KUALA LUMPUR: Borneo Oil Bhd's (Bornoil) wholly-owned subsidiary, Borneo Energy Sdn Bhd (BESB), has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Gold Billion Global Ltd (GBG) for the disposal of technology assets and intellectual property rights for US$5 million.
In return, BESB would receive 166.66 million new ordinary shares of Verde Resources Incorporated (Verde), a Nevada USA corporation listed on the OTCQB market.
OTCQB is a middle tier of the over-the-counter (OTC) market for US stocks while GBG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Verde.
BESB is the exclusive licensee of a technology known as catalytic biofraction for Sabah, while also owning and operating a plant utilising this process that converts oil palm biomass into biochar, biofuel, biogas and pyroligneous acid.
BornOil executive director Raymond Teo said the collaboration with Verde would enable the company to penetrate the US market where global investors have been demanding for socially and environmentally conscious options and stocks related to green sustainable products.
"In recent times, this trend had been growing at a rapid pace, further enhanced by the new US administration and its commitment towards the climate agenda as laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement in which President Biden emphasised during the recent Virtual Climate Summit," said Raymond in a statement filed to Bursa Malaysia today.
"Investors in the US market are more receptive to green investing options and this trend is showing no signs of slowing down.
"The disposal represents an excellent opportunity for the BornOil to capitalise on this trend as well as access investors funds," Raymond said.
Under US president Joe Biden's administration, the proposal of a US$2.25 trillion infrastructure plan will focus on green energy and decarbonisation.
Meanwhile, Verde president Balakrishnan Muthu said the company plans to invest heavily in research and development as it believes that palm oil biomass waste could be monetised with the right processes and technologies.
"We are pleased to venture into this advanced technology utilising palm oil waste to be converted into value-added by-products to help achieve the climate agenda and generate additional profit for the company," he said.
He said the palm oil industry could benefit from by-products of which the utilisation rate is currently negligible.
"In the US where Verde is listed, the palm oil industry does not have a good reputation. We aim to do our part to progressively change that negative perception," said Balakrishnan, a Malaysian.
"This technology can convert widely available oil palm biomass into by-products such as biochar which is now proven to be an effective way to sequester carbon from the atmosphere.
Agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are conducting experiments with biochar to grow food on Mars as biochar is widely recognised as a viable soil enhancer able to recondition highly degraded soil or waste land.
"Recently, even Tesla's Elon Musk announced a US$100 million reward for the best carbon sequestration technology."
He explained that the company's interest in the catalytic biofraction green technology stems from insights received about the potential of palm oil waste.
"We believe that the efficiency of palm oil waste, comprising mainly empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm kernel shells (PKS), can be further upcycled with green sustainable advanced processes and technologies," said Balakrishnan.