Latest news with #Samling
Borneo Post
11-05-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
FSC maintains ties with Samling amid controversy over forest certification
FSC) has decided to continue its association with Samling Global Limited, on the condition that the company addresses concerns related to its forest operations. MIRI (May 11) The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has decided to continue its association with Samling Global Limited, on the condition that the company addresses concerns related to its forest operations. The decision, issued in April this year, is contingent upon Samling implementing a verified corrective action plan to address alleged breaches of forest management standards and compliance. The case arose from a Policy for Association (PfA) complaint filed in 2023 by a coalition of non-governmental organisations including SAVE Rivers, Gerenai Community Rights Action Committee (GCRAC), KERUAN Organisation, The Borneo Project, and Bruno Manser Fund. The complaint cited possible violations within Samling's forest concessions, sparking a thorough review led by an independent expert panel. In response, the FSC commissioned an independent Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis to examine concession areas in Sarawak. While the data did not confirm the full scope of the allegations, it did point to risks of further High Conservation Value (HCV) forest degradation. 'Due to the limitations of using GIS to analyse social conflicts, it was not possible to cover the full breadth of allegations, especially those related to the violation of traditional and human rights,' said FSC in the statement. 'However, the GIS analysis did indicate the possibility of further risks of HCV destruction and conversion.' The FSC decision panel highlighted the importance of addressing these risks and instructed that a verified remedy process be put in place as a condition to uphold Samling's association with FSC. Samling, in its statement dated April 29, welcomed the FSC's decision and reaffirmed its commitment to engaging with stakeholders to improve its sustainability performance. The company's Malaysia Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) certificates, endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) remain valid. However, the FSC panel did identify a violation outside the certified area, deemed 'small in scale' relative to the total area reviewed. 'The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) stated that it has concluded its own investigation in 2021, and considered the complaint resolved,' said Samling. 'Samling remains firmly committed to having constructive dialogues with FSC and all relevant stakeholders as we continue to enhance our sustainability performance,' it added. The case has drawn varied responses. Jettie Word, executive director of The Borneo Project, criticised the MTCS certification, claiming Samling's operations violated both state law and international standards. Koemok Joe, a Penan leader and executive director of the Keruan Organisation, welcomed the outcome; while Bruno Manser Fund's executive director, Lukas Straumann, urged Sarawak Forestry to conduct further investigation. Forest Stewardship Council samling
Borneo Post
09-05-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Sarawak Forest Dept welcomes FSC's conditional continuation with Samling Group
In a statement, FDS said the decision, announced last April 25, which followed an assessment by an independent expert panel, affirms the ongoing improvements and commitment by Samling towards sustainable forest management in Sarawak. KUCHING (May 10): The Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) has welcomed the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) recent decision to retain its association with the Samling Group, subject to conditions. In a statement, FDS said the decision, announced last April 25, which followed an assessment by an independent expert panel, affirms the ongoing improvements and commitment by Samling towards sustainable forest management in Sarawak. FDS reiterates that the allegations brought forth by several civil society organisations, both local and international, do not reflect the actual situation on the ground. 'These claims are misleading, inaccurate, and fail to acknowledge the continuous progress and transparency shown by licensed forest operators under the monitoring and regulation of the Forest Department,' it said. The complaint, as noted in the FSC decision, involved forest areas not certified under FSC, but under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS), which is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). Importantly, the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) had already completed its investigation and closed the matter in 2021, confirming the validity of the MTCS certificates. The FSC Panel did find a small-scale violation outside certified areas but concluded that it was not sufficient to justify disassociation, given the overall scale and context, reaffirming that most of the operations met compliance expectations. FDS said it recognised Samling's continuous efforts to enhance environmental and social governance, especially in stakeholder engagement, certification compliance, and sustainable forestry practices. 'These efforts align with Sarawak's Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030,' they said. FDS also urged non-governmental organisations (NGO) and stakeholders to engage constructively and truthfully, grounded in evidence and facts. While they remain open to transparent dialogue, they will not condone the dissemination of baseless accusations that undermine the integrity of Sarawak's forestry sector and its internationally recognised certification systems. Forest Department Sarawak Forest Stewardship Council lead Samling Group
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive: Codex raises $16 million to build a blockchain just for stablecoins
Stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, are all the buzz in crypto. After fintech giant Ethereum, one of the original decentralized protocols whose cryptocurrency is the second most valuable next to Bitcoin. During this period, Li rubbed shoulders with iconic crypto figures like Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, and helped launch Optimism's cryptocurrency. In 2023, he left to found his own company 'with the hunch that stablecoins are what's most important to focus on,' he said. 'At the time, this was a pretty contrarian view among these core crypto people.' Li has two other cofounders: Victor Yaw, whose family owns Samling, a Malaysian conglomerate that includes oil palm plantations and real estate developments; and Momo Ong, who graduated from Princeton University, worked as a product manager at Meta, and founded his own startup prior to Codex. Li believes that general-purpose blockchains will never be as efficient as single-purpose decentralized computing platforms. 'They want to address as large of a market as possible,' he said, referring to most blockchain founders. 'And so they end up addressing none of the particular industry segments all that well.' That's why Li thinks his layer-two stablecoin chain, built on top of Optimism, will be competitive. It's optimized for stablecoins from the ground up, he says. Fees to send stablecoins don't rise or fall sharply depending on increased or decreased activity on the blockchain. There are built-in offramps, or relationships with crypto exchanges or local brokers to cash out stablecoins into fiat currencies. And, while blockchains are public databases, he's working to give users the ability to make certain parts of their transactions confidential, he said. He's not the first founder to gin up his own stablecoin blockchain. Others, like Plasma, are also building out their own infrastructure. But Hadick, the general partner at Dragonfly, believes Li has the best shot at success. 'It is something people have talked about,' he said, in reference to stablecoin chains. 'It is not something that anybody else has done well.' This story was originally featured on
