IJM to boost oil palm estates in Indonesia

Malaysia’s IJM Plantations Bhd plans to spend RM250 million (US$72.5 million) over the next five to six years to boost its estates by a quarter in Indonesia and carry out more cultivating activities. The plantation arm of IJM Corp. Bhd, a construction and property group, wants to enlarge its estates to 40,000 hectares and plant more oil palm trees. It now owns 32,000 hectares of oil palm estates in east Kalimantan. IJM Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Velayuthan Tan Kim Song said the company already has a 4,000 hectare oil palm nursery, which should start producing by the first quarter of next year. “Indonesia is a good place to expand due to better yields, cheap labor, good logistics, abundant rainfall and good land terrain and close to our home operations in Sabah,” Tan said. IJM Plantations is one of the country’s smallest planters, with a strong presence in Sabah. (August 28, 2007)