Archived News

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Malaysia's palm oil futures fell through1,060 ringgit support and extended their losses by midday on Wednesday dueto worries over rising stocks.The benchmark November futures contract was down 37 ringgit at 1,036ringgit ($272.63) a tonne after trading as high as 1,068 ringgit. Volumewas at 1,259 lots."People are worried that stocks will finally go up because of poorexports. There are also signs output will pick up in the coming months,"said a trader in Kuala Lumpur, adding that slow demand in the physicalsector added to the bearish tone.One technical analyst said a big correction was taking place in theMalaysian market."For the past five days the bull has been fighting for sustainability,"the analysts said, adding that the selling pressure was triggered when themarket failed to close above 1,095 ringgit."The market looks weak and given this sentiment, it is unlikely priceswill rebound to 1,095," he said.Export figures released by cargo surveyor Societe Generale de SurveillanceMalaysia on Monday showed palm oil shipments to India in the first 25 daysof August totalled 118,086 tonnes, down from 170,886 in July 1-25.India was Malaysia's main palm oil buyer in 2000, taking 2.03 milliontonnes. August/September crude palm oil for south and central regions wasoffered at 1,060 ringgit a tonne against bids at 1,050. There were notrades.Among refined products, September RBD palm oil was offered at $287.50 atonne and October/November/December at $290.00.Offers for September RBD olein were at $307.50 andOctober/November/December were at $310.00September RBD palm stearin was offered at $250.00 a tonne and Septemberpalm fatty acid distillate was offered at $200.00.

INDIA's Ircon International Ltd, one of the two foreign parties in theproposed Malaysia's railway double-tracking project, has initiatedpreliminary civil works on the project.

ONLY about RM920 million of the RM3 billion fiscal stimulus packageintroduced by the Government in March is expected to be disbursed byyear-end, with stringent bank rules, red tape and slower economic growthall seen as contributing to the fund's low utilisation rate.

ANALYSTS continue to be bullish on the outlook of the plantation sectordespite the lower-than-expected earnings registered by some of the biggestplantation companies in the country.

GOOD palm oil prices of late may hamper the Government's plan to replantthe country's oil palm plantations.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Palm oil went online recently withe-Pomex, and now it is the rubber industry's turn to catch up with theelectronic world with a Malaysian-based rubber portal, "NRExchange.com."The portal will pave the way for the commodity to go for a globalmarketplace.

The Transport Ministry wants the northern and southern electrifieddouble-track railway projects to be expedited by as much as half theoriginal timeframe, so as to boost local economic activity.Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik said project consultants have beenasked to see if the projects could be completed in three years instead ofsix.They are also to see if work on both the northern and southern lines canbegin simultaneously.The northern double-tracking project is from Ipoh to Padang Besar(338.8km). The southern line is from Seremban to Johor Baru (297km).A start date has not been determined as the proposal needed fine-tuning.Instead of waiting for the consultants to finalise their proposal, Dr Lingsaid contractors should join the planning now so work could begin soonest."Let everyone be a part of the preliminary work...so we can shorten thepreparatory phase. There is no need for the ministry to review theconsultant's report and then only give it to the contractors."Dr Ling was speaking at a Press conference at his ministry here.He said under review were certain parts of the track that neededre-alignment as existing lines were too curved. Sharp curves would preventthe electric trains from running at their high speeds of 160 to 180kilometers per hour, he said.Re-alignments would pose problems to about 10 per cent of areas affectedby the project."Some people and homes might be displaced but they are only in a fewplaces."He named Bukit Berapit in between Taiping and Kuala Kangsar, Bagan Seraiand Tanjung Rambutan on the northern line, and Tampin on the southernline.More than 50 overhead road bridges would also be built so motorizedtraffic would not be disrupted by the trains.The Indian Railway Construction Company will build infrastructure for thenorthern line. The southern line has been awarded to the China RailwayEngineering Corporation.Each project is estimated to cost RM6 billion, according to past reports.Payment would include a barter trade in palm oil.Japan's Mitsui Corporation will provide the systems, such astelecommunication and signaling."The sooner the project starts, the better for the economy, he said,adding that even oil palm smallholders would benefit when India and Chinastarted buying oil palm."Double-tracking can increase the number of train services a day by fivetimes, compared to a single track.DRB-Hicom and Mitsui are undertaking the central project which runs fromRawang to Ipoh, worth RM4.2 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (Bernama) - Polyurethanes (PU), which make good heatinsulators, are very popular in temperate countries because they help saveenergy.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futuresreturned to positive territory in a chart-inspired rally on Friday andhopes that India may be coming back to the market to stock up. Thebenchmark third-month November contract was 11 ringgit higher at 1,109ringgit ($291.84) a tonne after trading as high as 1,112. Volume was thinat 436 lots. November contract ended down 23 ringgit at 1,098 ringgit($288.95) at the close on Thursday. "India still hesitates to buy palm oilbecause its local edible oil crop is coming in in October. But who knowswhether the crop is sufficient to meet demand," said one trader in KualaLumpur. "I guess, India will be buying palm oil anytime soon," he added.Some other traders said India, the world's largest edible oil importer,would come to the market next month ahead of the Diwali Hindu festival oflights in November. One technical analyst pegged major support at 1,076ringgit. Immediate resistance was quoted at 1,120 ringgit. "If the marketcan hold the support level in the next five days, we could see (a further)technical rebound," said the analyst.

