Rimbunan Hijau

Rimbunan Hijau is a Malaysian multinational logging corporation controlled by Malaysian businessman Tiong Hiew King. The company has operations in many countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Russia.

Rimbunan Hijau Group
TypePrivate Limited Company
IndustryForestry, Plantations, Media, ICT, Hospitality
Headquarters2°15′52.6″N 111°50′38.1″E
Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Key people
Tan Sri' Dato Tiong Hiew King
Number of employees
10,000[1]
WebsiteRH group Malaysia homepage

In Papua New Guinea, Rimbunan Hijau is the single biggest logging operator, and runs the country's biggest sawmill. It also owns one of the two major newspapers in the country, The National.[2]

The company was established in 1975 and has an estimated annual turnover of more than US$1 billion, according to Malaysia-China Business Council.[3]

Businesses
RH Group old headquarter
RH Hotel in Sibu

The group's core business activities[4] are:

  • Forestry
    • Upstream and Downstream Timber Operations
    • Reforestation
  • Oil Palm Plantations
    • Plantation & Processing Operations
  • Media
  • ICT
    • Information Communication Technologies
    • Hardware & Software
  • Hospitality
    • Hotel Operations
    • Tourism and Leisure Ventures
  • Others
    • Property Development—Tiong Toh Siong Group of Companies
    • Stingless Bee Farming (Meliponiculture)
    • Trading & Retail Services
    • Plastic Manufacturing
    • Aquaculture
    • Biotech
    • Oil & Gas
    • Mining
    • Toll Road Collection
    • Tyres Retreading
    • Insurance Services
    • Education (Learning Mandarin) -- "Zhong Hua Han Yu"
    • Human Capital Development—Rimbunan Hijau Academy
    • Engineering & Construction

By country

Equatorial Guinea

According to Greenpeace Rimbunan Hijau is the dominant player in the logging sector in Equatorial Guinea by the subsidiary Shimmer International.[6] Rimbunan Hijau was in 1999 also logging contractor for Teodorin Obiang, the agriculture and forests minister of Equatorial Guinea and the son of the president.[7]

Controversy

Rimbunan Hijau has been heavily criticized by environmental and humanitarian organizations for alleged human rights abuses, ignoring indigenous peoples Human rights, political corruption and negligence of the environment. A recent World Bank report estimates that up to 70 percent of logging in Papua New Guinea is illegal, further adding to the criticism.[8]

Two groups that have made investigations and held protests against the company are Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network. Rimbunan Hijau in turn has threatened to sue Greenpeace for defamation because of its report "The Untouchables - Rimbunan Hijau’s World of Forest Crime and Political Patronage"[3] demanding that the group withdraw the paper. Greenpeace has declined to comply.[9]

Citibank, following a review of its own environmental policies in 2005, declared that it would require the client Rimbunan Hijau to obtain credible, independent, third party certification for its Papua New Guinea operations in the future.[10]

References
  1. "Rimbunan Hijau Group". AHK Malaysia. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011.
  2. "Papua New Guinea suspends controversial grants of community forest lands to foreign corps". news.mongabay.com. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  3. The Untouchables - Rimbunan Hijau’s World of Forest Crime and Political Patronage (page 4) Greenpeace. Retrieved on 18 February 2011
  4. "Profile". rhg.com.my.
  5. Pollen, Geir (2007). Langt fra stammen (in Norwegian). Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. p. 267. ISBN 978-82-05-34625-3.
  6. The Untouchables - Rimbunan Hijau’s World of Forest Crime and Political Patronage Greenpeace January 2004 page 11
  7. Global Corruption Report 2011: Climate Change, Corruption A root cause of deforestation and forest degradation Archived 12 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Patrick Alley (director of Global Witness). page 30
  8. "Report: Most PNG logging illegal". CNN. 28 February 2006.
  9. Rimbunan Hijau does battle with Greenpeace, New Zealand Forest Owners Association, 2004-09-16, Retrieved on 5 August 2007.
  10. Citigroup Commended For Enforcing Environmental Policy, CommonDreams, 2005-03-03, Retrieved on 5 August 2007.
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