PUCHONG (March 13): IOI Corp Bhd founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng said multinational companies are still sourcing palm oil from the group.

Following the suspension of The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in March last year, certain multinational brands had announced they would stop sourcing for palm oil from IOI Corp.

"Maybe they said so, but they are still sourcing palm oil from us," he told theedgemarkets.com after the handover ceremony of the Multipurpose Hall Bandar Puteri Puchong.

"There is not much of an impact [from the RSPO suspension]," he added.

IOI Corp, one of the founding members of the RSPO, announced in late March last year that its RSPO certification for its entire oil palm production would be suspended from April, following complaints of violation of RSPO criteria by NGOs against the plantation estates of IOI Corp’s Indonesian subsidiaries.

Even though the suspension was later lifted in August last year, some analysts were concerned whether IOI Corp could win back their customers. 

Analysts said it is still unknown as to how fast IOI Corp could get back their orders.

Meanwhile, Lee expects the crude palm oil (CPO) to continue to hover between RM2,800 and RM3,000 per tonne.

"Now it is about RM3,000. I think this year will be around there. The demand is there. The weather is not so good and stocks are lesser," he said. 

"Maybe by end of the year, CPO price may hover around RM2,800," he said when asked if the RM3,000 per tonne level is sustainable.

At 12.30pm, shares of IOI Corp were up 2 sen or 0.43% at RM4.68, for a market capitalisation of RM29.3 billion.