Sime Darby and 2 other companies rebut haze claims

Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL), Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), and Sime Darby -- have issued rebuttals after being named by Indonesia's Senior Presidential Aide Kuntoro Mangkusubroto as being among several responsible for fire hotspots in Riau Province.

In a statement released to the media, Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) said Indonesia's accusation requires verification.

"They do not correspond with intensive monitoring on-the-ground conducted by APRIL in its own concessions over the past several weeks nor with information on Friday from Indonesia's official national body for Meteorology, Climate and Geophysiccs, which identified 13 hotspots in Riau, none of which are on APRIL's concessions," APRIL said in a statement.

The company said the Director General of the Ministry of Forestry, Bambang Hendroyono, had confirmed Friday the fires causing the haze were mostly occurring on community land, not forestry concessions.

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Ex-Sime chief’s CBT case a surprise, DAP calls for further probe

Zubir was the only one charged over the RM1.7 billion in losses posted by Sime’s energy division.

The cheating charge against ex-Sime Darby Bhd chief executive Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid yesterday over native land bought in Sarawak has prompted the DAP to push for a White Paper into the government conglomerate’s operations, which posted a massive RM1.7 billion in losses from its engineering unit in 2010.

The 55-year-old was the only one charged with two counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and cheating in acquiring Native Customary Rights (NCR) land under the plantations-to-property giant’s Sarawak Upstream Expansion Plan in 2008 and 2009. He pleaded not guilty and is out on a RM200,000 bail.

“It comes as a complete surprise after all the brouhaha over alleged mismanagement and abuse in the Sime Darby Engineering division which caused Sime to record massive RM1.7 billion losses, (that) Zubir is now being charged for alleged CBT for the purchase of a piece of NCR land in Sarawak,” DAP publicity chief Tony Pua

Sime Darby's support for rhino breeding

Yayasan Sime Darby shares why they are a part of the Borneo Rhino Allliance programme in helping the beautiful creatures.

S P Setia, Sime to acquire UK Battersea power station for RM2bil

S P Setia Bhd and Sime Darby Property Bhd have emerged as the preferred bidder for the Battersea Power Station in London.

S P Setia said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia on Thursday that they had signed an exclusivity agreement with the joint administrators and receivers Alan Bloom and Alan Hudson of Ernst & Young LLP.

The agreement is to acquire the site for £400mil or about RM2bil.

Sime files RM177m suit against ex-CEO, four others

Troubled conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd filed a lawsuit today against former chief executive officer Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid and four other key officials over the RM2.1 billion losses incurred in three projects.

It sought RM177 million in damages for the losses.

The government conglomerate also sued Datuk Mohamad Shukri Baharom, the former executive vice-president of the Energy & Utilities Division; the division’s chief financial officer, Abdul Rahim Ismail; the division’s oil and gas unit chief, Abdul Kadir Alias; and Mohd Zaki Othman, from Sime Engineering.

“They have all been sued for breaches of duties owed to the Sime Darby Group,” the company said in a statement released this evening.