By Hanim Adnan

The Star

21 May, 2011

BY 2015, Felda Global Group, the commercial entity of Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) is envisaged to emerge as a dynamic agri-business and multinational organisation with strong upstream and downstream activities, a well-recognised brand, diversified activities and a leadership especially in agri-based new technologies.

Under its current five-year transformation programme, Felda Global Group (comprising Felda Global Ventures Holdings Sdn Bhd (FGV) and Felda Holdings Bhd) has been tasked to undertake the strategic mission while at the same time ensuring steady growth of sustainable businesses to support Felda, its ultimate shareholder. Read the rest of this entry »

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Daily Express

21 May, 2011

Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok is leading a palm oil and rubber working visit to the United States from May 22 to 25.

The itinerary of the visit includes a joint Malaysia-Indonesia Ministerial mission to promote palm oil.

The mission covers meeting with the US Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and United States Trade Representative and Roundtable Dialogue with NGOs, industry leaders and government representatives.

The objectives of the visits are to have a dialogue with United States cabinet ministers, industry associations and Non-Governmental Organisation on the sustainability of palm oil. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Yvonne Tan

The Star

21 May, 2011

TSH Resources Bhd is banking on its sizeable unplanted land bank of 60,000ha to continue expanding its plantation business.

It has allocated about RM100mil in capital expenditure (capex) for new planting of oil palm trees on these parcels of land which are largely located in Indonesia, group managing director Datuk Tan Aik Sim said.

The capex, to be spent over the next few years, would be internally funded, he said at a briefing here yesterday.

“We are expecting our cashflow to grow stronger as our oil palm trees mature, therefore the RM100mil capex is not an issue for us,” Tan said. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Muguntan Vanar

The Star

21 May, 2011

Rising de-mand for oil palm fibre in China should spur millers in Sabah to look at using their own waste products to generate money, said state Industrial Development Datuk Raymond Tan.

“The market is there. The prices are good and the technology is not expensive,” he said after returning from a visit to an oil palm mill in Bidor, Perak, where fibre from empty fruit bunches were exported to mattress factories in China or turned into briquette.

Tan, who is also the chairman of the state-owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd which is developing the Lahad Datu palm oil industrial cluster, said the company was discussing with Global Green Synergy Sdn Bhd to develop a proposed biomass cluster there. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Hanim Adnan

The Star

21 May, 2011

PALM biomass waste previously is often perceived as a bane to many oil palm mill operators.

Every year, millers had to incur huge costs to transport and dispose empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm shells and mesocarp fibre after the process of crushing and extraction of palm oil and palm kernel oil from the fresh fruit bunches (FFB).

This situation, however, will no longer persist as many oil palm plantation owners with mills in Malaysia are now actively looking at palm biomass waste as feedstock for them to set up “green” renewable energy projects; thus creating an additional lucrative income for the operators.

One such company in the forefront of utilising palm biomass waste to generate renewable energy and power projects is Felda Global Group, which is also the world’s largest plantation group. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Hanim Adnan

The Star

21 May, 2011

Plantation conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd is planning to invest US$3.1bil in its oil palm and rubber plantation ventures in Liberia over the next 15 years.

Chairman Tun Musa Hitam said its unit, Sime Darby Plantations Sdn Bhd, to date had invested RM50mil (US$17mil) in the West African country.

In 2009, an amended and restated concession agreement between Sime Darby Plantation and the Liberian government gave the company a 63-year concession of 220,000ha in Liberia to be developed into oil palm and rubber plantations.

“We expect by 2015 some 10,800 tonnes of crude palm oil will be produced from our plantations in Liberia,” Musa told Malaysian and Liberian reporters after the official launch of Sime Darby Plantations’ first oil palm seedlings planting at its first estate Matambo Estate in Grand Cape Mount County witnessed by Liberia vice-president Joseph Boakai yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »

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Business Times

20 May, 2011

CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed higher yesterday on anticipation of a better export data which is scheduled for release today. A dealer said positive sentiments such as high soy oil prices also supported CPO prices.

June 2011 rose RM53 to settle at RM3,453 a tonne, July 2011 gained RM54 to RM3,391, August 2011 went up RM63 to RM3,360 and September 2011 jumped RM65 to RM3,350.

Volume dropped to 24,223 lots from Wednesday’s 29,486 lots while open interest climbed to 106,826 contracts from 106,652 previously.

On the physical market, June South rose by RM40 to RM3,440 from RM3,400 previously.

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The Inquirer

20 May, 2011

Sime Darby Plantation, the world’s largest producer of certified sustainable palm oil, planted its first palm seedlings in Liberia yesterday at a poignant ceremony that was significant in more ways than one for many of those present. The ceremonial planting marked the commencement of large-scale plantation activities in the African Republic. Currently, Sime Darby Plantation’s Matambo Estate, first in Liberia, was launched.   Speaking at the historic ceremony, the chairman of the Board of Directors/ Sime Darby Berhad, Tun Musa Hitam said the occasion is a proud moment for the company. “Today is a historic day for both of us because we are witnessing the planting of the first oil palm seedlings and this will lead to Liberia becoming a major producer of oil and its related products,” Sime Darby boss noted. Read the rest of this entry »

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