Felda Global's listing likely in April 2012

by **hlk** Thu 15 Dec 2011, 19:41

The listing of Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) on the main market
of Bursa Malaysia is expected to take place in April next year, says
Felda Global group president, Datuk Sabri Ahmad.

He said FGVH had picked five investment banks, two local and three international, to manage the listing process.

"Felda
has elected Maybank, CIMB, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank
to undertake the listing process and secure the best value from the
exercise," he added.

He was speaking at a media conference at the Felda Biotechnology Centre at Bandar Enstek, in Nilai, Negri Sembilan today.

Sabri said Koperasi Permodalan Felda (KPF), comprising Felda settlers,
and which now has the biggest interest in Felda, will reap enormous
benefits through the listing. He said to enable the settlers to own
shares traded, FGVH will assist them, including providing the "pink
form" for the purchase process.

"This listing will become a new
income source for the settlers, as they will have a profit through
dividend remuneration, apart from the yields from their plantations," he
added.

Sabri also denied that the listing involved leasing the
settlers land, explaining that it only concerned, what was owned by
Felda.
For the record, Felda owns more than 360,000 hectares of land. The 112,635 settlers have more than half a million hectares.

Meanwhile,
Felda Global today announced an important find in the oil palm
industry's efforts towards overcoming Ganoderma or better known as Basal
Stem Rot disease. Sabri said, Felda Global's Research and Development
subsidiary, Felda Agricultural Services Sdn Bhd, had succeeded in
creating the world's first marker to identify oil palm trees affected by
the disease.

"The Ganoderma molecular marker system is an early
attempt to prevent the start of infection. With the presence of this
system, the grading programme for oil palm trees, can be more
systematically implemented," he added.

The Ganoderma fungus can have a serious impact on the life of an oil palm along with its fresh fruit yield. -- Bernama