Felda’s high replanting cost invites scrutiny

Lee Wei Lian, Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — The RM2.4 billion in replanting costs incurred by plantation giant Felda has raised eyebrows among industry observers who are sceptical the amount is part of the reason for federal agency’s dwindling cash reserves.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last month dismissed claims that Felda was bankrupt, explaining that among other things, the agency had spent RM2.4 billion to replant oil palm trees and on living costs from 2005 to 2009 as part of its reinvestment efforts.

The reason for the scepticism is that other companies tend to report replanting costs far below that of Felda. Plantation sector analysts also note that due to high commodity prices in recent years, planters have tended to put off replanting to take advantage of the windfall.

It is estimated that the production cost for one tonne of palm oil is about RM1,000 while it has been trading at above RM2,500 a tonne in recent years, closing at RM2,562 per tonne yesterday.

However, as a measure of replanting costs, Sime Darby Berhad spent about RM497 million during the same period on replanting while IOI Corporation Berhad spent about RM90 million.

When contacted, Felda Holdings Berhad declined to comment and referred The Malaysian Insider to Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan.

Ahmad clarified that the RM2.4 billion replanting costs were for the period 2004 to 2009 and included the cost of living for settlers as well as advances on production.

But Najib went on record on June 30, 2009 to tell the Dewan Rakyat that Felda had allocated RM80 million for schemes involved in replanting oil palm and RM11 million for rubber for that year alone.

It is understood that the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has also allocated RM200 million last year for replanting programmes with small holders outside the Felda palm oil schemes.

About half of Felda land is owned by settlers, and the rest by Felda and its subsidiaries. Ahmad also said that there is no breakdown available solely for replanting costs, which makes it difficult to compare Felda directly to other oil palm majors.

On average, plantation companies tend to replant about five per cent of their land annually, and a rough estimate shows Felda’s figure per replanted hectare to be about RM10,503, or RM2.42 billion divided by 30 per cent of its 767,981 hectares that are planted with oil palm.

The corresponding figure for Sime Darby is RM3,120 per replanted hectare while for IOI the number is RM1,988.

The disparity could be due to the cost of living and production advances as mentioned by Ahmad. Other factors could include higher expenditure due to the generally poorer growing conditions where some Felda plantations are located as they cannot afford to be as selective as private plantation companies.

But without the government or Felda being more forthcoming about its financials, it is difficult to say for certain. Felda does not issue an annual report although there have been calls for it to do so as a government-linked company. An unfortunate consequence of this is that its operations and financials sometimes appear shrouded in mystery, giving rise to speculation that the money has gone elsewhere.

Ahmad Maslan said the RM2.4 billion covered more than replanting costs alone.
Felda has come under public scrutiny over allegations that the agency was mismanaged under Najib. Among the accusations that have been levelled at the prime minister include those from former land and co-operative development deputy minister Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong, who said that Felda’s cash reserves had declined drastically by RM2.73 billion from RM4.08 billion in 2004 to RM1.35 billion in 2009.

He further criticised moves to expand Felda’s scope to international investments including the purchase of the oleo chemical company Twin Rivers Technonlogies in Boston, US, as he said it would distract from its core business of plantations. He was also unhappy about Felda’s decision to buy a tower in the Naza groups’ Platinum Park development for its headquarters instead of building on its own land.

Ahmad had admitted to the decline in cash reserves but also pointed out that, at present, Felda had net assets worth RM12.2 billion and investments around the world in countries like Indonesia, South Africa, China, Turkey and the US.

The prime minister also defended Felda saying it had invested in the United States and Canada in order to penetrate the global market. He added that the new Menara Felda in Platinum Park was on prime land near KLCC and, if sold, would bring in much profit.

Felda Holdings had also earlier said it should not be compared to private enterprises as it had social obligations.

Some analysts, however, point out that Felda should try to optimise profits in order to maximise dividends to stakeholders which indirectly includes tax payers as the government is a major shareholder.