March 31 2004 - FEDERAL Land Development Authority (Felda) may soonexport for the first time its plantation management expertise to TimorLeste as part of its diversification plan to become a global player.

Felda group chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Yusof Noor said the land agency wasalso approached by several African countries to share its knowledge inplanting and growing oil palm.

We are ready to go to Timor Leste as soon as we get the clearance fromWisma Putra (Foreign Affairs Ministry), Mohd Yusof told reporters in KualaLumpur yesterday.

Backed by its 50 years’ experience, Mohd Yusof said the land developmentagency is ready to venture overseas. He said Felda is able to help othernations develop their own oil palm plantation sectors.

Last October Felda offered the West African state of Sierra Leone andTimor Leste assistance which included sending officers to help in plantingof oil palm and plantation management.

He said Felda will also share its expertise by training officers frominterested countries on the implementation of other projects related tooil palm.

On Felda’s operations, Mohd Noor said the country’s biggest plantationconcern in terms of landbank is expected to improve its earnings in thefinancial year ending December 2004, given the high crude palm oil pricesof late.

On market for its products, Mohd Yusof said Felda has identified BosniaHerzegovina and Turkey as potential new markets to complement itstraditional markets such as China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and severalWest Asian countries such as Iraq, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Syria andYemen.

The Felda Group, which has 40 wholly- or partly-owned subsidiaries as wellas joint-venture firms registered earnings

of between RM4 billion and RM5 billion annually with net profit of betweenRM400 million and RM500 million a year.

On the planned flotation of Felda Plantations Sdn Bhd, Mohd Noor said alldetails have been sorted out. The proposal is waiting for the Cabinet’sapproval.

Yusof said Felda has no plans to venture into the property business likeits private sector counterparts such as Golden Hope Development Sdn Bhdand IOI Properties Bhd.

We have no intention to compete with these companies as it is not Felda’spriority. We feel that it might become a liability one day. However, Feldais looking at opportunities to buy more land, he said.

Mohd Yusof said Felda has no plans to open up new land schemes on its ownbut is planning to do so with the cooperation of state governments andagencies.

Felda is also venturing into the herbal products business as a newalternative source of income to complement the oil palm business.

We feel there is so much potential in this line as the market is worthRM40 billion globally, he added.

Felda is preparing its Felda Herbal City in Pahang dedicated to herbalproducts from planting to processing and marketing, at a 405ha with aninitial investment of RM10 million.

Set up in July 1956, Felda has a total landbank of 800,000ha, of which440,000ha are owned by smallholders. It manages 275 land schemesnationwide and owns 72 oil palm mills and 4 refineries.