In a matter of months, this repurposed company led largely by retired military officers has become the world’s biggest palm oil player by area held. Prabowo “claims that the state has reclaimed four million hectares because these plots were located within forest zones,” said Achmad Sukarsono at consultancy Control Risks. Other major palm oil operators, including Golden Agri-Resources Ltd, Cargill Inc and state-owned PT Perkebunan Nusantara III, did not respond to Bloomberg queries on the seizures. The Indonesian Mining Association and Indonesia Nickel Miners Association didn't reply to requests for comment. Overlapping land allocations are common in palm oil, where some areas are permitted for cultivation though they are still classified as forest areas, said Tungkot Sipayung, executive director of the Palm Oil Agribusiness Strategic Policy Institute.

Source: The Edge Markets January 05, 2026 02:44 UTC