RTRS- Indonesian firm in $1.3 bln palm plantation bid

SINGAPORE/JAKARTA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - An Indonesian businessman is leading a bid to buy one of the country's largest palm oil plantations in a deal worth up to $1.3 billion, documents detailing the transaction show.

If completed, the deal would be among the largest for the sector in Asia for several years.

The deal, codenamed Project Thor, is currently at the closing stage and is expected to be completed by next month, said a source with direct knowledge of the deal.

The company is also discussing a debt financing scheme with several Indonesian and Singaporean banks, another source familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.

Businessman Alexander Thaslim, president director of unlisted investment vehicle PT Borneo Pacific, has been negotiating since 2011 to buy the 83,879 hectares (209,700 acres) spread across 36 plantations in Riau province opposite Singapore on Sumatra island.

The purchase would be funded mostly through loans, two sources said, with about $300 million already raised in equity. No further details were available on the equity portion.

Reuters obtained several investor presentations, one of which describes the plantation cluster as the largest contiguous plantation concession in Indonesia. In total, the area is larger than the island of Singapore.

A third source with knowledge of the deal confirmed that PT Borneo Pacific is in the process of acquiring the plantations and arranging financing.

Thaslim, through his lawyer, said he was not immediately available to discuss the deal.

WEAKER CPO PRICES

Malaysia's TH Plantations THPB.KL owns 95 percent of the Riau plantations and in April this year signed a conditional share purchase agreement with PT Borneo, the presentations show.

TH Plantations could not be reached for comment.

A total of 73,650 ha of the estate area has been planted. Other assets include six mills, a kernel crushing plant and biomass power plant.

Credit Suisse is financial advisor for the deal.

The bank said PT Borneo would buy TH Plantation's 95 percent stake for $910 million and is expecting to buy the remaining 5 percent owned by PT Primasakti Rizki Pertiwi.

"Including other transaction related expenses, the total purchase consideration is expected to be up to US$1.3 billion," a Credit Suisse investor presentation says.

The bank says Thaslim is the majority owner of PT Borneo Pacific and is involved in the holding of palm oil firms.

PT Borneo Pacific is a coal trader and miner.

Analysts said the deal would be among the largest palm oil asset acquisitions in recent years.

The deal was costlier than recent transactions by some listed firms, based on an enterprise value of nearly $16,000 per hectare and assuming no debt, said Ivy Ng, palm oil sector analyst for CIMB in Kuala Lumpur.

That was a positive sign for the market, said Ng, because it underscored demand for palm oil concessions, despite weaker crude palm oil prices FCPOc3, which have fallen 30 percent since April.

In 2007, palm oil giant Wilmar WLIL.SI completed a proposed S$4.1 billion deal to acquire Malaysia's PPB Oil Palms Berhad, Kuok Oils and Grains Pte Ltd and PGEO Group Sdn Bhd.

The same year, the plantation assets of Sime Darby, Kumpulan Guthrie and Golden Hope Plantations merged to create the world's largest listed palm-oil group worth $8.6 billion at the time.

Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, with technology stocks hit hard after Google's surprisingly weak earnings - released prematurely during the trading day - disappointed investors.

Shares of Google lost 8 percent - the stock's worst day since Jan. 20 - to close at $695 after the Internet giant's third-quarter results showed earnings and revenue fell short of forecasts. The earnings report had not been expected until after the market's close. Trading of the stock was halted at 12:50 p.m. after Google had fallen as much as 10.5 percent to a session low of $676. Trading resumed at 3:20 p.m.

After the midday snafu and the stock's slide, Google was the biggest drag on the S&P 500. 

Tech stocks suffered, with the S&P 500 information technology index .GSPT losing 1.53 percent. Shares of IBM IBM.N, which disappointed investors a day earlier, lost 2.8 percent to close at $194.96 and pull the Dow lower.

“It’s a huge impact on the market, and especially the tech stocks,” said Paul Nolte, managing director at Dearborn Partners in Chicago. “What happened to Google is a continuation in the tech sector of some very poor earnings numbers. But we’re not seeing the same lack of performance across the board from other sectors."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dipped 8.06 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 13,548.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX shed 3.57 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,457.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell 31.26 points, or 1.01 percent, to end at 3,072.87.

The day's declines snapped the S&P 500's three-day string of gains, which had pushed the benchmark index up 2.3 percent through Wednesday's close.

The Dow's loss was limited by Travelers and Verizon.

Travelers TRV.N gained 3.6 percent to $73.94 and gave the biggest boost to the Dow after the U.S. property and casualty insurance company posted record operating earnings.

Verizon Communications Inc VZ.N rose 2.4 percent to $45.78 after the company reported a record quarterly profit. Verizon attributed these gains to its wireless business. It also posted revenue that slightly exceeded expectations.

Morgan Stanley MS.N reported better-than-expected adjusted quarterly earnings on Thursday as big gains in its bond trading business increased its revenue. The stock fell, however, losing 3.8 percent to $17.79.

Technology was by far the day's weakest sector, but seven of the S&P 500's 10 sectors ended the session higher.

