KL oil palm projects continue despite ban<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government's recent ban on new foreign
\ninvestment in oil palm plantations does not affect Malaysian
\ninvestors' oil palm projects in Central Sulawesi, a provincial
\nofficial said over the weekend.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Provincial Investment Coordinating Board,
\nAbdul Azis Tandju, said the government would not cancel their oil
\npalm projects because they had signed Memorandums of
\nUnderstanding (MOUs) to form partnerships with local firms.<\/p>\n
\"Several Sabah companies agreed to cooperate with local
\nbusinesses under the MOUs signed in the beginning of March to
\ndevelop plantations here,\" Tandju was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
But, he said, the Malaysian investors had to detail their
\npartnership programs to ensure that they did not harm local
\ninvestors' interests.<\/p>\n
\"The new agreements must guarantee that local investors will
\nremain the owners of oil palm estates,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government banned new foreign investment in oil palm
\nplantations last month because of overwhelming investment in that
\nsector.<\/p>\n
Local economists asked the government to impose the ban only
\nin western regions so that foreign investors could develop oil
\npalm plantations in eastern provinces in partnership with local
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah supported their
\ncall, but State Minister for Investment Sanyoto Sastrowardoyo
\nsaid a further study was needed before the ban could exclude
\neastern provinces.<\/p>\n
Investors from Malaysia, the world's largest crude palm oil
\nproducer, run most oil palm plantations in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Early this year, the government revoked its approval of a
\nMalaysian company's plan to invest in a 27,000-hectare oil palm
\nplantation in Tanjung Jabung district, Jambi.<\/p>\n
Tandju said that Central Sulawesi needed more foreign
\ninvestment.<\/p>\n
He said the central government had to encourage more foreign
\ninvestment in Central Sulawesi because few of the proposed
\nprivate investments in the province had been realized in the last
\n10 years.<\/p>\n
\"Only 10 percent of the proposed Rp 1.3 trillion (US$548
\nmillion) investments by local and foreign investors were realized
\nby 1996,\" he said. (02)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kl-oil-palm-projects-continue-despite-ban-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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