Crude palm oil

Zuraida says that at the moment, the existing 65 refineries in the country are enough to process CPO produced locally. (Photo by Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge) - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities is focusing its efforts on expanding the local downstream oleochemicals industry, especially on setting up oleochemicals factories to process crude palm oil (CPO) into non-food products like cosmetics and detergents. Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said palm oil is a very versatile commodity, as it could be processed into both food and non-food products. “In planting oil palm trees, the target is zero waste,” she said during the Dewan Negara’s question-and-answer session on Thursday (Aug 11). She also said that at the moment, the existing 65 refineries in the country are enough to process CPO produced locally. “Currently, these refineries are mostly managed by major estate management companies, such as Sime Darby. … [Read more...] about Plantation Ministry focusing on expanding local downstream oleochemicals industry, says Zuraida

- A + A (Aug 11): The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) is silent after its third six-month special exemption from Bursa Malaysia for the 25% public shareholding spread in FGV Holdings Bhd expired on Aug 3 2022. It continues to mop up more shares on the open market in an apparent attempt to privatise FGV on the cheap despite high palm oil prices and record profits. It is learnt that Felda's shareholding in FGV stood at 82%, way off the 90% ownership to trigger the compulsory share acquisition to take the country's largest crude palm oil (CPO) producer private. This resulted from the failed RM1.30 per share privatisation initiated by Felda in Dec 2020 and closed in March last year. Before the exercise, a rumour was floated in Oct 2020 that Felda was planning to cancel the Land Lease Agreement (LLA) with FGV and that the Cabinet had given its approval. This rumour resulted in a further collapse of FGV share price to 70 sen. The cancellation did not … [Read more...] about Felda and privatisation of FGV: No end in sight

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Johor Corp Bhd (JCorp) is reported to have picked banks to arrange an initial public offering next year for its plantation unit, Kulim (Malaysia) Bhd, that could raise up to RM1 billion. The Johor government-owned group is working with advisers including RHB Bank Bhd, Affin Bank Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd on the listing, Bloomberg reported on Thursday (Aug 11), quoting unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter. CLSA Ltd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd are also working on the planned share sale of Kulim and the operation could be valued at up to US$1 billion (RM4.45 billion) in the offering, the report said. Previously, The Edge Malaysia weekly had reported in its May 16-22, 2022 edition that JCorp is mulling a flotation of Kulim on Bursa Malaysia, to ride on strong crude palm oil prices, with RHB Investment Bank Bhd roped in for the listing. Spokesmen for Affin, AMMB, CIMB, CLSA and RHB declined to comment on the matter when contacted … [Read more...] about Johor Corp picks banks for plantation unit IPO

The weak ringgit will propel earnings of these sectors, say analysts - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 12): The weak ringgit, which depreciated by 4.9% in the second quarter of 2022 (2Q22) — from 4.2040 (March 31) to 4.4082 (June 30) — is expected to boost export-oriented companies' earnings. The sectors that analysts expect to benefit from the soft local currency include manufacturers such as furniture makers and semiconductor-related companies. When contacted, MIDF Research head of research Imran Yassin Md Yusof said the semiconductor sector stands to benefit from a depreciated ringgit against the greenback, as export demand remains strong. Meanwhile, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd executive director of wealth advisory Michael Lai said that the export sector has performed well on the back of the reopening of the economy with the electrical and electronics products segment being a key driver of Malaysia's export growth in 2022. Unisem (M) Bhd's latest result proved that … [Read more...] about The earnings of these sectors will get a boost from the weak ringgit