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Wilmar and its chairman Kuok Khoon Hong pledge $3 million to ST School Pocket Money Fund

Wilmar International's chairman Kuok Khoon Hong and the group will each contribute $500,000 annually from 2026 to 2028.

ST PHOTO: WILMAR INTERNATIONAL

SINGAPORE – Singapore-based global palm oil company Wilmar International and its chairman Kuok Khoon Hong will donate a total of $3 million to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF).

The agribusiness group and Mr Kuok, who is also its chief executive, will each contribute $500,000 annually from 2026 to 2028, the fund and the company said in a joint statement on March 31.

The donation will go towards providing school pocket money for primary, secondary and post-secondary students from low-income families. About 10,000 students benefit from the fund each year.

Mr Jaime Ho, editor of The Straits Times and STSPMF chairman, said: “We are touched by Mr Kuok’s and Wilmar’s continued support for the fund, and the work that we do in helping children and youth who might need that little extra help.

“We take on their donations with deep humility and a commitment to do even better for our beneficiaries.”

The company and Mr Kuok had in July 2023 pledged a combined $6 million over a three-year period. Between 2020 and 2022, Wilmar and Mr Kuok contributed a total of $7 million to the fund, which started in 2000.

Wilmar has been building, managing and supporting schools, as well as funding scholarships in the communities in which it operates.

Besides supporting STSPMF, Wilmar also works with various educational institutions in Singapore to provide scholarships and bursaries for underprivileged students with academic potential.