WMC: Another Gelatin News Item

Welli-Multi Corporation (WMC) should be renamed Wealthy-Multi Corporation to fit the new hats that it will be wearing. The Heads of Agreement with the Inner Mongolian Government recently will make WMC a global conglomerate, having its hands deep in mining, property development, tolled road management to livestock farming. The halal gelatine project that it will soon undertake will make it the biggest halal gelatine producer in the world.

This news item just came in THE STAR this morning (13 July 2007).

After WMC's EGM on Thursday, Group Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdul Rashid Tang Abdullah told reporters that the company's investment for its new halal gelatine manufacturing business costing some RM300mil will be funded internally and through borrowings.

CEO Rashid said a few banks are interested in financing the project

On the technical end, he said WMC has engaged Imtech Drygenic, a Dutch company, to design the RM200mil state-of-the art facility and to supply it with the equipment. The gelatine plant with a capacity to produce 5,000 metric tonnes of gelatine per annum, will be located in Kedah. The plant should be ready to operate in mid-2008.

He added that the price for a kg of gelatine, presently priced between US$7-US$10 will be used for manufacturing halal food and pharmaceutical products.

Rashid said WMC would expend another RM100mil to equip its present plant in Prai Industrial Estate with an equipment to produce halal gelatine capsules. The equipment will be able to produce 5bil capsules a year. Each capsule can be sold for US two cents. The production should begin in early 2008.

Erawat Engineering, an Indian company, would be supplying WMC with the equipment while Hadhari Cattle Industry Malaysia would supply the cattle bone for making the halal gelatine.

The halal gelatine manufacturing business is under WMC's food division, which currently contributes 30% of WMC's revenue, while the palm kernel oil business contributes the remaining 70%. WMC will be re-balancing its revenue contribution so that its food division will contribute 80% to the company's coffers over the next two years.

We await further news from this company.

Heartsong