Palm Oil Plantations
Sep 15th, 2007, in Business & Economy, by PatungForeign buying of palm oil estates and plantations.
George Soros
Amid increasing demand in the biofuel production sector, one of Indonesia’s best performing export industries, comes news that billionaire fund manager George Soros is apparently keen to buy 20,000 hectares of oil palm plantation in the province of Aceh.
George Soros.
The Governor of Aceh, Irwandi Yusuf, met Soros in New York recently and said on 12th September:
Soros said that he was interested in developing an oil palm plantation of about 20,000 hectares at first. This kind of investment could provide a living for about 2,500 families in Aceh.
The former rebel leader of separatist movement GAM cum Governor however didn’t know the value of such an investment or the likely time frame, but promised that his administration would work hard to help Soros get things moving.
Both sides will immediately get to work on ensuring that the investment comes off.
Irwandi said Soros’ interest in investing in Aceh was proof of the province’s appeal to foreign investors: antara
We’ve got lots of land, there’s a lot of potential, above all in palm oil plantations. The problem is we don’t have the funds to develop it properly.
Jews
Not all ordinary people in Aceh are happy with Irwandi’s attempts to win investment from America. One person, Agam Putra, asks: waspada
Why doesn’t he go to a Muslim country like Iran, why to a Jewish place, it’s like the people of Aceh are going to be Judaised.
One Zuriani Usman says:
We really support Mr Irwandi trying to find investors but why does he have to go to a Jewish country, I think there are a lot of Muslim countries which want to invest in Aceh.
Foreigners
Meanwhile on 14th September national Agriculture minister Anton Apriyantono said that hopefully by the end of the year regulations would be in place limiting the extent to which foreign investors could own or control land for palm oil plantations.
Anton Apriyantono.
He said he didn’t know what the limits would be but that the purpose was to prevent the formation of trade monopolies. tempo
Irwandi Yusuf says George Soros has no interest in investing in Aceh for the purpose of making money, rather that he simply wishes to help the people of Aceh. Because of all the reports in the media Irwandi says Soros may now cancel his plans. antara
24 Comments on “Palm Oil Plantations”
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Aluang Anak Bayang says:
Re,
However, I don’t think moslem country want to invest in Aceh. Arabs see south east asian as a lower race. They hardly contributed to their moslem “brother” during aceh tsunami.
Finally you are talking some sense. Let me rephrase it,
However, I don’t think moslem country want to invest in Aceh. Arabs see Indonesian muslims as a lower race. They hardly contributed to their moslem “brother” during aceh tsunami.
I know this first hand from fellow Indonesian TKIs who had come to my parents for help during their postings in the Middle East.
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Robert says:
Irwandi Yusuf said:
We’ve got lots of land, there’s a lot of potential, above all in palm oil plantations. The problem is we don’t have the funds to develop it properly.
As long as foreign businessmen like George Soros are being drawn in, there will never be funds for development. All the money made will go to Soros or other foreign businessmen and Indonesia will be left emptyhanded as usual.
Agam Putra said:
Why doesn’t he go to a Muslim country like Iran, why to a Jewish place, it’s like the people of Aceh are going to be Judaised.
Apparently the Iranians are not interested in investing in Aceh, otherwise it would have happened already. Americans are interested in investing in any country, as long as big profits can be made. Sharia or no sharia.
Zuriani Usman said:
We really support Mr Irwandi trying to find investors but why does he have to go to a Jewish country, I think there are a lot of Muslim countries which want to invest in Aceh.
Which countries would that be then? It seems that when it comes to business, their Muslim brothers in the Middle-East remain absent.
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Andrew says:
One Zuriani Usman says:
We really support Mr Irwandi trying to find investors but why does he have to go to a Jewish country, I think there are a lot of Muslim countries which want to invest in Aceh.
This Usman guy is very knowledgeable… not that it matters, but since when is America a Jewish country?
As usual, it’s easier for people to criticize than solve the problem. I’d suggest that the honorable Mr. Usman go find the right buyer.
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Odinius says:
Why doesn’t he go to a Muslim country like Iran, why to a Jewish place, it’s like the people of Aceh are going to be Judaised.
Ignoramus. Everyone who knows anything about Judaism knows it is not evangelical. Doesn’t look for and doesn’t want converts, unlike Christianity and Islam. Besides, use of term “Jewish country” sounds very suspicious…feels like something he, hmm, was told to say?
We really support Mr Irwandi trying to find investors but why does he have to go to a Jewish country, I think there are a lot of Muslim countries which want to invest in Aceh.
