27/01/07 (The Star)  -  KUALA LUMPUR: Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd is delaying the listing of its Minamas Indonesia unit, after agreeing to a merger plan to form the world’s largest listed palm oil planter, sources said.

Guthrie had told Reuters last year it aimed to raise some US$300mil in an Indonesia listing in 2007, but sources close to the company said yesterday the plan had been shelved because Guthrie was now focused on its merger with other planters Sime Darby Bhd and Golden Hope Plantations Bhd.

“The IPO’s been delayed because of this whole process,” said a banker familiar with the transaction.

Another source confirmed Guthrie was too busy working on the merger to go ahead with the original timetable for the listing of Minamas, which houses most of Guthrie’s Indonesian plantations. – Reuters