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Tabung Haji in pact to buy Indon refinery
calendar05-04-2006 | linkThe Star | Share This Post:

5/4/06 KUALA LUMPUR (The Star) -  Lembaga Tabung Haji will partner a China-based company to acquire a palm oil refinery in Indonesia for about US$15mil as an initial step into biodiesel development.

TH Plantations Bhd (THP) managing director Datuk Rashidi Omar said the deal, which had been approved last week by the authorities, was expected to be sealed this month after the listing of THP on the Bursa Malaysia main board on April 27.

The partner, who has a “strong presence in China,” would equally fund the acquisition cost, of which US$7mil was allocated for refurbishment and expansion of the refinery, he said, declining to disclose the equity distribution for the joint venture.  

 
Datuk Rashidi Omar
The refinery is expected to be managed and operated by a company formed by the joint venture, in which Tabung Haji will be represented by plantation arm THP.

“The refinery is abandoned and we are going to refurbish it and expand its capacity to 1,500 tonnes per day from 1,000 tonnes,” Rashidi said after a media briefing yesterday.

He said THP expected the refinery to be in full operation by year-end.

He added that the bulk of Tabung Haji's plantations were in Indonesia; totalling about 82,000ha, of which 70,000ha were planted. 

Earlier, Tabung Haji group managing director and chief executive officer Ismee Ismail said THP's share application deadline for Tabung Haji depositors would be extended from April 5 to 10.

“During a roadshow from March 24 to 31, we found that depositors are concerned that the application forms may not reach the Malaysian Issuing House in time, hence the extended deadline,” he said.

LTH will allow depositors to submit their applications to the 121 Tabung Haji branches nationwide. For all states, except Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, the submission deadline for application forms is 5pm on April 7. 

For those three states, the deadline is 12pm on April 9.

Ismee said the listing proceeds of RM93.14mil would go into Tabung Haji's fund pool for investments in equities, real estate and possibly land bank.

THP is offering for sale 74.52 million 50 sen shares at RM1.25 per share. Of that, 41.07 million shares are for LTH depositors, 19.61 million placed out to Islamic institutions, 9.8 million offered to the public and 4.03 million to eligible directors and employees of Tabung Haji and THP.