POSCO International secured management control of Indonesian palm producer Sampoerna Agro through a 1.3 trillion won ($862 million) acquisition, expanding its Southeast Asian agricultural footprint to 150,000 hectares as the company races to lock down biofuel feedstock supplies.
The trading arm of POSCO Group acquired a 65.72% stake in Sampoerna Agro on Nov. 19, adding 128,000 hectares to its existing Papua plantations—an area more than twice the size of Seoul. The deal comes as South Korea considers raising its transportation biodiesel blend mandate from 4% to 8% by 2030, potentially driving demand for refined palm oil.
POSCO and partner GS Caltex completed a $210 million palm oil refinery in East Kalimantan with 500,000-ton annual capacity—equivalent to roughly 80% of Korea’s yearly refined palm oil imports. The facility begins commercial operations by year-end, with POSCO supplying crude palm oil from its plantations while GS Caltex handles processing and biodiesel distribution.
The acquisition marks POSCO’s largest push into Indonesian agriculture since environmental group Mighty Earth accused the company of 27,000 hectares of deforestation in Papua, prompting the firm to adopt a zero-deforestation policy in 2020. POSCO has held RSPO and ISCC sustainability certifications since entering commercial palm production in 2016.
Sampoerna Agro, part of Indonesia’s Sampoerna Strategic Group, operates six palm oil mills across Sumatra and Kalimantan with combined capacity exceeding 450 tons of fresh fruit bunches hourly.
