Henry Lim Bon Liong of SL Agritech: "Originally, the plan was to acquire 3,000 hectares of land in Iloilo, but the group of Manny Pangilinan wants to secure more than that."
SL Agritech, First Pacific eye Indonesia
by JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ
REPORTER
Because of difficulty in securing commercial-scale agricultural lands in the Philippines, hybrid rice producer SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) over the weekend said that it may shift its planned joint venture with the Manny Pangilinan-led First Pacific Co. Ltd. to Indonesia.
Henry Lim Bon Liong, SLAC president and chief executive officer, said that the company is now scouting for rice plantations in Indonesia that would meet the land requirement of the Pangilinan group.
"Right now, our direction is toward Indonesia because to be honest, we are having a hard time looking for land in the Philippines. Originally, the plan was to acquire 3,000 hectares of land in Iloilo, but the group of Manny Pangilinan wants to secure more than that," Lim told reporters.
"However, this is still preliminary, we are still open for more negotiations," he added.
At present, Lim said a joint study is being done on rice production with SL Agritech as a seed supplier.
"We should be proud that a Filipino firm is trying to expand in other nations," he added.
Pangilinan, First Pacific managing director, said in a chance interview that his group is confronted with land availability problems.
"We're sorting out the land issue because it's not clear to us what sort of approvals we need to implement on the project. Until we find that out, that's the only way that we can proceed with a detailed feasibility study," he said.
Earlier, First Pacific was eyeing around 30,000 hectares of agricultural land in Davao Oriental for palm oil production and processing.
"If the numbers work, that's the time that we can proceed with the detailed feasibility study," he said.
Growth plans
SLAC--whose products include hybrid rice seeds, rice products, insecticides and fertilizers--is banking on its partnership with Hong Kongbased First Pacific to boost the business, as the hybrid rice developer gears up for the revival of its initial public offering (IPO).
Incorporated in 2000, Lim said the SLAC continues to entertain investors but wants to grow internally before it plans to conduct an IPO.
"At time, I don't think it's prudent to do an IPO right now. We have investors coming in also so we want to grow internally before we do the IPO," he said.
In the meantime, Lim said that the company is ironing out an agreement with international supermarket chain Carrefour for the distribution of it Dona Maria premium rice varieties Jasponica and Miponica varieties in the Middle East.
"We will only have to change the packaging [of the products]. They need a large volume but we will start with around 60 tons per month," he said.
Lim added that he expects the deal to be finalized by September, adding that among the export destinations in the Middle East will include Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
At present, SLAC ships hybrid rice seeds to Indonesia, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The seeds are cultivated in those countries to produce rice seeds to be sold to farmers.
The firm is considering export of seeds to Nigeria and is planning to expand its operations in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam.
SL Agritech is a subsidiary of the Sterling Paper Group of Companies. It was formed in 1998 to perform research work on hybrid rice.
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InterAksyon | 12 August 2013
Amid difficulties in finding ample arable land, First Pacific may drop Philippine farming venture
By: Orti Despuez, InterAksyon.com
MANILA - First Pacific Co Ltd may drop a planned farming venture in the Philippines and stick to Indonesia where the Hong Kong-based conglomerate already operates through unit Indofood.
Henry Lim Bon Liong, president of SL Agritech Corp, said its partnership with First Pacific may opt for Indonesia instead after failing to identify land big enough for their requirements in the Philippines.
"Right now, our direction is towards Indonesia because to be honest, we are having a hard time looking for land in the Philippines. Originally, the plan was to acquire 3,000 hectares of land in Iloilo, but the group of Manny Pangilinan wants to secure more than that,” Lim said, referring to Manuel V. Pangilinan, who is managing director of First Pacific.
“However, this is still preliminary, we are still open for more negotiations," Lim told reporters.
He said the two companies are conducting a study on rice production in the Philippines, with SL Agritech supplying the seeds.
Pangilinan said his group is faced with land issues.
"We're sorting out the land issue because it's not clear to us what sort of approvals we need to implement on the project. Until we find that out, that's the only way that we can proceed with a detailed feasibility study," he said.
Pangilinan earlier said his group was eyeing at least 30,000 hectares of agricultural land in Davao Oriental for palm oil production and processing.
"If the numbers work that's the time that we can proceed with the detailed feasibility study," he said.
Besides agriculture, First Pacific has interests in telecommunications and infrastructure. The conglomerate's biggest businesses are in the Philippines, including Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
InterAksyon.com is the online news portal of TV5, a member of the PLDT Group.
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Malaya | 12 August 2013
First Pac moves into agri ventures stalled
Written by MADELAINE CABRERA
After initially brimming with excitement about developing major agricultural projects, business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan now admits to difficulties being encountered by his First Pacific Group in pursuing the business plans.
Pangilinan said in an impromptu interview that First Pacific is confronted with “land availability problems.” “We’re sorting out the land issue because it’s not clear to us what sort of approvals we need to implement the project (that the company plans). We still need to find that out, that’s the only way we can proceed with a detailed feasibility study,” he said.
Earlier, First Pacific announced plans to acquire around 30,000 hectares of agricultural land in Davao Oriental for palm oil production and processing.
“If the numbers work that’s the time that we can proceed with the detailed feasibility study,” he said last week.
On the other hand, hybrid rice producer SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) is looking at a partnership with First Pacific on a commercial rice plantation venture in Indonesia, a top company official said.
SLAC president and chief executive officer Henry Lim Bon Liong said that the tieup with the Pangilinan group is now “towards Indonesia because, to be honest, we are having a hard time looking for land in the Philippines.”
Originally, the plan was to acquire 3,000 hectares of land in Iloilo, but the First Pacific group wants “more than that” and negotiations are still in progress, the SLAC executive said.
SLAC’s products include hybrid rice seeds, rice products, insecticide and fertilizer. The company, which was set up in 2000, continues to entertain investors, but wants to grow internally before it goes public, the official said.
