Asia Plantation Capital Celebrates Singapore’s Pioneer Agarwood Plantation Clients

Asia Plantation Capital’s Singapore’s pioneer Agarwood plantation clients were recently hosted to a client appreciation dinner in celebration of the successful completion of their Oud sales.

Asia Plantation Capital Fullerton Hotel

Held at the historic Fullerton Hotel, the pioneer clients and their guests were treated to a sumptuous buffet spread along with entertainment from a live two-piece band. Asia Plantation Capital Chief Executive Officer, Barry Rawlinson delivered a quick speech thanking the clients for their support as well as addressing developments in the region.

“Asia Plantation Capital as one of the leading companies in agroforestry, wants to work with and has engaged with different agencies from around the world, to help put in place codes of practice and rules that will benefit both clients and companies alike,” said Mr. Rawlinson. “We have recently received Shariah compliance approval from IBFIM, the advisory body for Shariah compliance on all matters pertaining to Islamic banking in Malaysia, for one of our products. It was a partnering process with IBFIM where we learned about the requirements of Shariah compliance and IBFIM learned about how we and the agroforestry market works.”

The clients were also given a quick update on the recent developments at Asia Plantation Capital. These included the new factory in Johor, Malaysia, the winning of Best Forestry Asset Management Team for 2014 by CFI.co magazine, and the very recent award of Best Plantation Management Company 2015 conferred on the company by The European magazine.

Clients came away very impressed by the evening’s proceedings and appreciated Mr. Rawlinson’s personal update of the company. “Our clients are very important to us and we aim to always ensure they get the most out of their partnership with us. I am very pleased that our pioneer clients in Singapore have received a good price for their Oud and we are all able to celebrate this with them,” added Mr. Rawlinson.

The evening ended with prizes sponsored by Fragrance Du Bois with the Brand Director, Mrs. Nicola Parker handing out gifts to the winners. The first prize winner received a very special London Oud fragrance that will only be formally launched around the world in the coming weeks.

Notes for Editors:

For further information, please contact:-

Adrian Heng Group Marketing Director Email: adrian.heng@asiaplantationcapital.com Office: +65-6222-3386 Mobile: +65-9750-7440

About Asia Plantation Capital

Quick facts:

Asia Plantation Capital (APC) is the owner and operator of a diverse range of commercial plantation and farming businesses across the Asia-Pacific region and around the world, and is part of the Asia Plantation Capital Group of associated companies. Its focus is on multicultural and diverse plantation projects geared to the domestic and commercial demands of the countries in which it operates. Working closely with, and supporting local communities, is an underlying core principle of the APC business, providing social and cultural support, as well as investment, to move these communities away from deforestation and illegal logging activities, previously seen as a main source of income in some regions of Asia. Established officially in 2008 (although operating privately since 2002) the group now has plantation and agricultural projects on four continents, with operational projects at various stages in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Laos, India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Vietnam, North America and Europe.

Promoting the use of sustainable and certified wood is the best way of preventing deforestation, protecting biodiversity, and combatting poverty in the tropical rainforest regions. For the yachting sector (a major user of teak) which strives for excellence and which is already involved in environmental efforts, this is also a way of ensuring that no wood from illegal logging is used.

About Fragrance Du Bois

Fragrance Du Bois is a niche luxury perfume house working closely with sustainable plantations in Asia, bringing exciting new 100% organic Oud oil based fragrances to exclusive markets worldwide. Sustainably sourcing the finest raw materials across the globe, working with French perfumers to create a full range of products, and also providing bespoke fragrance services, Fragrance Du Bois is personal luxury with a conscience. With exclusive fragrance lounges around the world, in Dubai, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Fragrance Du Bois creates only the finest experience in bespoke perfumery.

Fragrance Du Bois is known as Parfums Du Bois in France and in non-French speaking markets, as Fragrance Du Bois.

Asia Plantation Capital Opens South East Asia’s Largest Agarwood Factory in Malaysia

Asia Plantation Capital

Asia Plantation Capital announces the opening of its new, purpose-built Agarwood (gaharu) factory and research centre, located in Johor, Malaysia.

A mere 20 minutes drive from the Causeway link to Singapore, the town of Seri Alam is now host to the state of the art facility that incorporates an Oud oil distillery, a wood chip processing centre, and a fragrance stick factory. Also situated within the complex is a visitor centre, along with a wholesale factory shop stocked with the ever-growing range of Agarwood products produced by Asia Plantation Capital (APC).

