KUALA LUMPUR, 8 April 2024 – Nextgreen Global Berhad (“NGGB” or the “Group”), a pulp and paper manufacturer, together with IOI Corporation Berhad’s (“IOI”) indirect wholly-owned subsidiary IOI Paper Pulp Sdn Bhd, announced the signing of a shareholders’ agreement (“SA”) to develop the nation’s first large scale zero-waste paper pulp plant within NGGB’s 410-acre Green Technology Park (“GTP”) which is located in Pekan, Pahang.

This SA entails the formation of a private limited company, Nextgreen IOI Pulp Sdn Bhd (“NIP”), in which NGGB will hold a 55% stake with the remaining 45% by IOI. NIP will develop and operate a paper pulp production facility, which will have an initial capacity of 100,000 metric tonnes per annum of chemical bleached pulp made from oil palm empty fruit bunches (“EFB”) using NGGB’s patented Preconditioning Refiner Chemical-Recycle Bleached Mechanised Pulp (“PRC-RBMP”) technology.

This phase of development will take place over the next 18 to 24 months and is expected to cost approximately RM600 million where both shareholders will combine their core business strengths to build a sustainable economic and environmentally friendly future together.

The objective of the collaboration is to ensure that agricultural waste like EFB, a biomass by-product waste from oil palm industries which is typically unutilised, is transformed into green and sustainable products such as woodfree paper, tissue paper, premium packaging paper and pulp moulded packaging.

NGGB Managing Director Dato’ Lim Thiam Huat said, “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with IOI. We will contribute our technical knowledge and the rights to use our patented PRC-RBMP technology to bring our vision to life. By adopting the waste-to-value concept, this bio-integrated zero waste process ensures that by- products from every part of the pulp production process is fully utilised through conversion into green products and renewable energy in a closed-loop system. This collaborative venture unifies our proactive ESG measures, contributing actively to the nation’s efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

IOI Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor said, “We have long regarded the utilisation of palm-based biomass for value-added applications as an important activity within the circular economy. Together with our palm wood venture utilising oil palm trunks, this joint venture will help IOI to take significant strides towards achieving our group-wide Net Zero emissions target.”