PT Swakarsa Sinarsentosa, subsidiary of PT Dharma Satya Nusantara (DSNG) Tbk, a plantation company listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), has agreed to acquire 15% shares of PT REA Kaltim Plantations, subsidiary of REA Holdings Plc, which is listed on the London AIM.

The benchmark July contracts of crude palm oil (CPO) crashed RM62 to RM2586 per ton Friday (May 13) on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, while August contracts fell RM60 to RM2559 per ton, the lowest levels in weeks. Looks like that some market players were concerned about higher CPO output in Malaysia and Indonesia.

After two consecutive months of small gains, investors are now waiting for the reference price of Indonesian thermal coal for May 2016. Further rally might be limited, but corrections are likely to be small as well because crude oil has been hovering above US$40 per barrel for quite sometime now.

PT Golden Energy Mines Tbk (GEMS), coal mining unit of Sinarmas Group, generated sales revenue of US$94.16 million in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 20.7% from the corresponding period of 2015. Like other coal miners, however, GEMS recorded 41% fall in net profit.

TPS Food (AISA) has decided to sell 2.86 billion or 78.17% of the total issued and paid-up capital of PT Golden Plantation (GOLL) Tbk for Rp521.4 billion to affiliated company PT JOM Prawarsa Indonesia. Is it a good or bad deal for shareholders of TPS Food?

State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina is in the process of acquiring working interest in 13 oil and gas blocks in the country. The Company claims of positive support from the government for the acquisition of two blocks namely East Kalimantan and Sanga-Sanga.

State-owned electricity provider PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) starts commercial operation of 38 power plants with combined capacity of 2414 MW this year, most of which are coal-fired power plants built under the program from the previous government. Other than supporting reliability of electricity supply, these power plants would boost domestic consumption of coal.

Indo Tambangraya Megah (ITMG) booked net profit of US$23 million in the first quarter of 2016, dropped 39% from the corresponding period of 2015 due to falling coal prices and squeezed margins. Unlike Adaro Energy (ADRO), which also suffered from weak coal prices but reported higher margins, ITMG saw its operating profit margin declining 16%.

Crude palm oil (CPO) returned to US$715 per ton (CIF) in Rotterdam Monday (May 9) after retreating to US$705 late last week to tracking crude oil. That means the vegetable oil has stayed above US$700 for almost two months now. Weak output in April, combined with recovery of crude oil and soybean oil on Tuesday, might support further rally in CPO prices.

United States has cut its coal production by nearly 33% to 211.2 million short tons (MMST) in the first four months of 2016. Major coal producers like Anglo American and Glencore have also cut significantly their export of both metallurgical and thermal coal. Will they be enough to turning around coal prices in the seaborne market?