Singaporean palm-oil company, Golden Agri-Resources Limited, through its wholly owned subsidiary Belino Investments Limited, has subscribed for a limited partnership in RMDV Fund 1. RMDV Fund 1, a technology investment fund, is an exempted limited partnership registered in the Cayman Islands. This will be coupled with GAR’s contribution and commitment towards the Fund which will be up to an aggregate of $125 million by the injection of non-cash assets and cash into the Fund.
RMDV Fund 1, a technology investment fund, is an exempted limited partnership registered in the Cayman Islands. This will be coupled with GAR’s contribution and commitment towards the Fund which will be up to an aggregate of $125 million by the injection of non-cash assets and cash into the Fund.
In the announcement made via SGX, the fund will focus on developing transformational solutions in the areas of agriculture, food and industrial biotechnology, plantation development and management technologies (including those relating to precision agriculture and robotics), end-to-end distribution, logistics, and marketing technology (including mobile-based solutions, e-commerce payments), and big data analytics.
At present, GAR is the sole limited partner of the Fund. Though apart from GAR, the Fund is expected to receive funding from other investors. The non-cash assets to be injected include the group’s existing technology assets held under Achieve Market Holdings (AMHL), which wholly owns Sinarmas Digital Ventures Singapore and Sinarmas Digital Ventures Hong Kong, and will have a total investment value of $104.8 million. These companies will cease to be subsidiaries of the group post the injection into the fund.
The cash contribution, which is about $20.2 million, will be drawn down over five years. GAR’s subscription into the Fund is to support Golden Agri’s business strategy by sourcing innovative technologies related to its core businesses through this fund.
This move is seen at a time when there’s an increase in strategic investment made by biotech firms in technologies and innovations, opening up to external ideas and knowledge in the life sciences. This fund will not only strengthen the company’s corporate core but will also give it an edge in the industry over others.
