KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- Conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd which is on the road of expansion, plans to increase its landbank for oil palm plantation by 2008, taking into view the continuous rise in crude oil price.

Its group's chief executive Datuk Ahmad Zubair Murshid said currently the group was evaluating a few potential plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia.

"We are looking at both possibilities and over the next two years, we should complete and double our landbank.

"Currently, we have about 90,000 hectares and we expect to increase to about 200,000 hectares," he told reporters after the group's annual general meeting (AGM), here Tuesday.

On biodiesel, Ahmad Zubair said the group has plans to set up a biodiesel plant in Pasir Gudang with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year.

"Although we are quite slow, the intention is there. We think there is still potential in biodiesel. We don't want to rush into things," he said.

The group plans to spend about RM50 million to RM60 million in the next two years to build the biodiesel plant, he added.

With crude palm oil prices on an upward trend, the oil palm plantation will gave the group a good revenue, Ahmad Zubair said.

On the group's proposal to acquire fabrication yacht operator Ramunia Holdings, Ahmad Zubair said the group's expansion plan looked at the oil and gas industry as a whole instead of a particular company.

The group hopes to finalise the deal as soon as possible but the evaluation on the deal has to be completed first, he added.

-- BERNAMA