KUALA LUMPUR (May 30): Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, whose operating profit was hit by softer palm oil prices last financial year, said it sees improvement for its plantation business going forward.

"Last year, prices were already low. So impacts have already been felt last year, going forward, it can only improve," said its group managing director Datuk Edward Lee Ming Foo to reporters after the group's annual general meeting here today.

"It is now a matter of riding through the down cycle," he added.

Lee said the group sees crude palm oil prices ranging between RM2,000 and RM2,300 a tonne in the near term, but believes the future remains bright given the positive world population growth and continued demand for the competitive edible oil.

"For the short term, it should be around the range of RM2,000 to RM2,300 per tonne," said Lee.

Meanwhile, Lee said the group is in initial planning stages for the construction of its second hotel located near the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) here.

Construction for the group's first hotel, Hyatt Centric in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, with a gross development cost of RM275 million, is ongoing for a targeted completion by the third quarter of 2021.

The group also has RM6.5 billion worth in gross development value under planning for the next seven to eight years, while unbilled sales total at some RM800 million, according to group finance director James Lee, who was also present at the AGM.

At 12.29pm, shares in Hap Seng Consolidated were traded nine sen or 0.91% lower at RM9.76, for a market capitalisation of RM24.3 billion.