24/10/2008 (The Star Online), Damansara - Ronser Bio-Tech Sdn Bhd, a newly set up industrial waste treatment company, will focus on palm oil mills in Malaysia to drive growth.

Company advisor Chua Peng Len said the company was targeting palm oil mills, as the potential was good because Malaysia palm oil mills were still using the old system for waste treatment.

“The palm oil mill market is large in Malaysia, as there are about 400 palm oil mills in Malaysia,” Chua told reporters at a briefing.

“However, we do not see anyone in this industry that has the complete closed-end system that is capable of treating the effluent up to zero discharge.” he said.

He said Ronser Bio-Tech has also entered into an agreement with YTL-SV Carbon Sdn Bhd to assist Ronser Bio-Tech’s clients apply for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and help them to market their carbon credits.

The CDM is a scheme under the Kyoto Protocol which helps developing countries achieve sustainable development through the sale of certified emission reduction, or carbon credits, to developed and industrialised countries.

“The estimated cost for a 60-tonne per hour mill system is about RM6mil,” Chua said, referring to palm oil mills.

“Mills of this size generate about 30,000 tonnes of carbon credits a year, so the direct return on investment is in the region RM1.5mil a year.” he added

Meanwhile, Chua said Ronser Bio-Tech has set up 10-year joint venture with China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University to develop advanced environmental protection technology.

It would spend RM3mil in research and development during that period.

Last month, Ronser purchased a 100% stake in Shanghai-based biotechnology company KangChern Environmental Science & Technology Co Ltd for 45mil renminbi (RM6.6mil).

Currently, Ronser Bio-Tech’s clients in China include China Petrol, China Resources Snow Brewery, Coca-Cola and Pepsico’s operations in China.