Sarawak Plantation To Buy Land In Kalimantan To Expand Palm Oil Area
Tuesday August 28, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Plantation Bhd (SPB) expects to secure 30,000 ha to 50,000 ha of land in Kalimantan in three years as part of its expansion plans, says group managing director Mohamad Bolhair Reduan.
“The land has the same soil condition as our current landbank. We’ve already started talks with the Indonesians,” he said after the listing of SPB on Bursa Malaysia Tuesday.
Besides expanding into Indonesia, SPB is also anticipated to secure at least 10% of the 1.5 million ha agriculture land identified by the state government over the long term.
The plantation company presently has about 27,000 ha of planted area in 11 estates and aimed to increase that to 40,000 ha by 2010, Bolhair said.
He said production of fresh fruit bunches should register double-digit growth in the next few years due to the age profile of the plantations.
“We’re already producing 24 to 25 tons per hectare. There is no reason why we shouldn’t do better,” he said.
Coupled with the firm crude oil prices, which were expected to average about RM2,500 to RM2,700 per ton, SPB was anticipated to register good profits in the next few years, Bolhair added.
Chairman Datuk Hasmi Hasnan said SPB was committed to rewarding shareholders by paying 30% of net profit as dividend for the current financial year.
“The following years, it will be based on needs and expansion requirements,” he said.
SPB is currently the state’s largest listed plantation group with market capitalisation of RM840mil. SPB’s major shareholders are the Sarawak government, which holds about 38% and Cermat Ceria Sdn Bhd with 37%.
Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/28/business/20070828144254&sec=business