EMIRA-KUOK Fertilisers Sdn Bhd (KKF), a joint-venture company between theKuok group and Finland’s Kemira Agro, has officially introduced a newfertiliser compound called the Hi-Kay Plus.The company said that the compound was capable of improving oil palmyields by up to 15%.At a presentation held during the International Palm Oil Congress (PIPOC)2001 in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, company officials said the Hi-Kay Plus wasa more cost-effective alternative compared with traditional compounds asgrowers would benefit from a lower fertilising cost per year.“At most three rounds of applications will be required compared with otherfertilisers that require six to 10 rounds,’’ a company official said.According to him, this will result in savings on labour and supervisioncosts while at the same time improving field management and productivity.He said that while the cost per hectare using the product would be 3% to5% higher than using the existing fertilising methods, an increased yieldwould off-set the higher cost incurred.“A 1% increase in yield will more than cover any cost differentialsagainst applying straights,’’ the official said.Since its soft launch in July this year, the Hi-Kay Plus has attractedencouraging response from both smallholders and plantation managers.Apart from the local market, KKF is also exporting its products toregional plantations in South-East Asia.

THREE Malaysian companies have been identified as partners forlead-contractor China Railway Engineering Corp to undertake the RM6billion project to double-track the rail-link between Seremban and JohorBaru.

MALAYSIAN Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) e-registration system, which went “live”early this month, has captured about 30% of the total daily tradecontracts registered with the board.An electronic submission platform which incorporates a standardisedweb-based form, e-registration enables MPOB licensees to register theirdaily contracts online, a practice stipulated under Section 78(g) of theMPOB Act 1998.“Under the Palm Oil Industry (Registration of Contracts) Regulations ofMPOB, the licensees used to send in their contracts by telex, facsimile,e-mail or telephone,’’ said R Venugopal, director of the Economics andIndustry Development Division, MPOB.“With e-registration, they can register their contracts simply bytransferring the information from their databases to our system and withthe templates available, this can be done faster and more accurately,’’ hetold Star Business in an interview at the 2001 International Palm OilCongress in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.Venugopal is one of three contributors to the e-registration In the PalmOil Trade paper, presented by Jamil Nordin, also from MPOB, at thecongress.Venugopal said the implementation of the system was timely as itencompassed error-detection measures and other innovations to ensure fastand accurate registration of contracts, was more economical and helpedbridge the gap between other forms of contract registration.A key feature of the system, he added, was the derivation of the daily(and monthly) MPOB average palm oil prices used by traders as a benchmarkwhile the monthly prices are used as a basis for price settlement forlong-term supply contracts, for pricing fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and bythe government for formulating industry policies.Thursday, August 23, 2001The Star