Lereno to move upstream with biofuel JV

13 July 2007 05:39  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Singapore’s Lereno Bio-Chem said late on Thursday that it has set up a joint venture with Malaysia’s privately-held Impak Benua to secure palm oil feedstock for its biofuels business.

The new joint venture, called HML Green Estates, was created to acquire and develop oil palm plantations in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Lereno said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange.

Soaring palm oil prices over the past month have forced many regional biodiesel producers to slow down or stall production.

Lereno, which separately said that it had acquired two oil palm plantations, said the move will help it stabilise and maintain future revenues and profit levels, as well as help it develop biofuels from biomass and biowaste resources in the future.

It will own 70% of HML and Impak is to hold the rest, Lereno said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange.

HML will carry out cultivation, manufacturing, and activities such as the development of downstream palm oil milling, waste development and extraction, by-products production and trading, the firm added.

Lereno had earlier acquired two palm oil plantations in Indonesia through its affiliate Renopac for $3.8m.

The company also has a 38% stake in Kuala Lumpur-based biodiesel firm Lereno.

By: Jeanne Lim
+65 6780 4359

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