Rimbunan Hijau

Rimbunan Hijau Group
Private
Industry Forestry, Plantations, Media, ICT, Hospitality
Headquarters 2°15′52.6″N 111°50′38.1″E / 2.264611°N 111.843917°E / 2.264611; 111.843917
Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Key people
 Tan Sri Datuk Tiong Hiew King
Number of employees
 10,000[1]
Website RH group Malaysia homepage

Rimbunan Hijau is a Malaysian multinational logging corporation controlled by Malaysian (ethnic Chinese) businessman Tiong Hiew King (aka Tan Sri Datuk Sir TIONG Hiew King)(丹斯里拿督張曉卿爵士). The company has operations in many countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Russia.

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 1 billion US dollars, according to Malaysia-China Business Council.[3]

Businesses

RH Group old headquarter
RH Hotel in Sibu

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

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 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.
  2. ↑ http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0516-png_sabls.html
  3. 1 2 The Untouchables - Rimbunan Hijau’s World of Forest Crime and Political Patronage (page 4) Greenpeace. Retrieved on 18 February 2011
  4. ↑ "Profile". . External link in |publisher= (help)
  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 Patrick Alley (director of Global Witness). page 30
  8. ↑ "Report: Most PNG logging illegal". CNN. 2006-02-28. External link in |publisher= (help)
  9. ↑ Rimbunan Hijau does battle with Greenpeace, New Zealand Forest Owners Association, 2004-09-16, Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  10. ↑ Citigroup Commended For Enforcing Environmental Policy, CommonDreams, 2005-03-03, Retrieved on 2007-08-05.

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