Now, Wilmar International has decided to stop buying crude palm oil (CPO) from Sarawak from 2015. Apparently, Robert Kuok's group of companies also owns significant palm oil plantations in Indonesia. Obviously, buying from Indonesia is cheaper.
Malaysia's tycoons are investing overseas instead of in Malaysia. This definitely does not bode well for the country & her citizens. As history has shown, the Chinese businesses are being taken over by either by GLCs or Malay businessmen aligned with politicians. One by one, big businesses are leaving for safer havens such as Singapore or Hong Kong, where their fortunes and business empires are safe from greedy hands.
Come to think of it, it's an oxymoron. On one hand, the Malaysian government tells us that they are trying to attract foreign investor. On the other, they are pushing away local investors (whom happens to be Chinese).
An interesting reply from Robert Kuok in the Star interview below: ... Asked about the sense of discrimination among the Chinese in Malaysia, Kuok demurred, saying: "This will lead only to highly controversial statements, which is not good for anybody. One must never hurt those Chinese who are living in Malaysia, never be the cause of any kind of inter-racial hostility.
To me, the future of Malaysia rests on the economy. It always has.
Only when these grabbing of wealth & power stops, will Malaysia have a chance to progress. Else, it will go downhill.
For now, the people makes noise on a full stomach. Wait till their stomachs are empty.
All the racial & religious issues will lead to conflict when the economy tanks.
And it is prudent for politicians to stop playing up these issues, before they really get out of hand.
I'm not raising these points because these businesses are owned by the Chinese. Businessmen are businessmen. Their wealth do not belong to all the Chinese. The point is, regardless of ethnicity, a growing economy is important to sustain this country. More so for the Chinese whom are largely in the private sector. And many, many Chinese these days are losing hope.
Before the Malays start accusing & calling the Chinese unkind names, think about how far you've come with a growing middle-class and benefiting from affirmative policies. It does not come free. It does not come solely from petro-money. It came from a strong economy. It came from sacrifices by the normal non-Malays who had to give up some of rights. It came from the risks non-Malays had to make to build up their businesses, and then had to share it with Malay businessmen.
Whatever the Chinese own, they paid for it. They did not get it for free. Some had to borrow from loan-sharks. Most sacrificed family time. Some lost everything, fortunes & family. At the lower spectrum, they sacrificed years working overseas illegally to save enough to buy their home & capital for business.
S'wak firms want probe into Wilmar for anti-competitive behaviour
Tuesday February 18, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AMKUCHING: Sarawak planters, reeling from Wilmar International Ltd’s decision to stop buying from them, are crying foul, contending that the decision by the latter breaches anti-competition laws.
The Sarawak Oil Palm Planter Owners’ Association (SOPPOA) has urged the Federal and Sarawak state governments to look into whether the Singapore-based Wilmar had abused its dominant position as a leading agribusiness group.
Wilmar recently decided to stop buying crude palm oil (CPO) produced from oil palm in forest areas and peat land in Sarawak from 2015.
SOPPOA sent a memorandum to the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry and the Sarawak Land Development Ministry last week, urging them to look into whether Wilmar had infringed Competition Act 2010 by its actions. The Act has a provision to investigate actions that can be considered an abuse of a dominant market position.
According to SOPPOA secretary Philip Ho, Wilmar, which owns Sarawak’s first palm oil refinery set up in Bintulu over a decade ago, buys more than 50% of the 3.3 million tonnes of CPO produced in Sarawak annually. This makes Wilmar the largest CPO buyer in the state.
“There is a likelihood that Wilmar’s policy may trigger other Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) members to adopt similar policies and further restrict market accessibilities for Sarawak palm oil. Ultimately, this will drive prices of CPO from Sarawak down, with discounts being the norm expected by international players,” he told StarBiz yesterday.
SOPPOA urged the Federal government to consider the interests of non-RSPO members in the industry in Sarawak, as they would face challenges stemming from Wilmar’s policy.
Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing, who was informed of Wilmar’s decision to the state government via a letter on Dec 5, said Sarawak might lose about RM400mil in sales tax revenue a year from oil palm products as a result of the multinational company’s policy.
Wilmar owns the Bintulu edible oil plant, which manufactures palm olien, palm fatty acid and palm stearin.
Masing had briefed the state cabinet on the matter and replied to Wilmar’s letter. He said the state government would not bow to Wilmar’s pressure, as it would affect more than 17,500 smallholders and some 300,000 people in rural areas involved in oil palm planting.
Ho said SOPPOA had requested the federal ministry to consider certain export tax-exempt quotas and/or rebates for Sarawak’s palm oil industry for the next five years to allow adequate time for those planting in peat and mineral areas affected by Wilmar’s policy to find alternative markets.