Igoramus #2! Now…hmm…two complete idiots parroting the exact same line of bullsh*t. Hmm…I wonder, do you think perhaps some elite idiot is feeding them this?
Now, over to the subject of palm plantations…this is actually an incredibly desctructive type of plantation. The soil is ruined for anything else. Grow rubber trees instead, Soros and Acehnese…
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dewaratugedeanom says:
Friends,
Why should we become partners with Jews or Christians when it is revealed by Allah (swt) in the Holy Qur’an
5:51 “Believers, take not Jews and Christians for your friends. They are but friends and protectors to each other.”
Odinius also said
Now, over to the subject of palm plantations”¦this is actually an incredibly desctructive type of plantation. The soil is ruined for anything else. Grow rubber trees instead, Soros and Acehnese”¦
In an earlier thread I already proposed to invest in zaqqoom plantations for Aceh.
Zaqqoom is an Arab thorny tree used to feed the infidels in Hell. It can also be used to put in women’s trousers which are too tight by syariah standards.
Besides a guaranteed eternal return on investment, planting zaqqoom will also strengthen political and economical ties with our Saudi brethren who are already a major importer of TKI. -
WP says:
I think palm oil can only be a temporary substitute for fossils; it is just to buy the world time to come up with the real substitute. The modern West, with their superior research, will be the one who discover this real substitute, own the technology, and therefore control access to it. By that time Aceh, and probably the rest of Sumatra, will have done serving its purpose and will be off loaded by the smart West. We will then have to go on the knees and lick their boots for bits of their superior and clean energy…. Imagine OPEC in 70’s with the roles reversed.
People, research is the key. But sadly, all we have are hundreds of millions mouths to feed, and brains of the size of rambutans … :(:(
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Arema says:
WP, you are right. Biofuel might not be reproducible enough / cheap enough / powerful enough (in terms of energy) to fully replace oil.
Like you said, it is more likely to be another form of energy that will succeed fossil fuels in the future. Unless there’s a breakthrough, I can see they will use nuclear energy sooner or later, in a “very safe and environmentally friendly container”.
And having idiots that don’t even bother to use their brain doesn’t help either.
Indonesia need a good, strong leader. He/she better come fast, while we still have resources left.
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Janma says:
Palm oil for fuel replacement will not work. more forests and more land for food growing will go into running peoples cars etc? Doesn’t sound sustainable to me…. you could probably only fuel 6 or 7 cars for a week on a hectare of it. (I haven’t looked that up, I’m speculating….)
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Sputjam says:
Let’s face it. hydrogen is the fuel of the future. But to produce hydrogen is expensive, let alone store and transport the damned gas. If we burn hydrogen, we get water (steam) and not toxic gases.
Normal cars can be converted to run on hydrogen gas as BMW has managed to do this.
Or hydrogen can be used to produce electricity in fuel cells, which can then power the motors or store in batteries of your car.Indonesia does not require George soros for palm oil plantation. There are plentiful of local indonesians, malaysians and singaporeans who are capable of doing this. due to demand for bio-diesel, palm oil prices are palm oil is high and these GIANT plantation compnies are looking/scouting for more land, not only in indonesia, but as far away as equatorial africa and south america. palm oi prices will track the prices of diesel fom now on, so be prepared to pay escalating prices for your fried food. Otherwise, be prepared to eat steam or boiled concoctions in the future.
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Sputjam said
Indonesia does not require George soros for palm oil plantation.
Sputjam is right. Palm oil plantations are not a high tech enterprise. So if Indonesia, instead of waiting for a miracle new energy source, jumps on the biofuel wagon now and uses the returns for its own development programs there might be a future in it. There is still enough wasteland that can be used without sacrificing rainforest and causing environmental problems.
Unless of course KKN steps in. -
The problem is, the government wants to tear down primary rainforests to make way for Malaysian owned palm plantations in Kalbar. This is how the government thinks and works. Palm destroys the soil for anything else.
Don’t give in to palm oil plantations.
Grow rubber instead.
At least George Soros won’t rip down any rainforests.
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Dragonwall says:
Have you guy hear of the Chinese saying like ‘A trick to lurie away a Tiger’.
The Malaysian government wanted the logs and the only way to cut the log is to propose a new project by making way for new plantation.
When a JV, BOT or Turnkey project is proposed it is like a double edge knife. Both way the people loses.
