Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Swiftlet farming for bird nests a viable investment through ISUs

Swiftlet farming for bird nests a viable investment through ISUs

The Borneo Post

KUCHING: Swiftlet farming for bird nests will become a viable investment in Sarawak and Sabah through interest scheme units (ISUs).
Wong Teck Heng
Wong Teck Heng
“Given the opportunity by the state government, I believe that this investment scheme will be extremely feasible as Sarawak is blessed with the potential to support this business,” highlighted Wong Teck Heng, managing director of SSEP Resources Sdn Bhd (SSEP Resources) in a press conference yesterday. “Through this venture, we aim to give the opportunity to the general public, who do not have the time or financial capability to individually manage their swiftlet farms, to be able to profit from this growing investment method.”

The projected figures, compiled by an independent consultant experienced in the industry, affirmed the viability of this investment scheme which promises a return of more than RM270,000 over 35 years based on the purchase of one ISU. “Each unit is priced at RM10,000 for the moment, yielding approximately 75 per cent per year in returns on the original investment,” Wong said.

“However, investors would not see any return on investments for the first two years as it would take some time for swiftlets to settle and build its nests. We will only be able to harvest these nests after the third year.”
These ISUs are flexible as they come with guaranteed buy back, transferable or tradable features – a first of its kind in this industry.
Wong, who is also the secretary to the Swiftlet Farming Association, added that there were 14 swiftlet eco-parks throughout the peninsula. The group aimed to build eight more parks in Sarawak pending approval from the local government.
These are managed by a group of directors with the current chairman being Tengku Besar Terengganu Datuk Seri Sharifah Nong Alsagoff Abdillah, mother to the current Agong. This is a fully licensed business and investment tool approved by the Companies Commission of Malaysia. In addition, the trustees for these ISUs are PB Trustee Services Bhd.

On a parting note, Wong hoped that the state government will be able to work with SSEP Resources to obtain approval with this project apart from assisting in the search for suitable lands to establish these swiftlet eco-parks. “Swiftlet ranching has positive spillover effects on other industries as well. The most notable is the property sector whereby land values surrounding the eco-parks spiked, apart from the construction sector and manufacturing industries.  “We hope that the society will share this sentiment as well to help our progress in East Malaysia,” he concluded.

Swiftlet Ranching in Penang (2009)

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Swiftlet farming can be profitable

Swiftlet farming can be profitable

Borneo Post

BINTULU: Swiftlet industry can be a lucrative venture to the operators as the commodity can fetch  RM6,000 to RM7,000 per kilogramme in the current market.In the world market the highest price offered was around RM12,000 to RM24,000 per kg. Assistant Minister of Tourism Datuk Talib Zulpilip said the government is very supportive to expand the industry and hopefully those in the rural areas could also grab the opportunity.

He said the operations are more suitable to be carried out in the rural areas compared to the urban as a far as hygiene is concerned. Managing swiftlet  farming is also easy and there is no need for many workers but the only thing that the operators must do is to provide the place for the bird to lay and incubate its eggs and also to raise its young ones, said Talib. He said this when officiating at the closing of Swiftlets design and equipment technology workshop organised by Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) at Medan Niaga, Jepak yesterday. “Unlike before, where the birds were nesting inside the caves,  now we can build a special house for them. It is more practical in the rural areas because besides preserving the environment it also can avoid other complications,” he added.

He said the big markets for the swiftlet product were   China, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore and this was due to their belief the product was rich with nutrition. Talib who is also SEDC chairman assured that more workshops on  swiftlet farming would be held in future to encourage more participation from the people and at the same time to boost the country’s economy. “Under the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the federal government wants to diversify the income of the people and the state government on the other hand will give its support by issuing more permits for swiftlets farming,” he said. 

Earlier, 61 participants took part in the workshop, which was conducted by Wong Jor Jie Abdullah from National Resource and Environment Board (NREB) Deputy Resident (Development) Sirai Daha and Sarawak Bumiputera Chamber of Commerce Bintulu branch chairman Kadir Sahib were among those present.