Payments & Schedule
How much do I have to pay in order to invest in this project?
This is dependant on how many hectares our clients choose to purchase. All clients are required to pay the below costs at entry-level:
Why do I need to pay a management fee?
The management fee forms a very important part of this investment as it is used to harvest the crops. The fee is used by Waterland International, a farm management company, to purchase equipment, seeds, fertilisers etc., and recruit labour in order to carry out the harvest and generate returns for investors. This is a one-off fee that you are required to pay.
What happens if I do not pay the management fee?
If you do not pay the management fee, you will not receive any returns on the harvest, although this will not affect your ownership.
What are the tax implications for investing in this biofuel project?
Clients will be subject to tax in the UK as they would for any form of income. Responsibility for paying tax lies solely with the client and is not deducted by 360 Invest Group.
Project Details
How many hectares can I purchase?
Clients can purchase as many hectares as they wish.
How and when will the jatropha harvest be sold?
The harvest will be sold by farm management company Waterland International who already have trade agreements in place with various companies all over the world. Some of the harvest will be sold at a fixed price which they have negotiated to ensure a guaranteed return, and the remainder will be sold at the best available price.
Where are the fields located?
The fields are located in a district of Java, Indonesia, adjacent to where Waterland International have already had considerable success with a jatropha plantation.
What ownership do I have over the land?
Clients in 360 Invest Group’s project will enjoy a contractually binding right to receive income from a lease term of at least 30 years.
Who is Waterland International?
Waterland International, are an Indonesian-based management company, with many years experience in jatropha cultivation, who have been contracted as 360 Invest Group’s preferred local partner to oversee the operations of the land. They are a leader in jatropha research and development in Asia, and have successfully developed first class research and technology bases in Indonesia, Germany, the Netherlands, India, Vietnam and Malaysia that accelerate commercialisation of next generation biofuels and renewable power generation.
360 Invest Group is confident its partnership with Waterland International will lead to success both in generating high returns and mitigating climate change. Whilst Waterland International are our preferred management company, as part of the project investors are free to have their land farmed by a jatropha planting company of their choosing.
Income & Exit Strategy
What if I want to sell my investment?
Clients may be able to transfer the contractual right to a third party by means of assignment: this third party assumes all contractual terms, including the payment of management fee if this has not already been paid.
Strategy
What details are there on the new power plant in Holland which will be 100% powered by jatropha biofuel?
The power plant is located in Kesteren, the Netherlands, and has a capacity of 5 MW. This mini power plant is integrated in the facilities of a large industrial company which uses the electricity and sells the excess to the national power grid. The power plant is now becoming 100% fuelled by Jatropha oil.
Which established routes to market already exist for Waterland International?
Waterland International supply mini power plants with capacity of 3 MW to 10 MW. Currently 5 of these power plants are in operation, and licenses for an additional 2 power plants have recently been granted. There is a biofuel factory which is turning the Crude Jatropha oil (CJO) into bio diesel for cars. Two major European airlines have also set up development schemes to look into the viability of using our jatropha oil. There is also an Australian publicly traded company engaged in production and marketing of fuel produced from Jatropha.
Does Waterland International post publicly available financial information?
Waterland International is a private company, and thus does not release public information of its financial statements. The company was set up to leverage its unique know-how and experience gained after years of operations in Indonesia. For over 7 years the Waterland group has set up and managed Jatropha biofuel plantations in Indonesia. That activity is aimed to supply power plants in the Netherlands with Jatropha oil, and this activity is profitable.
Are there any western European funds which have invested in Jatropha in Indonesia?
There are 4-5 different biofuel projects in Indonesia in which international companies are involved. We are currently the only biofuel project in Central Java. These projects looked for cheaper land in other locations which has a lower cost basis, but there are no sufficient local communities in these areas to provide the workforce required for such a large scale project.
What are the local environmental risks, eg earthquakes, drought, crop disease, etc.
Our plantation will not be affected by earthquakes due to its location and structure. The project location has approximately 2,000mm of rainfall a year, leaving a very low risk of drought. Any crop may have disease, but the biofuel project has not been affected to date, and is carefully managed to maintain biodiversity and ecobalance to reduce risk of any disease.
What has been the average yield over the last 3-5 years?
We have planted 60,000 hectares of Jatropha of which 12,000 hectares is already in oil production having been planted at the end of 2005. The remaining hectares will mature and begin producing fruits at the beginning of 2011. Our Jatropha oil produced yields of:
What, if any, is the Carbon-Credit potential of this product on a retail client basis?
The project is focused on the plantation phase, our jatropha biofuel produce yields of small plots held specifically and separately by each client. So at this time there is no Carbon-Credit potential.
Is there an Indonesian equivalent of the UK Soil Association to certify the plantation as organic? Are artificial pesticides or fertilisers used?
The biofuel plantation is managed on the basis of organic principles in order to keep its biodiversity and to prevent soil contamination. The product of the biofuel plantation is then being sent to fuel power plants and processed into biodiesel so therefore there was no need to apply for any organic certification. The project is using bio-fertilisers and no artificial ones or pesticides are required.
Is there a fixed harvesting cycle?
The weather pattern in Central Java will dictate the time of planting and harvesting. There are annual variations in the start and end of the rainy season, in which case the nursery and planting schedule will be adjusted. The annual rainfall cycle for Central Java shows two distinct seasons:
The planting season is usually spread over two main periods, synchronised with the prevailing rainfall pattern of each planting area:
Depending on the rainfall pattern in each area, one can expect three, possibly four peak harvest periods per year, one every 2 1/2 - 3 months, each lasting for about 20 days. The peak harvesting periods are in February, May and November. 80% of the fruits are harvested during the above peak periods, with the remaining 20% harvested during the off-peak periods.