The Board of Directors of Nextgreen Global Berhad (Nextgreen) have issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni) to upcycle Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) to valuable uses through Nextgreen subsidiary companies.
The project involves Nextgreen developing its Green Technology Park (GTP) in Pahang, Malaysia, where the upcycling facility of EFB is located. The EFB facility has a capacity of 12,000 tons per year of EFB pulp.
In a Bourse listing issued on Sept 6, Nextgreen said it’s also planning to add on another upcycling facility with a capacity of 100,000 tons per year of EFB pulp in GTP in Pahang.
In addition, Nextgreen plans to develop GTPs in other regions, including but not limited to Sarawak and Johor in Malaysia.
Empty fruit bunches (EFB) are what remains of the oil palm fruit bunches after the fruit has been removed for oil pressing. Empty fruit bunches are a type of mill waste which is very valuable for farmers.
Marubeni is a major Japanese integrated trading and investment business conglomerate that handles products and provides services in a broad range of businesses across wide-ranging fields, including lifestyle, Information and Communications Technology (“ICT”), food, consumer products, chemicals, energy, power plants, transportation, industrial machinery, finance and leasing.
Marubeni is also in the business of forest plantation, manufacturing of pulp, and manufacturing and trading of paper products. Marubeni operates in multiple regions including Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East while maintaining access to promising local ecosystems.
The salient terms of the LOI and scope of the partnership confirmed by both Parties include; Marubeni works as the sole sales agent for EFB pulp which is produced at the current Pahang Facility and sold to any third party with the objective of Marubeni aiming to maximize the values of EFB pulp together with Nextgreen;
Marubeni works as the sole sourcing agent for any type of pulp which is required by Nextgreen. Marubeni aims to serve Nextgreen to bring the appropriate quality of pulp at the reasonable price;
Marubeni provides its knowledge and/or experience which may be useful for Nextgreen to implement GTP projects wherever possible;
Marubeni has the intention to evaluate the possibility of financially participating in the New Pahang Facility and/or other GTP projects wherever possible; and
Nextgreen and Marubeni recognize well that there may be other business opportunities including but not limited to paper, tissue, pellets for fuel, fertilizer, etc. in addition to EFB pulp. Both parties may study in depth if there is an area of mutual benefit.
The LOI will remain valid from the date of the LOI until expires on 30 November 2024.
