KL logger buys NZ forest

KL logger buys NZ forest

AUCKLAND (AFP): Malaysian logging company Glenealy Plantations Bhd. has paid NZ$210 million (US$148.4 million) for a 24,800 hectare (61,256 acre) plantation forest in New Zealand, the seller, Fletcher Challenge Forests, said in a statement Friday.

Glenealy is 52 percent owned by the Samling Group of Malaysia. The East Coast Forest it purchased is near Gisborne, southeast of Auckland, and consists mostly of radiata pine. The average age of the estate is 11 years although some trees are within four years of harvest.

Fletcher Challenge said Glenealy planned to build a processing plant to ensure best use of the high quality logs from the estate.