Occupying a brand new 44,000 ft2 unit in the Masai Industrial Park, the multi-million US dollar investment is integral to the company’s strategic expansion of its Malaysian plantations and production capacity. The location — close to a railway hub and deep sea port facilities — was carefully and painstakingly selected, with logistics very much at the forefront of the decision making process. Access to the company’s plantations in Thailand, India and Myanmar were key factors, as well as the company’s ongoing factory expansion in Shenzhen, China. Also planned Oud factories opening in the Middle East located in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are being developed by the company over the next 18 months.

The facility is also strategically and conveniently located in close proximity to Singapore — a country currently ranked as one of Asia’s biggest Agarwood import and export centres — with more than US$1.2 billion in estimated trade per annum (according to official reports). This presents APC with a leading competitive edge in terms of its access to a significant market on its very ‘doorstep.’ This is a further key aspect of the planning and location of all the groups factories with China, Northern Asia and the Middle East between them accounting for a substantial bulk of current world trade in Agarwood products.

The factory has been equipped with the latest heat exchange steam distillation units using purified water, and a clean energy solar power system is being installed to ensure maximum economic efficiency. Sustainable, environmentally friendly energy systems are utilised throughout.

As part of a forward supply agreement with China’s largest retailer of fragrance sticks, a 300 tonne per annum production line is also being installed, and this will expand in due course to 600 tonnes per annum, to incorporate the company’s other locations. The facility also houses a laboratory for perfumes and essential oils, APC inoculation systems production, and MSDS analysis systems.

“We are very excited to finally be able to take the wraps off our state of the art Agarwood factory,” said Steve Watts, CEO of Asia Plantation Capital Berhad, in Kuala Lumpur. “We have spent several years reviewing the best all round strategic location, and are pleased to announce this expansion in Malaysia. It’s a result of the country’s stable business environment and forward thinking forestry and plantation departments at governmental level, that have led us to select Malaysia and Johor for this strategic factory expansion.”

He continued, “We fully expect over the coming years for Asia Plantation Capital to become a major exporter and employer in Malaysia as part of this programme. This is part of an Asia-wide strategic factory and production expansion, with a distillation factory joint venture in China with Hua Lin Group — China’s largest manufacturer of Agarwood products – as well as strategic expansion in Thailand into wood chip production and incense manufacturing and planned factories in the Middle East. Over the last six years we have constantly been researching and improving our systems, and have now identified and perfected a proprietary ‘soil to oil’ production process which is now the subject of 22 separate intellectual property patent applications. These systems are not only being utilised by the group to widen our market share, but is also being offered to smaller growers and farmers across Asia, to assist them in the cultivation and end processing of Agarwood into a valuable income. This will, in turn, help boost rural economies and also underpin the group’s future supply requirements. As well as supplying systems and knowledge, we are offering fixed ‘buy backs’ on products made exclusively from our systems. This process is already underway in India, Thailand and Malaysia.”

Watts went on to say, “The Agarwood plantation industry, as we know, is huge and is continuing to grow rapidly. Currently however, in many cases, the standards of production are not up to scratch, and the systems being used are performing poorly. Substandard products are the result, and a significant proportion of these still emanate from illegal sources. The consumer market is evolving and growing at a rapid rate, and consumers are looking for products of consistently high quality with all the relevant seals of authenticity, purity and sustainability. We have found that by having our own distribution companies in the Middle East, China and Europe, and being face to face with our clients on a daily basis, we can achieve all of this, and more.”

Watts concluded, “Our products now come exclusively with their own individual certifications — including those from CITES — along with EU Product Approvals, Product Safety Data Sheets, IFRA, Certificate of Origin, FDA approval, MSDS analyses, and Shariah Compliant status. Our products, in particular our oils and wood chips, are also independently graded by experts in the field at Thailand’s Prince of Songkla University. By strategically owning and operating state of the art, environmentally friendly mega factories, fuelled by our own plantations and other smaller growers, we are now able to deliver the end products that the market actually demands, in terms of quality, consistency and price.”

The factory is operational and open for business, with new production lines being commissioned in the coming months. The visitor centre will be opening in April 2015, along with a wholesale factory shop and Agarwood product display library.