SOPPOA said there was a need for the ministry to explore new international markets in China, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Africa, as such alternative market outlets were crucial for Sarawak’s oil palm industry.
SOPPOA has also urged the federal authorities to raise the volume of Sarawak CPO to be allocated for biodiesel production in the country. He said Sarawak had about 1.6 million ha of peat land, and the state government had plans to open 1.2 million ha for plantations and agriculture projects. So far, 500,000ha have been planted with oil palm.
SOPPOA has called on the federal authorities to fast-track the implementation of the proposed Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil to enable planters in the country to be certified under the national scheme for benchmarking in the international market.
“It is also seen as prudent for the Government to actively engage with its Indonesian counterpart to consolidate the palm oil industry with a united stance, as both nations are major suppliers facing discrimination from the big buyers. The setting up of an Asean Sustainable Palm Oil standard is also viewed as a move in the right direction for the industry in both countries to benchmark the commodity internationally.”
SOPPOA has asked the federal ministry to mediate a meeting between major Malaysian palm oil players, federal and state governments, as well as the association with the objective to move forward in the spirit of “One Malaysia”.
It said the Sarawak oil palm growers should not be left in the cold and that they needed the continued support of major palm oil players. - SOURCE
Robert Kuok still rooted to Malaysia despite spending 40 years in Hong Kong
Four decades ago, Tan Sri Robert Kuok decamped Malaysia for Hong Kong.
The ostensible reason: lower taxes in Hong Kong. What some say: a fierce dislike of Malaysia's controversial New Economic Policy favouring the bumiputeras and the resulting cronyism.
Whatever his reasons, Kuok says of the country in which he was born: "I haven't lost my affection for Malaysia."
In a telephone interview with The Straits Times on Tuesday, the tycoon elaborated on his donation of RM100mil to build Xiamen University's first overseas campus in Salak Tinggi, Selangor.
... Kuok, who was educated at Raffles College where he was classmates with Lee Kuan Yew, later moved his base to Singapore.
... Asked about the sense of discrimination among the Chinese in Malaysia, Kuok demurred, saying: "This will lead only to highly controversial statements, which is not good for anybody. One must never hurt those Chinese who are living in Malaysia, never be the cause of any kind of inter-racial hostility.
The Reason for Kuok's Exit
... On 31 October 2009, PPB Group under the flagship of Robert Kuok issued a statement to the Bursa Malaysia that it has decided to dispose of its sugar units along with land used to cultivate sugar cane for RM 1.29 billion to FELDA. The sales resulted in a one-off gain for the company. The sugar unit and sugar cane plantation were the second largest business segment upon its grain and feed which were topping the sales.
The mystery of Sugar King Kuok exiting sugar business in M'sia
...The Kuok group’s Singapore-listed plantation giant, Wilmar International, has a market capitalisation of S$39.1bil or more than RM95bil.
Sweet for Felda, bitter for the poor
May 23, 2011
...On May 9, Dosmetic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry secretary-general Mohd Zain Mohd Dom announced a government decision to increase the price of sugar from RM2.10 to RM2.30 a kilogramme as part of the its subsidy rationalisation programme. He said the move would save the government RM116.6 million....
Malaysia's Sugar King Kuok has gone global
Tuesday July 6, 2010
... Months after Tan Sri Robert Kuok-controlled PPB Group Bhd sold its entire local sugar operations to Felda, the billionaire once dubbed the Sugar King of Malaysia acquired Sydney-based CSR Ltd’s sugar business for A$1.75bil (RM4.73bil).
The deal gives Singapore-listed Wilmar International Ltd control over half of Australia’s raw sugar output.
Wilmar, headed by Robert Kuok’s nephew Kuok Khoon Hong, is 18.34% owned by PPB Group. The two firms are controlled by Kuok Brothers group of companies.
“This latest acquisition proves that Wilmar is well on its way to becoming a dominant global sugar player and will significantly raise the possibility of the injection of Robert Kuok’s sugar business into Wilmar,’’ OSK Research analyst Alvin Tai said in a quick update on Wilmar after the deal was announced yesterday...
...According to OSK, Robert Kuok owns some 200,000ha of sugar cane plantation in Indonesia.
Yesterday, CSR announced that it had accepted Wilmar’s bid to buy its sugar and renewable energy unit, Sucrogen Ltd.
In March this year, Wilmar said it plans to start a venture into sugar cane plantation in Indonesia. Wilmar is already the world’s biggest palm oil trader and derives half its revenue from businesses in China....
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