On behalf of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), it is my pleasure to wish a warm welcome to all participants to this year’s second edition of the Palm Oil Internet Seminar, or POINTERS 2019. POINTERS, a web-based seminar, is now acknowledged as an interactive and thought-provoking programme, serving the Malaysian palm oil industry. We have received positive feedbacks from the oils and fats business fraternity, acknowledging POINTERS as an important tool for all segments of our market. POINTERS has come a long way from when it was first launched in 2010 with a member base of only 200. Currently the number of registered participants on this platform exceeds 4,250 which is testament of the fact that POINTERS has become a much-followed event.

For this edition of POINTERS, we have put together presentations that provide perspectives of 2019 CPO price trend. Apart from price outlook, we have also included a special session focusing on prospects of palm-based oleochemicals in Russia and Ukraine as well as palm biodiesel prospects in Ukraine.

Our speakers are experts in their respective fields and will present their analyses based on the prevailing market conditions. Feel free to pose questions to any of the speakers as they will be more than happy to respond.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, Wilmar International, Sarawak Oil Palms, KLK Oleo and Exim Bank for their generous and continued support.

I look forward to your active participation and trust you will find this internet seminar useful to further enhance your respective activities.