This project have been in discussion since way back when in the early 90’s. The project was earlier proposed to have 4,000 km of roads opened and any logs in and along the path shall be taken and become the revenues for opening up such a facilities for transportation. The BOT will later be turned over to the Indonesian government but no takers. Why the revenues from logging will not cover and fees if it be collected for such road usage will not be enough either.
There are ready to destroy the rain forests at the expense of Indonesians and the Dayaks. It will also benefits the Malaysian government because the central government monitoring the project are too far away. By working with corrupt Indonesian officials will see a lot of revenues running away unpaid into Malaysian territories.
Think very carefully. Not that this is to oppose the project but regulations needs to be carefully drafted that both side meet ends meet and not depriving one and benefiting the others and the end results is the people there and the Indonesian government will end up sore losers.
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American were earlier proposing to lease space for the US military and was rejected by Suharto’s government long ago.
Can someone figure out why they are choosing Aceh. It is an autonomy. Easy to feed GAM insurgents. Besides the rain forest, these are land untouched. Virgin forest which probably may have oil underneath or minerals. If they had it going they will built a base there. What happened next you won’t know.
Get Soros to invest in Malaysia or Singapore and see what he gets. It is not because he is a Jew but the attitude and the nature of work that he had conducted and carried were for the US government agencies and had devastated the Asian communities.
Why did Aceh fought so hard for autonomy. OIL..OIL”¦MONEY”¦MONEY”¦ NOT RELIGION. religion is to give them a protective out so that they could be immune from the law.
With corrupt government officials and this incorrigible Jew, the ulterior motive is something else. Dig more in depth into it, the motive of his initiation to invest will make you shiver like another economic crisis.
In the early 1920’s JP Morgan, Rothschild, Rockyfellers control the money market. What they did. They went into margin market in substantial load and withdraw themselves quietly reaping huge profits worth a value today in Trillions. They left the whole market crashing with many bankruptcies and most penniless.
The US government also did deceive the Americans into surrendering their gold hoarding in order to eliminate the gold standard.It was reported that before the 40’s US dollars had a small print that said the US currencies are redeemable for gold, whereas after the 40’s the small print like in any currencies in the world printed as legal tender. In fact it is a bunch of worthless papers.
THINK ABOUT THE ULTERIOR MOTIVE. INDONESIANS!!!!!!!! NOT MONEY. THEIR IS MONEY EVERYWHERE. IT IS WHERE YOU GET IT AND HOW YOU GET IT. CONVINCE PEOPLE”¦ NOT SQUEEZING PEOPLE FROM THE PMA.
One more thing. American is buying logs from Canada. Earlier it was from Asia. They can’t buy logs from Asia. But they want those logs. Do you know who is the biggest property and housing developers in the US? George Bush Sr. Texas is literally their dominance.
So like I said think more in depth. When you cut down the forest to make way for other development, inevidently all those logs have to be disposed. Capiche.
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compressed air is the way to run cars without affecting the environment. can’t beat it.
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Compressed air is good for short trips on cars, but should be very good for small motorbikes/scooters. The air could be pumped at night, when electricity usage is lowest and power genarated are wasted anyway. But the weight of the steel cylinder to keep all that compressed air in is heavy and weights more than a typical engine. A new carbon fibre compress air storage tank is lighter but expensive. (same problem as hydrogen storage only not as severe).
What dragonwall said is true. Why replace virgin jungle with palm oil plantation. virgin jungle keeps the temperature in the area cool. It is much cooler and more comfortable in the jungle than in cities, if you leave out bloodsuckers out of the equation, such as mosquitoes and leeches.
But virgin jungle does not earn any revenue for anyone unless there is an initiative for research into the animal and plant habitat there. And useful outcome of such research may take years, if not decades. Chopping the jungle for hardwood will get the cash-flow moving at a faster pace, then using the wasteland to plant palm oil will give an excuse that was needed to waste the jungle in the first place.
Aceh is situated on a busy trade route, similar to singapore. If the governnor focus more effort to attract industries and less on religion, I am sure there will be takers. In order to attract indistries, there must be one anchor tenant, a Big household name industrial conglomerate, such as Exxon/BP or Shell for petrochemicals, Intel/AMD for semiconductors or Samsung for electroni products. Once one anchor tenant is willing to invest, the rest will follow. Only problem lies with Indonesia’s legal system which is still deemed unreliable for multi billion dollar investors.
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Dragonwall said:
Do you know who is the biggest property and housing developers in the US? George Bush Sr. Texas is literally their dominance.
