The story
Founded by Kuok Khoon Hong in 1991.1
Wilmar was founded by Kuok Khoon Hong and Martua Sitorus on 1 April, 1991 and commenced operations as a palm oil trading company.
Forbes named Kuok the twelfth richest person in Singapore in 2021 and Martua is the twelfth richest person in Indonesia.
1993
BEOL (Bangladesh Edible Oil Limited) was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh, as a 100% foreign-owned joint venture between Wilmar International of Singapore and the Adani Group of India.
1999
Formed a joint venture with India's Adani Group called Adani Wilmar, to manufacture and distribute edible oils, flour, rice, pulses and sugar among others in India.
2004
Opened the first oleochemicals plant in Shanghai.
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2005
Acquired a controlling interest in Jakarta Stock Exchange listed PT Cahaya Kalbar Tbk, a producer of specialty oils and fats for the chocolate, cocoa confectionery industry, bakery and cakes ingredient industry, and beverage and food industry.
2006
Renamed Wilmar International Limited on 14 July, 2006 upon completion of the reverse takeover of Ezyhealth Asia Pacific Ltd.
2007
Completed the merger with Kuok Group's palm plantation, edible oils, grains and related businesses in a deal worth US$2.7 billion, as well as a restructuring exercise to acquire the edible oils, oilseeds, grains and related businesses of Wilmar Holdings Pte Ltd (WHPL), including interests held by Archer Daniels Midland Asia Pacific (ADM) and its subsidiaries in these businesses, for US$1.6 billion;
Formed a joint venture (JV) with Olam International Ltd and SIFCA Group, one of Africa's largest agro-industrial groups with significant interests across palm oil, cotton seed oil, natural rubber and sugar sectors in Africa. The JV was aimed at developing a regional leadership position in palm oil, natural rubber, sugar and potentially in other agricultural plantation crops in Africa;
Entry into the Philippines with the setting-up of two coconut oil mills and refineries in President Manuel A. Roxas, Zamboanga del Norte and Gingoog, Misamis Oriental.
2008
Formed a joint venture with Nizhny Novgorod Fats & Oils Group and Delta Exports Pte Ltd to spearhead expansion in Russia and the CIS countries.
2010
Expanded into the sugar business through the acquisition of Sucrogen Limited, the largest raw sugar producer and refiner in Australia, and PT Jawamanis Rafinasi, a leading sugar refinery in Indonesia.
Acquired Natural Oleochemicals, a leading oleochemicals producer with significant market share in Europe and Asia and a growing presence in the US.
2011
Further expanded into the sugar business through the acquisition of PT Duta Sugar International in Indonesia and Proserpine Mill in Australia
Expanded its African footprint to Ghana through the acquisition of Benso Oil Palm Plantations Limited, a company listed on Ghana Stock Exchange
2012
Acquired approximately 30,000 hectares of land in Nigeria for expansion of oil palm plantations;
Established a 50:50 joint venture company, Yihai Kerry Kellogg Foods (Shanghai) Company Ltd, with Kellogg Company for the manufacture, sale and distribution of breakfast cereals and savoury snacks in China;
Formed a 50:50 Joint Venture with Clariant Ltd for production and sales of amines and selected amines derivatives;
Formed strategic partnership with Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) in tropical oils refining in Europe, global fertiliser purchasing and distribution, and global ocean freight operations. Launched Olenex CV. headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland to handle the sales and marketing of refined vegetable oils and fats to European Area and Switzerland
Completed four palm oil milling plants with an aggregate hourly capacity of 200 MT
In 2012, Wilmar was named the world's least environmentally friendly company by US news magazine Newsweek.
2013
Due to their poor environmental performance Wilmar was excluded in 2013 from The Government Pension Fund of Norway, the largest stock owner in Europe.
2015
Together with First Pacific, acquired Goodman Fielder of Australia and New Zealand for $1.3 billion Australian dollars.
2018
Wilmar joined forces with Aidenvironment, a consultancy to develop a group mapping database that allows Wilmar's suppliers to be monitored in relation to its No Deforestation, No Peat & No Exploitation Policy (NDPE) policy. Wilmar planned to use satellites to monitor its suppliers making it impossible for them to get away with forest destruction.
Wilmar broke ties with GAMA (a palm oil company owned by a former Wilmar executive) because GAMA had razed forests in Indonesia twice the size of Paris, but then decided to resume purchasing GAMA palm oil in 2019.
2020
Wilmar International was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) under the Asia Pacific Index for the Food, Beverage and Tobacco industry
Wilmar International resigned 2 April from the steering group of the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA), a widely supported mechanism to distinguish forest areas that should be protected from degraded areas that can be developed.
Wilmar secured a $200 million sustainability-linked loan to Wilmar International Limited to help advance the agribusiness’ sustainability agenda.
A joint venture between Wilmar and PZ Cussons - PZ Wilmar - restated its commitment to building a sustainable future for palm oil.
From Wikipedia’s article on Wilmar International, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5