KL firm wins RI timber rights

KL firm wins RI timber rights

KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones): 0K.P. Keningau Bhd., a Malaysian
timber company, said Tuesday it secured exclusive rights to
purchase timber logs from a forest concession area covering
46,000 hectares in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

In a statement, Keningau said the exclusive rights were
awarded to KPK Timber International Ltd., a joint venture between
Keningau unit KPK Ventures Sdn. Bhd. and some Indonesian
partners.

The exclusive rights involve the "purchase and (sale of) the
extracted timber logs from the forest concession, which sees an
estimated 100,000 cubic meters of timber extracted each year,"
said Matthew Yoong, managing director of Keningau.

In the statement, Keningau said its unit has majority stake in
KPK Timber International but didn't disclose the exact size of
the stake or name the Indonesian partners.

Yoong said extraction activities on the forest concession is
expected to span over 18 years upon start of operations, which is
expected in the first half of 2000.