Indonesian plantation companies merge

GOVERNMENT Indonesia plans to create palm oil and rubber companies of the world's largest by March this by combining state plantation companies with total assets of U.S. $ 5.6 billion (RM16.91 billion), government ministers said yesterday.
Plans to list the company will attract investors to the country that recently received ratings of 'investment grade' and create a new competition to the leading regional plantation companies such as Sime Darby in Malaysia and Wilmar (Singapore).
The government will combine the assets of 15 state companies, who earn around 40 trillion rupiah (RM13.47 billion) last year, under a holding company PT Nusantara III Gardening. "Consolidation would be putting it among the world's largest plantation company with the number of farms reached million hectares of oil palm and rubber, "said Minister of State Enterprises, Dahlan Iskandar in an interview Jakarta, yesterday. State which has 17,000 islands is the world's largest exporter of palm oil; robusta coffee producer and second largest and third largest cocoa producer. Company the issue of all these commodities, including tea, rice, tapioca and sugar. Analysts said the merger would produce impact on the economy but will not dramatically impact the supply of commodities. "They have been producing the commodity before. It is not a new supply entering the market. This is only a rationalization of government-related assets, "said analysts at OCBC Bank Singapore, Carey Wong. merger of plantation companies last done in 2008 when the Malaysian government combines three plantation companies linked to form Sime Darby, which is considered the largest plantation company in terms of assets . Indonesian plantation companies will combine to produce up to 500,000 tons of surplus rice from the new rice cultivation area of 100,000 hectares in East Kalimantan on Borneo island, Iskandar said, without giving a timeframe for the production. Indonesia, the fourth largest country in population in world, is trying to be independent in terms of basic food production. However, it surprised the market last year with a region large-scale importation from Thailand and Vietnam to increase rice production can help to not import this year. "I expect Indonesia can produce additional rice of 280.000 to 300.000 tons of new planting area of 100,000 hectares, "said Chookiat Ophaswongse, Honorary President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association. plantation companies this year are prohibited from expanding their acreage to forest areas such as Borneo, Indonesia through a two-year moratorium on the clearing new forest and land acquisition. It is seen as troublesome to the country which is famous for the red tape. Indonesia last December approved the draft land law which aims to accelerate the acquisition of land for public interest, particularly for state projects and the law will allow new companies to acquire access to land to produce rice.