14/04/2010 (VIVAnews) - Rajawali Group reportedly intends to run a crude palm oil (CPO) commodity business after laying off its shares in PT Semen Gresik Tbk.

According to VIVAnews’ source, the group, which is currently expanding its business to mining and palm oil, is interested in PT Tunas Baru Lampung Tbk (TBLA).

“Both parties have allegedly been negotiating the price,” the source said in Jakarta on Tuesday, April 13.

Rajawali Corp Senior Manager of External Communications Christiantoko said the company was probing into the acquisition of palm oil companies, which had been addressed by Rajawali Corp Managing Director & Chief Business Development Darjoto Setyawan earlier.

“Mr Darjoto said we were looking at several palm oil companies. Please contact him for more information,” Christiantoko told VIVAnews today, April 14.

Until now, Setyawan has remained unresponsive to VIVAnews’ attempt to contact him.

Meanwhile, Tunas Baru Lampung Corporate Secretary Hardy said he had not been aware of any report on Rajawali’s plan to purchase the company’s shares. “I’ve never heard it until you told me,” he said.

However, the company’s Vice President Sudarmo Tasmin denies the report. “It is not true,” he said in a short reply.

As of March 31, 2010, PT Budi Delta Swakarya owns TBLA-coded share of 29.68 percent and PT Sungai Budi’s of 27.44 percent while the rest are owned by the public.

On Tuesday’s trade, TBLA was stagnantly closed in the level of Rp 455.

For the record, Tunas Baru lampung will be implementing the delayed plan of acquiring palm oil plantations this year. “The company will acquire new land next year,” TBLA Vice President Director Sudarmo Tasmin said in Jakarta a while ago.

He also said the company would spend Rp 40 million for each acre. The acquisition is the continuation of 16 thousand acres-wide main land and 13.5 thousand acres-wide plasma land in Banyuasin, South Sumatra.

Until September 2009, only about six thousand acres of the main land have been planted while the plasma land has been used up to 651 thousand acres.