Weak jobs data released on Thursday also weighed on the market. Weekly jobless claims rose to 388,000 - or 32,000 more than analysts expected. A Labor Department official said it appeared that state-level administrative issues were distorting the data.

“On a longer-term basis and non-seasonally adjusted basis, the jobs numbers are in line with where they’re been all year. And that’s still indicative of very slowly improving employment,” Nolte said.

After the close, Microsoft MSFT.O reported that its fiscal first-quarter profit fell, hurt by a dip in sales of personal computers running its Windows operating system. Microsoft's stock extended its decline in after-hours trading, falling 3.2 percent. The stock had closed the regular session at $29.50, down 0.3 percent.

In other earnings news after the bell, PC chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.N reported disappointing quarterly results and announced that it would cut its workforce by 15 percent. The stock rose 3.4 percent after the bell. AMD had ended the regular session at $2.62, down 5.4 percent.

SanDisk Corp SNDK.OQ shares rose 5 percent after the bell when the company's third-quarter earnings beat expectations, helped by a rebound in flash memory prices. The stock closed at $42.86, down 3.3 percent in the regular session.

Fast-food restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG.N reported quarterly earnings after the close that missed Wall Street's expectations. Shares of the Denver-based burrito chain lost 12.4 percent in after-hours trading, falling to $250.50 - the lowest level since May 2011. Chipotle's stock ended the regular session at $285.93, down 1.4 percent.

Volume was roughly 6.9 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the year-to-date average daily closing volume of 6.52 billion.

NYMEX- NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures slipped slightly on Thursday, having pared losses on news that a pipeline carrying Canadian crude oil to the United States was shut.

 

FCPO SOYBEAN- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 2 percent, their biggest daily climb in a month, on strong cash markets as the U.S. harvest wound down and farmer selling slowed, traders said.

* Bargain hunting and technical buying noted this week since front-month soybeans Sc1 fell to a 3-1/2-month low below $15 a bushel on Monday.

• Additional support stemmed from data showing that top soy buyer China likely hit the bottom of a seven-quarter-long economic downturn, news that also lifted major averages in Asia and buoyed global equities.

• December soyoil BOZ2 rose 2.5 percent, its biggest one-day advance in two months, and closed above its 20-day moving average for the first time in one month on ideas the market was technically oversold.

• USDA reported export sales of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 525,200 tonnes (523,400 for 2012/13), below trade expectations for 650,000 to 850,000.

• USDA weekly reported export sales of U.S. soymeal at 146,000 tonnes (143,500 for 2012/13), below trade expectations for 150,000 to 250,000 tonnes. USDA reported weekly export sales of soyoil at 24,600 tonnes, above expectations for 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes.

FCPO- KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures climbed on Thursday, fuelled by gathering concern over floods in key growing regions curbing output and a slew of economic data from the United States and China that showed global growth trends were intact.

Palm oil futures, which have lost 21 percent so far this year, also gained support from shortcovering by some investors ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha next week.

"The market should continue to go higher," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage. "They are expecting some floods because there's going to be rainy days ahead."

He added, "I'm expecting some short covering to take place either now or next week -- next week it will be Hari Raya Haji," referring to the Muslim holiday.

The benchmark January contract FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 1 percent to close at 2,496 ringgit ($823) per tonne.

Total traded volumes stood at 34,274 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots as more traders hedged positions.

Floods could complicate logistics and harvesting in Malaysia, the second largest producer of the edible oil, after yields bounced back strongly following a weak first half.

But the impact on output and stocks may be limited, since production hit a record in September, lifting stocks to an all-time high in the same month.

Palm oil futures also rose on gains in the U.S. soy complex, traders said. Soybean futures extended gains in Asian trade on Thursday, driven by bargain hunting after prices slid this week to their lowest since late June.

U.S. soyoil for December delivery BOZ2 climbed 0.9 percent. The most active May 2013 soybean oil contract DBYcv1 on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.5 percent.

In a bullish signal for palm oil, crude oil held above $113 a barrel as Chinese economic data signalled stabilisation in the economy of the world's second-largest oil consumer while concern over supplies in the Middle East provided support.

REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock indexes gained on Thursday, with Indonesia marking an all-time closing high for a fifth session amid selective buying after firms reported strong profits and Malaysia hitting a record close as foreign investors bought shares.

Jakarta's Composite Index .JKSE closed up 0.5 percent at 4,356.96, topping Wednesday's record close of 4,337.52.

Lender PT Bank Tabungan Negara BBTN.JK, among actively traded, jumped 4.8 percent following its strong nine-month earnings, with turnover 3.6 times the average volume over the past 30 sessions.

Malaysia's benchmark index .KLSE edged up 0.3 percent at 1,665.42, surpassing the previous peak on Oct. 9. Foreign investors bought shares worth 54.78 million ringgit ($18.04 million) while local institutions sold 68.74 million ringgit ($22.64 million), stock exchange data showed.

In Bangkok, energy shares rose ahead of quarterly results, led by a 3 percent gain in the country's biggest refiner, Thai Oil Pcl TOP.BK. The benchmark SET index .SETI ended 0.8 percent higher at a near two-week closing high.