Universal's credit to farmers

Universal's credit to farmers

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Universal, the banking arm of the widely
diversified business group Astra, agreed on Monday to channel Rp
115.36 billion (US$13.4 million) in credit to the Karya Mukti
cooperative in Muara Bungo, Jambi, to support the development of
oil palm smallholdings of its members.

The company announced the credit agreement was signed in the
provincial capital of Jambi in a ceremony attended by Minister of
Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises Adi Sasono, Jambi
Governor Abdurrahman Sayoeti and Astra president Rini Soewandi.

Karya Mukti is the business partner of PT Sari Aditya Loka, a
subsidiary of publicly listed PT Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), which
is active in agribusiness commodities such as palm oil, cocoa,
tea and rubber.

Karya Mukti has 4,948 household members with a total of 9,896
hectares of oil palm smallholdings.

AAL runs 198,050 hectares of plantations, including 182,268
hectares planted with oil palm and the rest with rubber, tea and
cocoa. Harvests have been made on about 108,735 hectares. (jsk)