New Forests Opens Asia Office in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
New Subsidiary to Meet Demand for Forestry & Eco Products Investment in Asia
August 14, 2008
KOTA KINABALU – New Forests Asia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Forests Pty Limited, a forestry investment management and advisory services firm headquartered in Sydney, Australia. In addition to operational forestry investment responsibilities, New Forests Asia will manage the conservation activities of the Malua BioBank, a first-of-its kind model for investing in tropical rainforest conservation on a commercial basis that will protect 34,000 hectares in the Malua Forest Reserve in Sabah, Malaysia.
The new subsidiary has been established in response to the growing demand for eco product development and forestry investment throughout Asia. Maree Candish has been appointed Director, New Forests Asia and will guide the business as it manages investments across the region, potentially including in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and China. Ms. Candish will report to David Brand, Managing Director of New Forests Pty Limited. Paul Speed has been appointed the Manager, Forestry Investments, and Darius Sarshar has been appointed the Manager, Eco Products.
“New Forests expects Asia to play a critical and prominent role in emerging global environmental markets for forest conservation,” says Candish. “With the commencement of the Malua BioBank and strong potential for the development of other conservation investment, New Forests looks forward to enhancing the capacity of our regional operations from our new Malaysian office.”
Globally, New Forests specializes in innovative business models that deliver additional returns from emerging environmental markets, including biodiversity, carbon and water. New Forests Asia will be involved in operational management of regional investments on behalf of forestry and eco product clients. Other services include advising private companies, governments and landowners on regional timber market developments and emerging carbon, biodiversity and sustainable production opportunities.
“Asia is at the forefront of emerging environmental markets,” Brand remarked. “The opening of the Kota Kinabalu office reaffirms New Forests’ commitment to being a leader in eco products and forestry investment in the region.”
New Forests Asia will work closely with the other New Forests offices in Sydney, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, collaborating with a growing team of forestry, climate change, biodiversity and policy leaders.
New Forests Pty Limited
New Forests Pty Limited is a forestry investment management and advisory services firm based in Sydney, Australia. New Forests is at the forefront of developing and commercializing environmental products and evaluating opportunities from emerging environmental markets. The company’s investment philosophy seeks to deliver traditional timber returns as well as returns from valuing ecosystem services and preferences, such as certified timber, carbon, biodiversity and water. New Forests' staff includes highly skilled and experienced professionals across timberland investment, operational forestry, environmental management and finance. The company holds an Australian Financial Services License. For more information, please see www.newforests.com.au.