Global PLB ties with China firm

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- Investment holding company Global PLB Sdn Bhd and China-based company, Qingdao TopOil Imp & Exp Co Ltd, today signed a shareholders' agreement to set up a joint venture to build a 200,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery on a 1,500 acres land in Pulau Carey, Selangor.The joint venture company, China-Malaysia Oil Refinery Sdn Bhd, will have a paid-up capital of RM350 million, where TopOil will hold 60 percent equity and Global PLB 40 percent.TopOil chief executive officer, Wang Zhi Qiang, said the investment was TopOil's first venture into Malaysia and the company would arrange the full financing of US$2 billion (RM1=US$3.4) through loans from Bank of China and CITIC Bank of China."The amount is expected to be used for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning activities in the refinery," he said.Asked how much the company expected to gain from the refinery, Global PLB's president Mohd Omar Ali said: "I cannot say how much but I can say a same size refinery in Melaka is making RM1 billion a year and RM3 million per day. Ours (capacity) is 20,000 barrels (per day) more than Melaka."He said the land was sub-leased from Yayasan Selangor for a tenure of 25 to 30 years, with options for extension after that.Wang said TopOil would seek permission from the central government (of China) to bring in the US$2 billion investment."Hopefully within three months, the first batch of investment can come in."The end-products will be sold to taken back to China and sold to the market there," said Wang.Mohd Omar said after three months the company could start the site clearing."When the construction starts forty months after that, we hope to have first drops of refined products to be out from the refinery," he said.