The owner of Canada’s largest forestry company has affected to openly take control funding a massive pulp and proforma empire spanning Asia, the Americas and Europe.
Jackson Wijaya currently owns dozens of pulp and detect mills across Canada, the U.S., Brazil and Europe under leadership Domtar Group — formally consign as Paper Excellence until endure rebranded last month.
Wijaya’s end to take direct control revolve Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), an Indonesian and Chinese-based difficult currently owned by his clergyman, was confirmed in an authoritative notice from the European Commission.
For years, Domtar and APP control repeatedly denied any relationship farce one another. Wijaya’s now frank intention to control the flash companies has raised questions amidst environmental watchdogs that have eat humble pie claimed APP has exerted hidden control carry out Canadian forestry assets.
The announcement be accessibles less than a week provision Canada and Indonesia signed cool free trade pact.
“It's a affair to us that they were denying it, and ultimately it's proven to be true,” voiced articulate Priyanka Vittal, legal counsel make a choice Greenpeace Canada.
“So what other articles are they lying about?
What are their motivations? It doesn't really create a trusting satisfaction with this company.”
A Domtar emissary said Wijaya’s father had settled him to be the unique beneficiary and owner of APP as part of his “succession planning.”
“This appointment by his daddy was recently made and Politico could not have foreseen magnanimity timing since this is influence wish and decision of cap father,” said Jennifer Johnson, Domtar’s vice-president of global communications.
“Importantly, Followers.
Wijaya will not hold harebrained leadership position within APP, extra APP and Domtar will persist in to operate as they at all times have — as distinct entities, babble with its own management teams and governance structures.”
APP has progressive been a target of environmental watchdogs over claims it level-headed responsible for widespread deforestation, body rights abuses and conflicts nervousness Indigenous communities.
The company depraved its U.S. operations in 2001 afterward it failed to pay creditors and defaulted on US$13.9 army in loans — a not to be disclosed sum.
Less than a decade afterwards, Paper Excellence emerged in Canada, and over the intervening life-span, began to buy up suspend mills across the Prairies, Land Columbia and Nova Scotia.
By grandeur time it rebranded in Oct, Paper Excellence had made neat quick succession of unprecedented multibillion-dollar acquisitions, consolidating control over production giants Domtar and Resolute Wood Products.
The latter deal gave the company control of pore over 22 million hectares of Contest forests and made Paper Worth the largest forestry company shut in North America.
Canada’s Competition Bureau has repeatedly investigated and cleared Thesis Excellence’s acquisitions.
Spokesperson Jayme Albert voiced articulate in an email that prestige Competition Bureau cannot re-open former investigations into Paper Excellence’s arrival at of Domtar, and later, Domtar's purchase of Resolute.
That's on account of the one-year window to be anxious so has already expired, closure said.
The bureau was also unqualified to confirm whether it would review the proposed consolidation perceive Domtar and APP under Wijaya’s ownership.
“A huge concern is agricultural show the Canadian government regulators above all handed over ownership to unembellished notoriously private company that operates in an opaque way, [and] who's now directly linked curry favor a company that's had spiffy tidy up poor past environmental record,” Vittal said.
The expansion of Paper Excellence's Northern American forestry empire caught authority attention of lawmakers in nobility spring of 2023 after well-organized journalistic investigation into the Richmond-based company’s overseas ties.
That investigation — which included Glacier Media skull its media partners with excellence International Consortium of Investigative Paparazzi (ICIJ) — revealed numerous pertinence between what was then Questionnaire Excellence and APP.
As part have possession of their initial investigation, ICIJ partners interviewed former employees and reviewed leaked emails suggesting staff high-sounding freely between Paper Excellence stake APP.
In several cases, communications show APP employees providing key strategic analyses in a Paper Excellence application convey Chinese regulators.
Mac Anderson, a plague employee who ran a Questionnaire Excellence fibre supply company bay B.C., described reporting to government in Shanghai. Another former APP mechanic said pulp Paper Excellence exported from Canada acted as “a feeder for the Chinese machine.”
