Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.

Today's Headlines Rubber

  • Company Profile Sampoerna Agro and Overview Indonesian Palm Oil Sector

    Indonesia Investments has updated the company profile of Sampoerna Agro in the Indonesian Companies section. Sampoerna Agro, part of the Sampoerna Strategic Group, is one of the country’s leading producers of palm oil and palm kernel. It further produces rubber and sago. It operates a total of 120,225 hectares of oil palm estates, 2,810 hectares of rubber estates and 10,351 hectares of sago estates, mostly located on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, and owns six palm oil mills.

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  • Rubber Output in Indonesia May Fall 3% if the New El Nino Cycle Kicks in

    Ahead of the World Rubber Summit 2014 (held between 19 and 21 May in Singapore), Asril Sutan Amir, adviser to the Indonesian Rubber Association (GAPKINDO), said that Indonesian rubber output may decline by three percent or 100,000 metric tons (Mt) to 3 million Mt in 2014 due to the impact of this year's possible new El Nino cycle. An extended dry season will lead to damaged rubber trees and thus less production. Indonesia is currently the world's second-largest rubber producer after Thailand.

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  • Two Indonesian State-Owned Plantation Companies May Conduct IPO in 2014

    Indonesia's Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa announced that the Indonesian government approved plans for the initial public offerings (IPOs) of two state-owned plantation companies: Perkebunan Nusantara V and Perkebunan Nusantara VII. The former is engaged in the plantation and production of palm oil as well as rubber, while the latter is engaged in the cultivation and plantation of rubber, oil palm, sugar cane, and tea products. Before the IPO, the government will establish a holding company for the plantation companies first.

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  • Salim Ivomas Pratama: A Leading Indonesian Agribusiness Company

    Indonesia Investments updated the company profile of Salim Ivomas Pratama. The company, controlled by the Salim Group, is one of Indonesia's largest vertically integrated agribusiness players. It is a leading oil palm plantation company that - besides producing crude palm oil, fresh fruit bunches, palm kernel and other palm oil derivative products - also produces rubber and sugar cane. Salim Ivomas Pratama is known as the leading producer of cooking oil and margarine.

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  • Profile of Bakrie Sumatera Plantations: Palm Oil and Rubber Producer

    Indonesia Investments has updated the company profile of Bakrie Sumatera Plantations. The company is an Indonesian integrated agribusiness company that engages in oil palm and rubber plantations. It produces palm oil and its derivatives, and processes natural rubber products as well as oleo-chemicals. The company currently manages oil palm and rubber plantations with a total planted area of 122,024 ha, supported by six palm oil processing plants, four natural rubber processing plants and two oleo-chemicals processing facilities.

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  • Indonesian Government Sets Limits to Plantation Sizes of 11 Commodities

    The Indonesian government has limited the surface area of plantations that can be owned by a company or by a group of companies that have one shared management. This new regulatory framework, stipulated in Permentan No 98/Permentan/OT.140/9/2013 with regard to plantation estates' licensing guidelines, is applied to 11 commodities: tea, sugarcane, oil palm, coconut, cotton, rubber, coffee, cacao, cashew nuts, pepper as well as cloves. The new law has been approved by the minister of Justice and Human Rights Amir Syamsudin.

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  • Indonesian Government Expects IPO of two Plantation Companies in 2014

    The government of Indonesia expects to list two state-owned enterprises on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2014. Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Dahlan Iskan announced that the two companies involve Perkebunan Nusantara III and Perkebunan Nusantara IV. The main reason behind conducting the initial public offerings (IPOs) is to reap funds for further expansion. The IPO plan needs to be approved first by the Privatization Committee, under the wings of the Ministry of Economy, and then by the House of Representatives (DPR).

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  • Update APEC Meeting Bali: Negative Investment List and APEC EG List

    Although the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit meetings have not finished yet, there are already some interesting results. As has been reported previously, the Indonesian government will release another economic policy package in October. One new policy involves the revision of Indonesia's negative investment list (which lists sectors that are either wholly or partially closed to private foreign and/or domestic investment). Another positive result involves the APEC Environmental Goods List (APEC EG List).

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  • Indonesia Continues Quest to Put Palm Oil and Rubber on APEC EG List

    The government of Indonesia will be firm to convince the international community at the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to place crude palm oil (CPO) - including its derivative products - and rubber on the APEC Environmental Goods List (EG List). In the APEC ministerial meeting in Surabaya (East Java), last April, Indonesia failed to include these products on the list. However, the government will continue its lobby during the current APEC meeting by stressing that these products are environmentally friendly.

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  • PP London Sumatra Indonesia: Feeling the Impact of Weak Global Demand

    Perusahaan Perkebunan London Sumatra Indonesia (PP London Sumatra Indonesia or Lonsum), controlled by the powerful Salim Group, is an Indonesian plantation company focused on the production of palm oil, rubber, tea and cocoa. Its estates are located on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Amid weak global demand for commodities, the company posted a 72.1 percent fall in net profit over the first six months of 2013. Its shares have fallen 48.0 percent since the first trading day of 2013.

