Food giant Wilmar hit by $150 million loss from Pakistan company

The loss adds another headache for Wilmar, whose operations span oil palm cultivation, sugar milling and oilseed crushing. Bloomberg

• Wilmar booked a $150 million loss on Unity Foods investment
• Unity Foods faced management exits and financial inconsistencies
• Wilmar seeks regulator advice on Unity investigation, share halt

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Asian food giant Wilmar International Ltd. has booked a $150 million loss tied to its investment in Pakistan food maker Unity Foods Ltd., the latest in a string of challenges the company is facing across Asia.

The Singapore-listed trader revealed in its full-year financial statement last week that it had made the provision for losses in relation to an “associated company” in Pakistan. A spokesperson later confirmed that the company is Unity Foods, a Pakistan-listed agribusiness operating in products including edible oils and rice.

“During the course of 2025, Wilmar became aware that Unity Foods Limited was experiencing difficulties servicing certain bank facilities,” Wilmar said in an emailed response to queries. “This was unanticipated, as the company’s most recently published financial statements indicated profitability and reported material liquid assets.”

An emailed inquiry to Unity’s headquarters in Karachi and phone calls requesting comment did not receive a response.

The loss adds another headache for Wilmar, whose operations span oil palm cultivation, sugar milling and oilseed crushing, as it contends with regulatory penalties in Indonesia and court proceedings involving a Chinese subsidiary. The company said in its earnings report that it had booked a $104 million loss related to the ongoing litigation in China. It also set aside just over $782 million for compensation payments tied to its Indonesian operations. Wilmar has denied wrongdoing in both cases.

Wilmar — co-founded by billionaire Kuok Khoon Hong — said it became a shareholder of Unity Foods in 2020. It said it has never managed the company’s day-to-day operations and that Unity’s audited financial statements had previously showed solid performance.

Unity’s senior management changed in recent months with the appointment of a new chief executive officer after the resignation of founder and long-serving CEO Farrukh Amin in December, followed by the chief financial officer in January. Exchange filings do not indicate a reason for their departures.

Information then emerged “indicating material uncertainties and inconsistencies in certain financial and working capital items,” Wilmar said.

In February, the new CEO and two independent directors also resigned, exchange statements show. Wilmar said that left the board without the quorum needed to function.

Despite multiple clarification requests, the information provided by Unity remained incomplete and could not be satisfactorily reconciled, Wilmar said.

The company is seeking guidance from Pakistan regulators on whether an administrator should be appointed and an independent investigation launched. It has also asked if Unity shares should be suspended pending the probe.

Unity’s stock has more than halved this year and were trading on Monday at the lowest since 2020.