Sterling launches successful IPO

Sterling Biofuels, an alternative fuels group, was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on September 25 after its US$35 million initial public offering closed oversubscribed. The company plans to construct a 100,000-ton-per-year biodiesel plant in Malaysia, with scheduled start up in July 2007. The company has already secured a three-year off-take agreement with an unnamed international energy trader. Sterling Biofuels is proposing to use refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein as its feedstock for the biodiesel plant. Sterling Biofuels has secured a three-year agreement with Malaysia’s Lahad Datu Edible Oils (LDEO) for the supply of RBD palm olein feedstock. (September 12, 2006)