Mission NewEnergy Limited , a global provider of environmentally sustainable biofuels, announced Monday the acquisition of an 85 percent stake in Oleovest Pte Ltd, a company incorporated in Singapore.
Oleovest is a special purpose company which has a 70 percent equity stake in PT Sinergi Oleo Nusantara (“PTSON”), a newly formed joint venture company in Indonesia which is 30 percent owned by Indonesia’s state-owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara III (“PTPN III”).
Under the Joint Venture Agreement, PTSON will establish a new downstream palm oil and oleo-chemical complex at the PTPN III owned Sei Mangkei Industrial Zone in North Sumatra, which in the first stage is expected to consist of a 600,000 tpa edible oil refinery, a 250,000 tpa Methyl Ester (“biodiesel”) plant and a 100,000 tpa Fatty Alcohol plant.
The project to be built at an estimated cost of US$200 million will require successfully arranging approximately $140 million in debt and $60 million in equity, before construction begins. To start with, Mission will invest approximately $3.0 million to acquire the stake and fund the initial operations of PTSON. Once fully funded, it is anticipated that the project would be implemented over approximately 3 years.
“This is a good opportunity and new strategic direction for Mission as the company looks to diversify into a more established and rateable business” said Nathan Mahalingam, Group CEO of Mission. (romel)
