Malaysia’s largest multifaceted company, the Wee Boon Ping Group of Companies, has signalled its interest in partnering with Guyana on a sustainable operation in the forestry sector and its chairman paid a courtesy call on President Donald Ramotar recently.
A Government Information Agency (GINA) report said the company shares similar forest resources to Guyana and promotes sustainable forest practices since it started as a logging company in 1976.
Since that time the “Wee Boon Ping Group of Companies has since diversified operations into reforestation as part of efforts to promote sustainable management of forestry practices bioscience, property development and construction, among other ventures,” GINA said.
The Group owns 109,000 hectares (269,230 acres) of virgin forest land, about two times the size of Singapore, and one of the largest rubber plantations in the world. “To date four million rubber trees have been planted on 11,000 hectares with a target of 12 million trees on 35,000 hectares,” GINA noted.
Chairman of the Company Sir Datuk Wee Kok Tiong, a third generation successor to the family-owned business, led a team to the Office of the President for a meeting with Ramotar. Minister of Agriculture Dr Leslie Ramsammy and Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud also attended the meeting.
Sir Datuk told GINA that establishing an operation like his in a country as resourceful as Guyana can yield benefits for the economy, especially in the area of job creation. He also said he regards it as a long-term investment that will require the partnership of the government and people of Guyana.
The Wee Boon Ping group has created jobs for over 2000 in Malaysia and the chairman expects this to grow rapidly with his plans for expansion.
