27/3/07 (The Star)   - THE Country Heights Growers’Scheme (CHGS) offers an opportunity for female investors to invest in crude palm oil, one of the fastest growing industries in Malaysia today.

The project is managed by Plentiful Gold-Class Berhad, a subsidiary of the Country Heights Group of Companies, and distributed by Women’s Wealth Creation (M) Sdn Bhd (WWC).

The project covers a 4,400ha piece of land in Gua Musang, Kelantan, a town located south of the state’s capital, Kota Bharu.

According to CHGS’ prospectus, there are 40,000 growers’ plots available for sale. Each plot covers 0.63ha (¼ acre) and is priced at RM5,000.

The term of yield is 23 years, where an 8% return is guaranteed for the first three years while the returns for the remaining 20 years are to be based on the price of crude palm oil.

Plentiful Gold-Class Berhad estate manager Lee Beng Tan said the project started in 2006 and currently has 70 workers, with another 130 on the way.

“We’ve cleared about 1,560ha and planted the seedlings so far, and the balance will be cleared and have seedlings planted by the end of this year.

“About 240ha of the plantation has been kept as an animal sanctuary as part of the eco-tourism activity,” said Lee, 57.

He estimated that altogether 240,000 seedlings would be planted for the project, and that the project would thrive as the plantation possessed good soil and water source.

“Our challenge is to keep away the elephants and wild boar from eating the palm oil seedlings and uprooting the plants, which is why we have to fence up the area and keep dogs on the plantation.”

At the moment, Tan said that various areas of the plantation are undergoing different phases like felling and underbrushing, terrace construction, stacking and pruning, road construction and seedling planting.

“We can start harvesting the oil palm in 2009. The older seeds can generate five to seven tonnes of harvest per hectare, while the super clone breeds can generate about 15 tonnes of harvest per hectare.”

WWC chairman Dr Stella K.Y.Chin said, “We want people to know that this is a genuine financial product and this project is one of our ways to help women discover and develop their maximum potential in financial and wealth creation.

“WWC aims to educate, empower and enrich a woman’s life by teaching them to develop themselves and their wealth creation mindset.

“These include learning about basic money principles, learning how to take control of their finances and discovering strategies for financial freedom.”

“Women today have their own career and income, but many are conservative in investing when they have a lot of money,” said WWC advisor Dr Alan Wong.

“We’re suggesting that they should use their income to create wealth, and WWC will try to teach them how to invest and earn more money in return.”

For details on the project, visit www.wwc.com.my or call 03-80683993.