16/08/05 KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd. Tuesday deniednewspaper reports alleging two of its units were among Malaysian companiesthat started massive fires last week in Indonesia to clear land forplantations.

"We can confirm that the fire started from areas outside our estates andspread to our estates. We have assisted in putting out the fire. Ourestates are all mature estates and there's no reason to burn (forland-clearing)," Corporate Planning and Strategic Development Head HelmyOthman Basha told Dow Jones Newswires.

Guthrie is 50.8%-owned by Malaysia's biggest private fund manager,Permodalan Nasional Bhd, and has the biggest Indonesia landholding amonglisted Malaysian plantation companies. Analysts estimate Guthrie owns216,000 hectares of plantation land in Indonesia, almost double that ofits closest rival, PPB Oil Palms Bhd. .

Tuesday, the Malay-language Utusan Malaysia daily named Guthrie's P.T.Tunggal Mitra Plantation and P.T. Bumi Reksa Nusa Sejati as two of eightMalaysian companies that had allegedly started fires in Indonesia forland-clearing. Several Indonesian publications had made similarallegations earlier.

Smoke from fires in Indonesia caused a haze that blanketed Kuala Lumpurand central Selangor state last week, Malaysian officials have said.

The smog was so bad in central Selangor state the government shut schoolsand universities for two days. A state of emergency was also declared intwo towns.

Helmy said Guthrie will issue a statement later Tuesday on its twoIndonesian units. Tunggal Mitra is an oil palm plantation company in southSumatra and Bumi Reksa is another plantation firm in Riau.

Fires in the area near the two plantation companies have since been putout, Helmy added