Business Opportunity for

Palm Sugar Export Business in Cambodia

Global Institute for Tomorrow Eco-Biz Ltd. is a “Triple Bottom Line Company” set up to
Suite 2505, Two Pacific Place commercially market and distribute locally produced and
88 Queensway, Admiralty ecologically sound products including palm sugar, green
Hong Kong charcoal and wood vinegar.
(852)3571 8103 This proposal represents an investment opportunity in Eco-Biz
cnair@global-inst.com Ltd which now seeks external investment of US$500,000 in
return for a 49% stake. The project is expected to achieve
financial breakeven in Year 2. Revenues and net profits in Year
5 are projected to be around US$2.6 million and US$660K
respectively.
This investment will promote sustainable forestry, reduce the
carbon impact of production, enhance rural incomes and foster
entrepreneurial activity.
 Business Opportunity for Palm Sugar Export Business in Cambodia

The Business

Eco-Biz Ltd is a Cambodian trading company commercially marketing and

distributing locally produced and ecologically sound products, including palm
sugar, green charcoal and wood vinegar. Eco-Biz currently has a staff
component of 5 and is located in Phnom Penh.
Eco-Biz has forged multi-stakeholder partnerships in particular with GERES (a French NGO with over 10
years of presence in Cambodia), local communities and consumers. To promote sustainable forest
management and rural livelihoods, Eco-Biz works with Community Forest Associations (CFA) which
promotes sustainable harvesting of forests according to agreed practices. Eco-Biz will pay a premium for
products which are derived from CFA forests thereby using economic incentives to encourage sustainable
forestry practices as well as the production of superior products which can then be sold to customers at a
premium.
Leveraging the technical expertise of strategic partners in the application of rural technologies, Eco-Biz
further makes use of energy-efficient “Vattanak” stoves and “Yoshi” kilns to reduce the amount of fuel
wood consumed in producing palm sugar and green charcoal respectively.
In doing so, as well as promoting sustainable forestry, Eco-Biz can reduce the carbon impact of
production, enhance rural incomes and foster entrepreneurial activity.

The market for Palm Sugar, Green Charcoal and Wood Vinegar

Palm sugar is a natural and healthy alternative to processed white sugar and has a
unique taste which can be incorporated into deserts, cakes, dishes and drinks. The
product is easy to package and store, and contains high nutritional value.
Eco-Biz will market the sugar as a healthy, ecologically sound and fairly traded
product both in domestic and overseas market. Potential buyers include BoneCafe and
Hong Huot Ltd, and international food & health processors such as Taikoo Sugar,
UNFI and Aspen Pharma.

Green Charcoal is 20% more energy efficient than traditional charcoal and
is produced in Yoshimura kilns which require 30% less wood and 48% less
production time. In addition, the wood is supplied from CFA forests. The
production process itself generates less pollution and provides better working
conditions.
As charcoal is the primary source of cooking fuel in Phnom Penh (where
roughly 90,000 tonnes of charcoal are sold annually), Eco-Biz targets
domestic customers such as hotels, restaurants and individual consumers. It
will trade directly with retailers in the short term, but it will trade through wholesalers to scale up the
business in the future.

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 Business Opportunity for Palm Sugar Export Business in Cambodia

Wood vinegar is the distillate by-product of the green charcoal process which
can be used as natural crop fertilizer, insect repellent, food flavouring, animal
feed enhancer and mild pharmaceutical applications. It is particularly
attractive as a substitute for more expensive and chemical based fertilizers and
insect repellents in farming.
Wood vinegar is a well-established premium agricultural product in certain
Asian markets but is currently underutilised in Cambodia. This presents a
unique opportunity that Eco-Biz will seek to exploit as the local demand for
organic/natural fertilizer and pest repellent grows.
Eco-Biz will penetrate the local market through a network of 100,000 local farmers to replace chemical
fertilizers with wood vinegar to increase crop yield in the dry season. For export markets, an arrangement
is being made to sell the wood vinegar as fertilizer and animal feed through an agricultural organization.

Key Investment Considerations

Eco-Biz considers the following strengths and attractions for the project: -
™ Superior quality, competitive, ecologically sound and profitable products with high demand from
both domestic and overseas market
™ Maximising returns by cutting middlemen out of the distribution process
™ Cost savings in reduced demand for wood fuel and fair trade prices paid for products
™ Potential additional revenue streams - seeking aggregated carbon credits for resultant reduction in
CO2 emissions
™ Low carbon technologies employed at the rural level
™ An innovative solution to entrenched deforestation practices
™ Strategic partnerships with multi-stakeholders including farmer cooperatives, NGOs, forestry
associations, etc.
™ A profitable eco-trading enterprise that simultaneously promotes sustainable forestry practices and
improve rural livelihoods

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 Business Opportunity for Palm Sugar Export Business in Cambodia

Financial Highlights

The projected results of the Project are presented as follows:

USD (000s) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Total Revenue 100 440 838 1,661 2,636

- Palm sugar 81 395 742 1,497 2,420
- Green charcoal 3 10 20 43 45
- Wood vinegar 16 36 76 121 170
Gross profits 56 244 456 907 1,454
Profit after tax (77) 43 149 374 660

Investment Summary

Eco-Biz seeks an external investment of US$500,000 for a 49% stake. Investors are expected to receive
dividends starting from Year 3. Assuming that investors who exit receive the book value of their stake and
a dividend policy that returns 20% of any positive retained earnings to investors, payback can be expected
in Year 5.
IRR is 10% for 5-year holding period and 27% for 10-year holding period.

All inquiries and correspondence should be directed to:

Mr. Chandran Nair
Chief Executive Officer
The Global Institute For Tomorrow
Suite 2505, Two Pacific Place
88 Queensway, Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel: (852)3571 8103
Email: cnair@global-inst.com

Important Notice
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or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this profile. Neither this profile nor any of the information contained
herein shall form the basis of any contract for the investment, nor does it constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or acquire any shares in
the Business or any interest in them. Neither GIFT nor Vendors undertake any obligation to provide the recipient with access to any additional
information or to make any corrections to this profile.

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