That’s simply not true. Ted Turner, owner of CNN, is the biggest landowner in the US.
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Brunei has similar peg and Brunei dollar is at par with S$.
I said biggest property and housing developer. NOT owner.
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Janma Says:
compressed air is the way to run cars without affecting the environment. can’t beat it.
Well, that depends very much on what is used to compress the air. If it is done using electricity produced by a hydropower generator, the yes, it doesn’t affect the environment, but if the electricity comes from a diesel or gas turbine powered generator, then it’s the same ol’ sh*t, different smell.
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Adamu Mark says:
Palm Oil Plantations is really going to shaping the world in many ways. Investors on this sector should start thinking of coming to West Africa to invest on this sector. Labour is very cheap and the plantation of the product will be very flourishing considering the fact that West Africa is a Rain Forest zone. Nigeria is the leading Africa Palm Oil producing Nation, Investors should take the advantage of this scenario and invest on the plantation. Should there be any sincere investor that would like to own a plantation of Palm Oil in Nigeria, I woulds be very glad to link the person to the proper Chanel without any problem arising. Malaysia got her strength on Oil Palm from Nigeria in early 70’s. Investors will have value for their money when they commence this project in Nigeria.
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kinch says:
I realise I will be vilified for pointing out this minor deal-breaking detail, but anyway: Unlike Malaysia, Africa is full of Africans and has African governments. Who in their right mind would employ them or trust them with their money?
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Amirul arshad says:
I’m wondering is there any buyer who are interested to buy 10.506 hactares of Palm Oil Plantation in Vangunu Island in the the Solomon? Please contact me at this email address amirularshad_abdullah@yahoo.com.my
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Where are you Georgy Boros..sorry wrong spelling.
Where the hell is your investment money! Aceh is independent and had gone Sharia and they need you to get circumcise and convert to Islam and bring your money into Indonesia. There are many people who are waiting for such an investment to boost Indonesia’s economy.
I doubted he has got the balls. Salah salah pesawat nyasar ke Singapura atau Malaysia, mati dia. Mahatir lagi nunggu pantat dia dicuci siap dipenjarakan.
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Johnson Smith says:
Dear/Sir/Madam,
Palm oil production in Cameroon is a profitable business but less industrius in terms of our production proccess and our methods of productivity.Notwithstanding,Our local industries which are seriously involved and committed has not only suffered from low productivty but also poor efficiency of labour.The above variables with time has pass through a metarmorphosis that has not brought efficiency but actually has under utilised our aboudant stock of our resource endowement.
Sir, in terms of financial accountability and the abudant usefulness of palm oil product in the 21st century should actually be underestimated.As a matter of fact,palm oil in our present dispensation can now be Bio-chemicalized in the aspect of fuel production and other products necessary for human survival.Because of the above variables,the Government tried remarkably to bring to a remarkable minimum above bottlenecks.
In the private enterprise,i must say is quite encouraging due to the fact that we jointly utilized both the industrialized and remote mode of production.On a more personal scale,our company has 250 PRODUCTIVE HECTARES of palms with a maximum capacity of producing 100 METRIC tonnes in every four days.In the peak season,we are capable of producing 475 TONNES of oil every ten days.This delayance is due to the undulating terrain,basically Ndian Division Cameroon South West Province.While waiting to confer business in good faith,i shall be waiting for a positive response.
Mr Johnson Smith
Marketing Director
P.O.Box 2940
Tel/Fax:0023722313535
Mobile:0023776360522 -
Alfred says:
Please I am Writingfrom Cameroon. I Am Related to a traditional Cief who has more than 50 000 Hecters of land for sale or rentals, It’s really a big forest and they want some money for development. Please They don’t need you sending any money but coming to see, making the legal documents then you can start work on the forest. Please If you know of any potential investors, do not hesitate to contact me in Good faith,
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When it comes to money matters, there is no islam, jews, or whatever.
However, I don’t think moslem country want to invest in Aceh. Arabs see south east asian as a lower race. They hardly contributed to their moslem “brother” during aceh tsunami.
In term of environmental issue, this plantation would have many side effects. Threatening tropical forest, reducing ground water content, etc.
Why soros did not create the plantation in the US or warmer southern Europe?
No.1 the cost in those countries is high, 2. the environmental laws are strict (no such law in indo applied), 3. indo workers are cheap and less smart, easy to control. 4. Easy to bribe indo govt officials. 5. Sharia can not fight with the power of money. The only thing can defeat greed is a good morality which hardly seen in hyprocrite islamic society.