Oriental Merchant
Wholesaling, distributing and marketing of Asian groceries
In 1990, Hong Oriental merged with Chinese state-owned company China Merchant to form Oriental Merchant. Today Oriental Merchant is the major Asian food supplier to Australian supermarkets and Asian grocery retailers.

Overall

Owned CHN
Rating F
About the Ratings

Company Ownership

Oriental Merchant Pty Ltd
AUS
China Merchants Group
owns 100% of Oriental Merchant Pty Ltd
HKG
Transportation, finance and property
The main businesses of China Merchants Group (the Group) cover three core sectors of transportation and related infrastructure (ports, toll roads, energy transportation and logistics), financial investment and asset management, as well as property development and management.
Government of the People's Republic of China
owns 100% of China Merchants Group
CHN
Communist government
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the Chinese Communist Party, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army. In recent years China has been consolidating it's state-owned assets and inviting private investors to invest (often family members of high ranking government officials), however in most cases the government retains control and majority ownership. We have listed State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) simply as subsidiaries of China's government, although in reality company ownership is often more complex.

Company Assessment

(Last updated Jul 2024)
Oriental Merchant Pty Ltd
Praise
3/5 for packaging performance
This company received a packaging performance level of 3 (Advanced) in its 2024 APCO Annual Report. Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is a not-for-profit organisation leading the development of a circular economy for packaging in Australia. Each year, APCO Members are required to submit an APCO Annual Report and Action Plan, which includes an overall performance level from 1 (Getting Started) to 5 (Beyond Best Practice).
Source: APCO (2024)
China Merchants Group
Criticism
Financing cluster munitions producers
The 2018 update to the report entitled "Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions" identifies 88 banks and other financial institutions with significant financial links to cluster munitions producers. This bank is listed in the report's Hall of Shame for having investments in one or more of the 7 cluster munitions producers named in the report.
0.5/20 in Social Benchmark
The 2024 Social Benchmark assesses the world's 2,000 most influential companies on their responsibility in meeting society's fundamental expectations towards three measurement areas: respecting human rights, providing decent work, and acting ethically. This company was assessed in 2023 and received a score of 0.5/20. The average score was an alarmingly low 4.6/20 and the highest score was 15.5/20.
Information
Financing single-use plastic waste
This bank is the world's 90th largest provider of loans and underwriting for single-use plastic polymer production, according to Minderoo Foundation's 2021 Plastic Waste Makers Index. Institutional asset managers and global banks are providing billions of dollars to companies that produce polymers from fossil fuels, as much as 100 times more than they provide to companies trying to shift to a circular economy. Plastic pollution is one of the biggest, most urgent threats facing our planet and our health.
SASAC
This Chinese state-owned enterprise is managed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), which oversees over 100 large centrally-owned companies.
BankTrack profile
BankTrack is a global network of civil society organisations and individuals tracking the operations of the banking sector and the activities they finance. BankTrack aims to promote fundamental changes in the banking sector so that banks adopt just and sustainable business practices. Follow the link to see a profile on this company's banking subsidiary, China Merchants Bank.
Government of the People's Republic of China
Criticism
Investing in single-use plastic waste
This company is the world's 2th largest equity owner of companies producing single-use plastic waste, according to Minderoo Foundation's 2021 Plastic Waste Makers Index. Institutional asset managers and global banks are providing billions of dollars to companies that produce polymers from fossil fuels, as much as 100 times more than they provide to companies trying to shift to a circular economy. Plastic pollution is one of the biggest, most urgent threats facing our planet and our health.
Human rights abuse
Amnesty International's 2020 report on China states "The year was marked by harsh crackdowns on human rights defenders and people perceived to be dissidents, as well as the systematic repression of ethnic minorities. The beginning of the year saw the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, which killed more than 4,600 people in China. People demanded freedom of expression and transparency after authorities reprimanded health professionals for warning about the virus. At the UN, China was strongly criticized and urged to allow immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang. Stringent restrictions on freedom of expression continued unabated. Foreign journalists faced detention and expulsion, as well as systematic delays to and refusals of visa renewals. Chinese and other tech firms operating outside China blocked what the government deemed politically sensitive content, extending its censorship standards internationally. China enacted its first Civil Code, which received thousands of submissions by the public calling for legalization of same-sex marriage. Hong Kong’s National Security Law led to a clampdown on freedom of expression." Follow the link for further details.
Treatment of Uyghurs
Amnesty International's 2021 report 'Like We Were Enemies in a War', outlines how Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region face systematic state-organized mass imprisonment, torture and persecution amounting to crimes against humanity. Muslim ethnic groups are being forced to abandon their religious traditions, cultural practices and local languages.
Human rights abuse
According to Human Rights Watch: "China's one-party authoritarian state under the Chinese Communist Party systemically curbs fundamental rights. Under President Xi Jinping, in power since 2013, the government has deepened repression at home and sought to muzzle critics abroad. It has arbitrarily detained human rights defenders and lawyers, tightened control over civil society, media, and the internet, and deployed invasive mass surveillance technology. The government imposes particularly heavy-handed control in the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet. The government's cultural persecution and arbitrary detention of a million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims since 2017 constitute crimes against humanity. In Hong Kong, the government imposed draconian national security legislation in 2020 and systematically curbed the city's freedoms. The government initially covered up the Covid-19 outbreak and later hindered international efforts to investigate the virus's origin."
Information
Wikipedia profile
Follow the link to see Wikipedia's article on the government of the People's Republic of China.
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Company Details

Contact Details

Address:
10 Westgate Drv, Laverton North, VIC, 3026, Australia
Phone:
03 9250 8133
Freecall:
1800 806 842
Website:
www.oriental.com.au

Products / Brands

Oriental Merchant
Bika Yeko Asian
Chef's World Noodles
Cocon Noodles
Dainty Asian
Double Phoenix Noodles
Double Phoenix Asian
Dragon & Phoenix Asian
Dragon & Phoenix Noodles
Erawan Noodles
Erawan Asian
Gold Pearl Noodles
Hikari Asian
Indo Mie Noodles
Indofood Asian
Jade Phoenix Noodles
Jade Phoenix Asian
Jeeny's Asian
Jinmaling Noodles
Kewpie Soy/Asian Sauce
Koh-Kae Asian
Kokita Asian
Lee Kum Kee Asian
Lee Kum Kee Soy/Asian Sauce
Lingham's Asian
Mae Ploy Soy/Asian Sauce
Mae Ploy Asian
Nissin Noodles
Nissin Asian
Nong Shim Noodles
Nong Shim Asian
Obento Noodles
Obento Asian
Ong's Soy/Asian Sauce
Ong's Asian
Poonsin Asian
S & B Asian
Savour Asian
Six Fortune Asian
Smiling Fish Asian
Squid Asian
TCC Asian
UFC Asian
Valcom Asian
Wai Wai Noodles
Yeo's Asian
Yeo's Soy/Asian Sauce

Other related products

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ABC Soy/Asian Sauce
ABC Asian