Tuesday April 12, 2005, 8:19 pm - KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Golden HopePlantations Bhd. (1953.KU) Tuesday said its unit Hudson & Knight (Pty)Ltd. plans to acquire the frying oils and fats businesses of a company inSouth Africa for MYR11.41 million.

The Malaysian company said Hudson & Knight will acquire the "Crispa" and"Holsum" frying oils and fats businesses from Unilever South Africa(Proprietary) Ltd.

"The acquisition will enable Golden Hope to enter into the frying oils andfats segment in the African region, which is a growing market," thecompany said in a statement to the local stock exchange.

Golden Hope is a plantations company that has various refineries,particularly palm oil refineries, in Malaysia, the Netherlands, Vietnamand South Africa.

"It is part of Golden Hope's strategy to go further downstream in thevalue chain and position itself as an ingredients supplier for foodmanufacturers," the company added.