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Latest Columns Rubber

  • Rubber Industry Indonesia: Challenges and Opportunities

    In late 2014 Indonesian rubber producers and exporters were not amused when the government of China decided to approve a new standard for compound rubber imports. The permitted crude rubber content in imported compound rubber was cut from 95-99.5 percent to 88 percent, meaning that compound rubber imports into China became subject to a 20 percent import duty (the same tariff as natural rubber import duties). China’s new policy is a blow to its rubber suppliers, which include Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

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  • Rubber Update: Indonesia, Thailand & Malaysia Make New Policies

    Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s three largest rubber producing countries (accounting for about 70 percent of total global natural rubber output), have agreed to avoid excessive natural rubber supply on the international market by limiting their rubber exports. The countries also agree to curb new rubber plantation development as well as to spur domestic rubber consumption in each country. This statement was read out by Douglas Uggah Embas, Plantation Industries Minister of Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur today (20/11).

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  • Rubber Industry in Indonesia: Halcyon Agri Corp Enhances Position

    Singapore-based rubber producer Halcyon Agri Corporation Limited (HAC) will become the second-largest producer and exporter of Indonesian natural rubber after it announced to buy nine Indonesian rubber processing plants (involving USD $360 million worth of investments). HAC is an integrated producer as well as merchandiser of standard Indonesian rubber and standard Malaysian rubber, which are the most widely used grades of natural rubber in vehicle tyres manufacturing.

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  • Trade Deficit of Indonesia in 2014 Expected to Remain USD $4 Billion

    Statistics Indonesia (BPS), a non-departmental government institute, expects that Indonesia's trade balance will post a deficit of around USD $4 billion in 2014. The key question is whether increased manufacturing and agricultural exports can replace reduced raw mineral exports. The forecast of BPS is approximately similar to the country's trade deficit in 2013. Last year, Southeast Asia's largest economy recorded a deficit of USD $4.06 billion as the total value of exports amounted to USD $182.57 billion, while imports reached USD $186.63 billion.

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  • Indonesian Crude Palm Oil Exports Surge 29% in June 2013

    Indonesian exports of crude palm oil (CPO) in June 2013 grew about 29 percent to 1.62 million ton compared to the same month last year. Although production of CPO in Indonesia slowed down in June, higher demand for Indonesia's CPO is met because there are still sufficient amounts of stockpiles. A high official at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) said that stockpiles in 2012 grew to 5 million tons as global demand for the commodity weakened sharply amid international economic turmoil.

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  • Indonesia's Crude Palm Oil Sector; CPO Price Expected to Rebound

    The price of crude palm oil (CPO), which has been under downward pressure for a long time as global turmoil lingers on, started to rebound due to falling stockpiles in Indonesia and Malaysia. Reserves of the commodity fell because of weather conditions and because of an increase in demand ahead of the Islamic fasting month (Ramadhan). The price of crude palm oil is expected to hit the USD $900 per ton mark in late 2013, up from USD $828-865 per ton in May and June. This price recovery is expected to continue.

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  • Indonesia Intends to Increase Trade with Several European Countries

    Indonesia already is a strong trade partner to a number of countries in Europe. Based on data released by Indonesia's Ministry of Trade, the Netherlands and Spain are two European countries that import a considerable amount of Indonesian products and thus are important contributors to Indonesia's trade surplus in the non oil & gas sector. But other European nations, such as Germany and Russia, pressure Indonesia's trade surplus. It indicates that, despite the wide distance, Indonesia and Europe have a close and valuable trade relationship.

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  • Indonesia's Trade Balance Reports Another Trade Deficit in April

    Indonesia's trade balance recorded another deficit in April 2013 as imports (USD $16.31 billion) exceeded exports (USD $14.70 billion). April's trade deficit, amounting to USD $1.62 billion, was mainly due to continued weak commodity exports in combination with strong oil, basic machinery and utensils imports. After five consecutive months of deficits up to February, Indonesia’s trade account reported a surplus of USD $330 million in March, but fell back into deficit in April. From January to April, Indonesia's trade deficit stands at USD $1.85 billion.

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  • Palm Oil Giant Astra Agro Lestari Distributes USD $111 Million in Dividends

    Shareholders of Astra Agro Lestari, Indonesia's largest agribusiness company by value (which is particularly engaged in palm oil and rubber plantations), agreed to distribute IDR 1.08 trillion (USD $111 million) in dividends to its shareholders. The allocated amount is equivalent to about 45 percent of the company's net profit in 2012. Dividend per share is set at IDR 685 (USD $0.071). Last November, the company had already paid interim dividend of IDR 230 per share. Final dividend will be paid on 3 June 2013.

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