Ecolabeling agency to study firms<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo
\nsaid yesterday that forestry-related firms intending to go public
\nmust be assessed by and gain approval from the ecolabeling
\nagency.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Djamaludin said the
\nIndonesian Ecolabeling Agency (LEI) will soon start assessing
\nforestry firms to determine whether or not they are ready to
\ncomply with ecolabeling requirements.<\/p>\n
Starting the year 2000, ecolabeling will become a prerequisite
\nfor producers of tropical timber to gain access to markets in
\ncertain consumer countries.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said the agency, which is chaired by former
\nenvironment and population minister Emil Salim, will start its
\nassessments in a couple of months as a tryout before the
\necolabeling requirement is actually implemented.<\/p>\n
The agency will prioritize forestry firms that intend to go
\npublic, Djamaludin added.<\/p>\n
He was responding to recent reports stating that the Surya
\nDumai Group, which has businesses in forestry-related sectors,
\nwas planning to go public.<\/p>\n
When plans started late last year, executives of Surya Dumai
\nhad said the company planned to sell 60 million shares or 30
\npercent of its total shares.<\/p>\n
Surya Dumai aims at collecting Rp 180 billion (US$78.26
\nmillion) from the sales of its shares.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin reiterated yesterday that the Ministry of Forestry
\nwill not give any recommendation to firms that rely on timber
\nfrom natural forests for their raw material supply.<\/p>\n
Apart from a recommendation from LEI, forestry firms planning
\nto go public must also conduct a public presentation and gain
\napproval from the government and from surveyor companies.<\/p>\n
\"The ecolabeling agency will ensure a firm's environmental
\nsustainability while the surveyor will assess its production
\ncapability,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Security<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said all these requirements were necessary to give
\na sense of security to prospective investors. \"We don't want
\ninvestors to buy a cat in the bag,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said earlier this year that an assessment of 61
\nconcessionaires included in a pilot project concluded that only
\nnine were considered \"adequately prepared\" to meet ecolabeling
\nrequirements and none were actually \"prepared\".<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the government decided not to extend or issue the
\nlogging permits of 68 out of 188 concessionaires which had
\nsubmitted their annual logging plans for the 1996\/1997 fiscal
\nyear.<\/p>\n
The decision was based on the poor performance of the
\nconcessionaires, which were said to have failed to meet the basic
\nrequirements needed to be allowed to harvest at their full
\ncapacities.<\/p>\n
These requirements include, among other things, developing
\nsocial forestry programs and timber estates in cooperation with
\ntransmigrants, paying all official levies and fees and planting
\ncertain crops.<\/p>\n
The ministry in 1994 rejected the proposal of PT Artika Optima
\nInti -- a subsidiary of the Djajanti Group -- to go public,
\nalthough the firm had already received the go-ahead from the
\nCapital Market Supervisory Agency. Artika was said to have failed
\nto meet a number of obligations. (pwn)<\/p>",
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