Brunei-China joint venture plants trees to protect local environment

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between China and Brunei, will continue its reforestation project to help protect local natural environment, the company's CEO Chen Liancai said on Thursday.

Hengyi Industries held its sixth reforestation project in conjunction with its third-anniversary celebration for the successful commissioning of Hengyi's petrochemical and refinery plant.

Brunei's minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Haji Abdul Manaf, Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Yu Hong and over 90 Hengyi staff, as well as volunteers from various government and non-government agencies, participated in the event.

As part of the reforestation project, 500 tree saplings were planted across 0.5 hectares of land at the Berakas Forest Reserve.

"Established in May 2019, the reforestation project is part of Hengyi Industries' corporate social responsibility activities under the Hengyi One Planet Initiative," Chen told Xinhua.

Hengyi Industries is a joint venture between China's Zhejiang Hengyi Group and Damai Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary under the Brunei government's Strategic Development Capital Fund. Hengyi holds 70 percent of the venture's stake while Damai Holdings owns the rest 30 percent.

Zhejiang Hengyi Group invested about 3.45 billion U.S. dollars in the first phase of its oil refinery and petrochemical project in Brunei, which went into full operation in November 2019.

The Chinese-funded firm started its reforestation project in 2019, which is expected to help realize the country's effort towards achieving one of the main strategies of the Brunei Darussalam National Climate Change Policy.

Brunei launched the climate change policy in July 2020, with an aim to hit the target of planting 500,000 new trees by 2035.