Ashtech to invest in cacao plant

JAKARTA (JP): Malaysian Ashtech Holdings SDN BHD and local cocoa producer PT Arasma Mulia agreed here on Monday to jointly set up a US$4.5 million cacao processing plant in Central Sulawesi.

Ashtech president Ahmad Shaharudin Bin Adul Latif said the Malaysian company would provide the financing and marketing for the processing plant and while its local partner would be responsible for the cacao procurement.

He said cocoa powder and cocoa paste to be produced at the plant would be exported to Europe, the Middle East and to several former Soviet states.

Ashtech will first invest in cacao fermentation technology to increase the quality of Arasma's cocoa stocks.

"Our initial investment for this technology will be about 500,000 Malaysian ringgit (about $135,000)," Ahmad said after the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing at the Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM) in Jakarta.

Using this technology, he said, the water content of Arasma's cacao could be reduced and thereby enhance its quality.

He said the cacao processed with the new technology would be first exported to Malaysia and Brunei before the new processing mill was ready for production.

"To operate the new processing plant, the cacao supply will have to reach 2,000 tons per month so that the investment will be feasible," Ahmad said.

At present, the province of Central Sulawesi produces only about 4,000 tons to 5,000 tons of cocoa per month, most of which is exported.

He said there was no specific date when Ashtech would build the plant, but added that the company intended to invest as soon as possible.

Central Sulawesi governor AB Paliuju, who attended the signing ceremony, said that the MOU was the first signed between a Central Sulawesi company and a foreign investor, without requiring a permit from the central government.

"Previously we had to obtain permits from the central government which took much time and burdened the investment costs," Paliuju said.

He expected the introduction of a processing factory in Central Sulawesi would raise the welfare of the locals since cacao was the region's main commodity. (03)