InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – The Ministry of Enterprises confirm that subholding PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN), PalmCo would not launch initial public offering (IPO) in 2024. It was decided because there are lots to do and need solution to escalate the valuation of the company.

Vice Minister of Enterprises, Kartika Wirjoatmodjo said that the company does not focus to take PalmCo to the exchange. She thought, PalmCo needs to improve including to escalate plantation productivity.

“Not yet (no 2024 IPO for PalmCo) because I thing, if it was just getting consolidation, and we would get IPO, the valuation would not be optimal,” Kartika said, as InfoSAWIT recently quoted.

She also told that replanting palm oil trees would get solution because some plantations belonging to PTPN Group were not too good. It is hoped that the replanting would make plantation productivity of PalmCo would be standard, 20 tons per hectare.

“If (we) joining IPO, everything must be productive to get higher valuation. If it is not clear, valuation would not be optimal. It is better if in the first phase, we would get strategic partners to get equal productivity then we join IPO,” she said.

On the other hand, she also mentioned that PalmCo has the chance to be the biggest palm oil plantation company in the world for the next 2 – 3 years. She projected PalmCo would have 600.000 hectares palm oil plantations, would be the same with advance one, such as, Sime Darby of Malaysia.

For information, by the early of December 2023, Ministry of Enterprises did merger 13 companies managed by PTPN III (Persero) to be two sub-holdings - PalmCo and SupportingCo.

PalmCo was the merger of PTPN V, VI, and XIII into PTPN IV as the standing one, while SupportingCo was the merger of PTPN II, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, and XIV into PTPN I. (T2)