The Ayala Group has expressed an interest in investing in agriculture and requested feasibility studies from the Philippine government on various agricultural products in which to invest. The interest in investing agriculture dovetails with the government’s request for private investment to help rehabilitate provinces damaged by the recent typhoon. Meanwhile Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd has asked the Philippine Department of Agriculture to identify parcels of land large enough for its commercial farming plans. Initially the company is looking for 30,000 hectares of land in Davao to establish palm oil plantations and a processing facility. First Pacific is interested in forming a new company with PT Indofood as a vehicle for agricultural investment. Indofood operates 240,000 hectares of plantations in Indonesia for the production of palm oil, nd also produces sugar, rubber, coffee, and cacao. First Pacific is also in discussions with SL Agritech Corp. for a possible partnership for large-scale rice production encompassing 10,000 hectares. Because of the difficulty in securing enough land, the joint venture is considering moving the planned project to Indonesia.
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