IOI Corporation Berhad (IOIC) appreciates and shares Chain Reaction Research (CRR)’s concerns over Aspirasi Kristal (Aspirasi)’s forest clearing and possible leakage of non-NDPE material into IOIC’s supply chain. In this respect, IOIC issued a statement on 19 June 2020 setting out our findings after we first learnt about this matter and the alleged links to IOIC.

It is important to note that IOIC has no ownership link to Aspirasi.  The report attributes the presence of the ownership link to the fact that two members of the Lee family who are Aspirasi’s shareholders are affiliated, in one way or another, with IOIC. This is not the case.  

Ms. Lee Yoke Har sits on board of directors of IOI Properties Group (IOIPG), not IOIC’s. Ms. Lee Yoke Hui has left IOIC in August 2015.  As far as the relation between IOIPG and IOIC is concerned, these two companies do not share the same holding company thus, according to Malaysian company law, they are not related entities. The common acronym “IOI” is due to historical reasons and today, IOIPG is a separately listed company with its own independent board of directors.

As explained in our statement issued on 19 June 2020, Aspirasi is an independently-run company without any legal ties to nor managed by IOIC. The company was established in 2011 by the founding shareholder who has been managing the company all this while and the two Miss Lees were invited to invest in the company around 2015/2016.

As stated also in our said statement, we have already contacted our third-party suppliers in the region to bring Aspirasi’s case to their attention and to prevent non-compliant FFB crop from entering our supply chain. We will closely monitor the case and include it in our grievance list.

In the course of our earlier engagement with Aspirasi, IOIC has advised Aspirasi to consider stopping any further clearing on the disputed area and to conduct an HCV assessment, these being the important first steps towards Aspirasi’s compliance with the NDPE policy.

IOIC remains committed to the NDPE policy and will work with all stakeholders towards its effective implementation across the palm oil industry. We value highly CRR and its partner Aidenvironment’s contribution to this common goal.