No takers yet for Kelantan plantation
> Valuation of 11,000-acre asset has gone up 4.5% to RM232.8m since assessment in June 2017
PETALING JAYA: Golden Palm Growers Bhd, which wants to prematurely terminate its oil palm farm-sharing investment scheme, is still on the lookout for suitable buyers for its plantation in Kelantan.
The scheme, which was launched in 2010 and supposed to run for 23 years, was in operation for seven years before the management called investors to a meeting in October last year to determine its future. Investors then gave the company a 12-month deadline to sell the asset.
An investor told SunBiz Golden Palm Growers stated, in a letter he received in January, that the plantation has been actively promoted to both local and overseas parties. It has appointed a local estate agency to promote the sale of the plantation locally.
The investor said the scheme’s management company, in the letter, tagged the valuation of its 11,000-acre plantation in Gua Musang, Kelantan, at RM232.8 million, an increase of RM10.8 million from the valuation that was obtained in June 2017.
He said the management company also claimed that the fresh fruit bunch yield has been encouraging, demonstrating positive growth over the previous year, and is in line with projections.
Golden Palm Growers did not respond to queries at press time.
At the meeting on Oct 2 last year, 98% of the investors voted to give the management a 12-month grace period to find a suitable buyer to get an “optimal realisation” for the plantation. The other option was an immediate sale of the plantation, which could result in a lower sale price.
Golden Palm Growers executive chairman Datuk CRS Paragash previously said the company will not be taking anything from the final net sale proceeds until it has returned 100% of capital to investors as well as the payment of the 2017 net yield. The management holds a 40% interest in the scheme.
The company also said that its action committee will be authorised to approve all proposals for the plantation that allow investors to get back 100% of their initial investment, while proposals that will return less than 100% will be open to investors’ review and vote.
In its letter, the management notified investors that the proposals are at various stages of development and are expected to gradually progress over the coming weeks.
The scheme is the second oil palm growers scheme to be wound up in four years. The first was Country Heights Growers’ scheme, which went bust in 2013 after its launch in 2007.