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Eka Tjipta Widjaja

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Eka Tjipta Widjaja is the founder of the Sinar Mas Group, which was one of the largest conglomerates during the Indonesian New Order period. His flagship bank, BII or Bank International Indonesia, bankrolled many of his other ventures that made him at one time the king of copra. The Sinar Mas Group also owns the Singaporean-listed Asian Pulp and Paper, a company that has been convicted od being involved in illegal logging in Cambodia[1], Yunnan Province, China [2], and the illegal felling of over 50,000 acres (200 km2) of forest in Bukit Tigapuluh national park[3]. Greenpeace now reports that Sinar Mas is felling massive amounts of virgin forest in Papua to make room for palm oil plantations. His bank, like many other local banks, went under during the 1997-98 economic crisis with $9.7 billion in red and was seized by the government.

Personal life

Eka Tjipta Widjaja (born Oei Ek Tjhong) is polygamous and is known to have many official wives and unofficial relationships with countless women. He is rumoured to have sired more than 40 children. He has since retired from the limelight and handed his business over to his children, in particular Indra, Teguh and Franky and grandson Eric Oei Kang, who headed up the Hong Kong-listed construction company Creator Holdings. Widjaja's second son, Singapore tycoon Oei Hong Leong, is one of Southeast Asia's richest men, ranked by Forbes Magazine as #37, with a net worth of US$355 million.

APP in China

The famous Indonesian consortium, Sinar Mas Group, was founded by Mr. Eka Tjipta Wijaya, the prominent Chinese entrepreneur from Asia. The group's four core businesses include pulp and paper, agriculture, food, real estate development and other core industries linked to the pulp and paper industry, led by the Asia Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. (APP). Through unwavering efforts in the last 30 years, APP is now one of the world's top ten corporations in paper making, with overall assets of over $10 billion, and an annual production and processing capacity of more than 10 million tons.

However, the environmental record of APP has led many western companies including Staples and Office Depot to cut all ties with the company [4]. These decisions followed numerous environmental infringements including illegal logging in Yunnan Province, China, ,[2] and Cambodia [1], breaching terms of agreements with the World Wildlife Fund in 2003[5], and Rainforest Alliance [6] and the Forest Stewardship Council in 2007[7], and the construction of an illegal road through the last remaining habitat of the critically endangered Sumatran Tiger[8].

The Asia Times reported on the environmental record of the company stating:

APP's business model is a tactically aggressive one: it turns huge profits by quickly stripping forests bare, exploiting age-old forests and indigenous peoples, and leaving town before the environmental consequences are felt. By the time communities and governments lodge complaints and lawsuits, APP has divested itself of local interests and assets. [1]

More recently, an investigation into the activities of APP in the Kampar peninsula found evidence of the construction of an illegal road, on which tracks of the critically endangered Sumartran Tiger were found.[9]

Since 1992, APP focused its investments in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta region, building large scale pulp and papermaking enterprises with world-class paper-making technology, including Gold East, Ningbo Zhonghua, Gold Huasheng, Gold Hong Ye and Hainan Jinhai, as well as the cultivation of fast-growing paper plantations.

At present, APP owns 17 pulp and paper companies in China and more than 20 forestry centers, as a sole corporation and holding company with assets of about RMB 56 billion, and an annual production capacity of over 5 million tons. In 2005, the 20,000 full-time employees contributed to sales in China exceeding RMB 16.8 billion. List : Gold East Paper (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. Ningbo Zhonghua Paper Co., Ltd. Ningbo Asia Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. Hainan Jinhai Pulp & Paper Industry Co., Ltd. Gold Huasheng Paper (Suzhou Industrial Park) Co., Ltd. Gold Hong Ye Paper (Suzhou Industrial Park) Co., Ltd. Yalong Paper Products (Kun Shan) Co., Ltd. Zhenjiang Dadong Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. Gold Hai Paper Products (Kun Shan) Co., Ltd. Asia Paper (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Ningbo Asia Paper Tube & Carton Box Co., Ltd. Ningbo Asia Paper Converting Co., Ltd. Ningbo Asia Unpolluted Paper Products Co., Ltd. Jin Feng Yuan Paper Industry (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Jinxin (Qingyuan) Paper Industry Pte., Ltd. Jinyu (Qingyuan) Tissue Paper Co., Ltd. Guangxi Jingui Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. Gold Daio (Suzhou Industrial Park) Hygiene Products Co., Ltd.

References

  1. ^ a b c Asia Times Online :: Southeast Asia news and business from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam
  2. ^ a b People's Daily Online - Forestry authorities charges Singaporean paper giant with illegal logging
  3. ^ Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
  4. ^ Staples Cuts Off Paper Supplier - WSJ.com
  5. ^ FT.com / Home UK / UK - The usefulness of scholarships and tigers
  6. ^ http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/app.pdf
  7. ^ "Why a 'Green' Logo May Mean Little," Wall Street Journal, 30 Oct 2007
  8. ^ http://eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=204&Itemid=6&lang=en
  9. ^ WWF - Latest Press Releases
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