Rimbunan Hijau (RH) is headed by Datuk Tiong Hiew King (left), one of Asia's largest timber tycoons.²⁹⁴ Forbes Magazine estimated the Tiong family worth to be US$2.5 billion.²⁹⁵ The group controls both listed and unlisted companies. In order to gain access to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, Rimbunan Hijau undertook a reverse take-over of Berjaya Textile Bhd in November 1994, renaming the company Jaya Tiasa Holdings Bhd. The Tiong family retains control of approximately 30% of Jaya Tiasa.²⁹⁶ The other listed vehicle is Subur Tiasa Holdings Bhd.

The group has a number of high level political connections: Mohamad Arip bin Mahmud, the brother of Sarawak's Chief Minister (who controls the allocation of logging concessions), was appointed as a director of Jaya Tiasa on 13/4/95;²⁹⁷ a sister of the Chief Minister is also one of Tiong's business partners.²⁹⁸ Other directors of Jaya Tiasa include Tiong Thai King (Tiong's brother), who is a member of the Malaysian Parliament,²⁹⁹ and Abu Talib bin Othman, former Attorney General.

Tiong is said to control an estimated 800,000 ha of logging concessions in Sarawak and his family dominates the logging industry in Papua New Guinea.³⁰⁰ The company has also acquired forestry operations in Brazil; Cameroon; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Vanuatu, New Zealand and the Russian Far East. Other subsidiary company operations include a US$58.5 million soft-wood plantation development in New Zealand, a sawmill in Shanghai, a cattle ranch in Australia, property in Singapore, as well as interests in banking, newspapers and oil-palm plantations. Rimbunan Hijau also owns a 40% share in Limbang Trading Sdn Bhd, which has a 310,000 ha concession in Sarawak until 2009 (55% of Limbang is owned by Sarawak's Minister for Environment and Public Health, James Wong Kim Min).³⁰¹ Recent rumours suggest that Rimbunan Hijau owns, or is in the process of acquiring, Primegroup Holdings, a company registered in British Virgin Islands with logging concessions in Guyana and Papua New Guinea.

Rimbunan Hijau's operations in Sarawak have brought the company into direct conflict with indigenous people over land rights issues. For example, in 1987, Kayan villagers in Uma Bawang erected a blockade in protest at the activities of Marabong Lumber Sdn Bhd, one of the Tiong family concerns, which was polluting the waterways and threatening their livelihoods. 42 farmers were arrested, but later released after prosecutors dropped all charges against them;³⁰² In 1993, complaints were made to Sarawak officials regarding damage to fruit trees and farm lands caused by Rimbunan Hijau Sdn Bhd.³⁰³