Guthrie to venture in RI

Guthrie to venture in RI

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd. is to seal a deal soon to develop an oil palm estate in Indonesia, officials said yesterday.

The conglomerate plans to invest some 250 million ringgit (US$100 million) over the next 10 years to develop 70,000 hectares (175,000 acres) of oil palms in North Sumatra jointly with two Indonesian partners, they said.

"Indonesia is increasingly seen by Malaysian plantation groups as a logical and potential investment target with its ample plantation land and a huge labor force," a corporate analyst said.

Listed Kumpulan Guthrie, through its wholly-owned Guthrie Tapis Sdn. Bhd., last month signed a memorandum of understanding with PT Magna and Yayasan Kerja Raharja on the proposed venture, which also involves setting up an oil palm processing facility.

"We are now holding discussions to get a majority stake and management control in the project," Kumpulan Guthrie group chief executive Khalid Ibrahim said at the weekend.

Kretam Holdings Bhd. signed a pact in July with Indonesia's PT Ira Widya Utama to invest about 300 million ringgit over 10 years in a 40,000 hectare (100,000 acre) oil palm plantation in North Sumatra.