Anglo-Eastern Plantations Plc was formed and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1985 to acquire and develop four estates in North Sumatra, previously owned by several UK based plantation companies.
It operates and develops plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, which produce mainly palm oil and some rubber.
The largest of these estates was Tasik, whose development, as a 6,000 hectare (ha) oil palm estate, commenced in 1983. The other three smaller estates, totalling 3,700ha comprising rubber and cocoa, had been established in the 1920s. Funds raised from the flotation were used to complete the development of Tasik, where a 45mt/hr palm oil mill was commissioned in 1991, later upgraded to 60mt/hr in 2005.
In 1993 Genton International acquired a controlling holding in Anglo-Eastern. Following a one-for-two rights issue in 1995 the company embarked on an expansion programme comprising:
acquisition of a small (800ha) oil palm estate (Anak Tasik) in North Sumatra in 1995;
acquisition in 1995 and development of land totalling 17,600ha in the province of Bengkulu in southern Sumatra;
acquisition in 1995 of an immature oil palm estate in Peninsular Malaysia.
In Bengkulu a 40mt/hr mill was commissioned in 2002 and upgraded to 60mt/hr in 2004. In June 2007, 15,004 ha had been planted.