From left: Nextgreen Global Bhd managing director Datuk Lim Thiam Huat, Xiamen C&D Inc CEO Lin Mao and IOI Group group managing director and chief executive Datuk Lee Yeow Chor.
KUALA LUMPUR: Nextgreen Global Bhd
’s 55%-owned subsidiary, Nextgreen IOI Pulp Sdn Bhd (NIP) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Xiamen C&D Paper & Pulp Group Co. Ltd to establish a joint venture company (JVC) for a paper pulp production facility in Green Technology Park, Pekan, Pahang.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Nextgreen said the pulp production facility would have an initial capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes per annum of paper pulp, made from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), using the patented preconditioning refiner chemical-recycle bleached mechanised pulp (PRC-RBMP) technology.
Xiamen C&D is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xiamen C&D Inc. (a listed company under Xiamen C&D Corp Ltd, a Fortune 500 company.
Under the MoU, NIP and Xiamen C&D will establish a joint venture company, with equity interests of 75% and 25% respectively.
The paper pulp production facility is set to be developed across 43 acres of land within the 410-acre Green Technology Park (GTP) in Pekan, Pahang, which is part of the Eastern Corridor Economic Region (ECER).
Nextgreen said the MoU shall be effective for one year until the formation of the JVC and it may be extended based on the discussion and written consent of the parties.
“The rationale for the MoU is consistent with Nextgreen’s objective of seeking strategic alliances and joint ventures for synergistic benefits to build a sustainable economic and environmentally friendly future and to ensure that agriculture wastes, such as EFB, a biomass by-product waste from oil palm industries typically unutilised, are transformed into green and sustainable products such as woodfree paper, tissue paper, premium packaging paper and pulp moulded packaging,” it said.
Nextgreen managing director Datuk Lim Thiam Huat said this strategic collaboration marks a shared commitment to innovation, sustainability, and economic development that is a win-win for both parties.
“By scaling up the utilisation of the innovative PRC-RBMP technology with our China-based partner, a leading enterprise in terms of paper sales, pulp imports and sales in China, we aim to pioneer a new era of eco-friendly industrial practices, driving progress and accelerate prosperity for the region and beyond,” he said in a statement.
