Golden Agri-Resources (E5H.SG), +5.3% at $0.68 midday, STI’s top percentage gainer, snaps four-session, 6.5% decline, after grievance panel of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil said on Friday, according to Dow Jones.
Golden Agri’s response to environmental concerns “acceptable” after claims company, units, involved in deforestation. But analyst at regional brokerage, who asked not to be named, notes most palm plays up today, so rise only partly on panel developments; “if you look at the wording of it (panel statement), you could’ve wrote this half a year ago.” Says nobody expected company to “blow it and get kicked off the panel...so this is not much of a big deal.”
Analyst adds, fundamentally, no impact on company, RSPO compliance actually a money-losing issue, estimates RSPO compliance cost at U$3/tonne. “It’s a PR issue for Golden Agri, and now they’ve got some positive press, the stock has moved up.” $0.705 recent peak may cap medium term.