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POSCO International headquarters in Songdo, Incheon. (Photo provided by POSCO International) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] POSCO International announced on the 20th that it has acquired Indonesian publicly listed company Sampoerna Agro for KRW 1.3 trillion, securing management control and becoming its largest shareholder. Through this acquisition, the company now owns 150,000 hectares of global palm plantations—an addition of 128,000 hectares, more than twice the size of Seoul.
Palm plantations begin producing fruit three to four years after planting and can continue production for over 20 years. POSCO International noted that the newly acquired plantations are already in the mature fruit-bearing stage, enabling stable profit generation from the outset.
POSCO International began developing palm plantations in Papua, Indonesia, in 2011 and commenced commercial production in 2016. The company currently operates three crude palm oil (CPO) mills with a combined annual output of 210,000 tons, achieving an average operating margin of 36% through last year.
The company also held a completion ceremony yesterday for PT. ARC, a palm oil refining joint venture with GS Caltex located in the Balikpapan Industrial Complex in East Kalimantan. POSCO International owns 60% of the entity, while GS Caltex holds 40%.
The KRW 260 billion refinery has an annual capacity of 500,000 tons, equivalent to roughly 80% of Korea’s total annual imports of refined palm oil.
Under the integrated value-chain model, POSCO International will supply crude palm oil from its plantations to PT. ARC, which will refine the oil for distribution within Indonesia as well as export to markets including South Korea and China.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