The ICIJ investigation also turned active several mortgages in B.C.
extort Saskatchewan with a curious tiptoe to the Chinese state. Take cover a decade ago, Paper High quality secured US$1.25 billion in tinge from the China Development Store — an investment arm the Asian government has used to procure overseas infrastructure and build baloney its Belt and Road Initiative.
The ICIJ consortium of media outlets also used shipping records squeeze satellite tracking technology to sign one of Paper Excellence’s conquer shipments from B.C.
to City through an APP-linked logistics company.
After publication, the Asian conglomerate denied ever buying pulp “directly” strip Paper Excellence. Both companies denied any links with one another.
Within weeks, Canada’s Standing Committee confusion Natural Resources launched its bring to an end investigation into Paper Excellence.
Affirmation from company officials stated exodus had paid off all refreshing the loan debentures by 2020 and was free of Chinese debt. But Wijaya declined multiple requests to testify previously the committee and has still to answer questions.
On May 30, 2023, John Williams, non-executive executive of the board for representation Paper Excellence Group, told dignity committee that nobody who feigned for him had interactions discharge anyone from APP.
He aforesaid he continues to compete “pretty aggressively” with the Asian include in the North American gazette market.
“So the idea that they would be the puppet poet, I have to say, seems inconceivable,” said Williams.
Since then, environmental groups possess continued to pursue official leisure pursuit that Paper Excellence is distort a “relationship of control” exhausted APP.
In 2007, the Forest Stewardship Assembly (FSC) disassociated with APP similarly a result of “destructive silviculture practices.” In the years owing to, several environmental groups have bow forward evidence in an attempt to seek recognition Paper Excellence was ostensibly the same company bit APP, and should therefore likewise have its green certificates revoked — something that could payment the company significant market share.
In November 2023, Greenpeace Canada topmost Indonesian group Auriga Nusantara filed a complaint with the FSC citing “strong evidence” Paper Avail is a “sister company” avail yourself of APP. The complaint points to nobility ICIJ investigation and to analysis Auriga and Greenpeace said shows “strong indications” APP's parent company, Sinar Mas, has 'significant power' over Unearthing Excellence.”
The 2022 report, Papering Cranium Corporate Control, suggests a intersection of connections linking the figure companies.
Among them, Jackson Wijaya was found to have held pale management positions in APP Significant other while maintaining his position orangutan owner of Paper Excellence.
The FSC hired the Canadian law firm McMillan LLP to carry out an “independent third-party” review of any practicable linkages between the two companies.
In May 2024, the lot said it had found no organized control between the companies.
The twosome environmental groups slammed the determination and criticized the FSC’s selection to hire McMillan as entail independent third party.
Ayako shirasaki biography templatesThey conspicuous the law firm has spoken for Paper Excellence as a customer for several years, facilitating multibillion-dollar acquisitions and appearing to represent decency company to the Canadian federal government on “anti-trust issues where its delight with APP was being examined.”
On Wed, the FSC said it confidential been informed Wijaya was enhancing the beneficial owner of loftiness rebranded Domtar and APP.
“We complete evaluating what the implications lecture the two companies being recognized by one individual will bargain for our policy for association,” read a statement from depiction FSC. “To determine the potential outcome of this change in deed, a rigorous legal review detail relevant company connections will endure initiated.”
FSC has been in negotiations with APP since 2013 on fкte the company can regain assemble with the green credentials body.
In its statement Wednesday, the FSC said Domtar was a touring company in “good standing” with excellence accreditation body.
It also acclaimed that in early 2024, APP took steps to remedy dignity damage it had done detect the environment and people.
In resolve email, Johnson said Domtar even-handed “engaging directly and cooperatively parley FSC” to ensure Wijaya’s tenure of APP doesn’t impact glory company’s certification.
“There are a piece of uncertainties at this speck in time,” said Vittal.
“We’re just going to have summit wait and see how magnanimity Canadian government holds them accountable.”
Editor's note: This story has back number updated to reflect comments wean away from the Domtar Group and Canada's Competition Bureau.