat land or exploited locals . 19 this was lauded as a transformational step towards responsible and sustainable palm oil development . 20 preliminary analysis estimates that wilmar s commitment will eliminate more than 1.5 gt co2 emissions in total between now and 2020 . 21 in 2015 wilmar won the special recognition award at the singapore apex csr awards 2015 organised by the global compact network singapore singapore business federation and the business times . it was hailed for being the first major palm oil player to step up to ensure its supply chain is de linked from any forest destruction and human rights abuse . 22 references edit wilmar international ltd wil singapore exchange company description businessweek . investing.businessweek.com . retrieved 30 may 2016 . wilmar s harvest . forbes.com . 9 august 2010 . http www.wilmar international.com investor annualreports 2009 wilmar international limited 2009 annual report.pdf wilmar international wlmiy stock price financials and news global 500 . fortune.com . retrieved 30 may 2016 . a b losing land to palm oil in kalimantan bbc 3.8.2007 kuok khoon hong on singapore s 40 richest 2009 forbes 9.9.2009 martua sitorus on indonesia s 40 richest 2009 forbes 2.12.2009 helena varkkey the haze problem in southeast asia abingdon routledge 2015 p. 90 palmnewsdetail . palmnews.mpob.gov.my . retrieved 30 may 2016 . green rankings 2012 global companies http www.thedailybeast.com newsweek 2012 10 22 newsweek green rankings 2012 global 500 list.html aftenposten oljefondet kvittet seg med verdens verste selskap in norwegian . aftenposten.no . retrieved 30 may 2016 . sindre heyerdahl . sindre heyerdahl e24 . oljefondets giganttap p aktiv forvaltning mener gjedrem bl ffer om investeringene in norwegian . . e24.no . retrieved 30 may 2016 . world s biggest palm oil trader shamed friends of the earth europe company involved in forest fires deforestation and illegal activities . foeeurope.org . retrieved 30 may 2016 . communities force wilmar to address bad practices . down to earth . retrieved 31 december 2014 . report palming off a national park tracking illegal palm oil fruit in riau sumatra . world wildlife fund . retrieved 31 december 2014 . statement from the rspo on the importance of transparent and responsible sourcing of fresh fruit bunches . roundtable on sustainable palm oil . retrieved 31 december 2014 . perusahaan grup wilmar dan sinar mas paling banyak menyumbang titik api . retrieved 11 november 2015 . tft and climate advisers welcome wilmar s transformative policies to protect forests and people climate advisers . climateadvisers.com . retrieved 30 may 2016 . 48 hours that changed the future of rainforests grist . grist.org . retrieved 30 may 2016 . wilmar s no deforestation commitment could revolutionise the way food is grown guardian sustainable business the guardian . theguardian.com . retrieved 30 may 2016 . the climate impact of wilmar s no deforestation no peat no exploitation policy climate advisers . climateadvisers.com . retrieved 30 may 2016 . singapore businesses mark 10 years of csr push news eco business asia pacific . eco business.com . retrieved 30 may 2016 . external links edit official website v t e s & p asia 50 companies