Ashtech to invest in cacao plant

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)