Malaysia's KLK seeks plantation buys as CPO tumbles

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil producer Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) (KLKK.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is looking for opportunities to buy cheap plantations in the region as crude palm oil prices tumbled nearly two-thirds from a March peak on demand worries, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

"KLK's expansion plans in plantations would continue with a slight change in strategy," said KLK plantation director Roy Lim.

"We will be more choosy. We pay attention only to the good and strategic green fields," Lim was quoted by the Edge Financial Daily as saying.

The company would also look for investment opportunities in brown fields, or planted land, if they offer good values, said executive.

But Lim said he does not expect the global financial crisis to lead to large scale consolidations in the plantation industry.

"There's no need to consolidate for financial reasons," he said, adding that palm oil firms are expanding for strategic reasons.

The recent sharp fall in palm oil prices has offered Asia's cash-rich planters a chance to take over smaller firms that mushroomed in recent years but are now struggling to survive.

Prices are currently hovering at around 1,600 ringgit a tonne. Breakeven for smaller planters is around 1,500 ringgit a tonne, according to industry estimates.