- Bloomberg reported that Norway's government pension fund has withdrawn US$314 million in investments from a string of companies that it says produce palm oil "unsustainably".

- In March 2013, the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global released its 2012 Annual Report saying that it had sold its stakes in 23 of the world's largest palm oil companies, reducing its investments in the Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil industry by more than 40%.

- According to the report in March, some of the companies divested by the Pension Fund last year were First Resources Ltd, Genting Plantations Bhd, Golden Agri Resources Ltd, Indofood Agri Resources Ltd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) and Wilmar International Ltd.

- Shares of plantation companies divested in 2011 included Bakrie Sumatra Plantations, IJM Plantations Bhd, IOI Corporation and PP London Sumatra.

- In spite of the divestment by the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, we find that the larger plantation companies in Malaysia, which are more export-oriented, have been active in certifying their plantation operations.

- For instance, all of KLK’s plantation operations in Sabah, two operating centres in Peninsular Malaysia and one in Riau have been fully certified by RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil).

- KLK has eight palm oil mills, which can produce about 390,000 tonnes of certified CPO annually. These comprise 45% of the group’s CPO output and 5% of global certified sustainable palm oil production last year. KLK aims to certify all of its operating centres by 2014F.

- According to its 2012 annual report, Sime Darby’s annual production of certified palm oil is about 2.0mil tonnes. This makes the group the largest producer of certified sustainable palm oil in the world.

- As at end-June 2012, all of IOI Corporation’s palm oil mills and estates in Peninsular Malaysia are fully certified. In East Malaysia, four of the group’s palm oil mills are certified.

- Wilmar’s annual production of certified palm oil was 600,000 tonnes in FY12. This was about one-third of the group’s CPO output. Wilmar plans to complete certification audits for all of its estates and palm oil mills by FY16F.

Source: AmeSecuriites