On 11th May 2017, Jati Herbal as a natural extract producer of rising international prominence signed a cooperation agreement with Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Research and Innovation and state owned enterprise, BiotechCorp Malaysia. The pact proposes a sustainable partnership in the exploration and production of herbal extracts from Malaysia’s own rich diversity of medicinal plants, specifically for Eurycoma longifolia; a plant predominantly found in Malaysia commonly referred to as Tongkat Ali or Pasak Bumi. Jati Herbal occupies a key role in the cooperation for its unmatched expertise in the region as well as for its cutting-edge production facilities.

Speaking at the signing event held at Jati Herbal’s factory in Karanganyar (Central Java), CEO of Jati Herbal, Mr Junius Rahardjo, expressed his elation over the prospects of the agreement as he received the visit of Malaysian Minister of Science, Research and Innovation, Dato’ Dr Ewon Ebin, and CEO of BiotechCorp, Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal. Mr Rahardjo views the cooperation as a highly strategic one, referring to advantages for his company’s growing presence in international markets and the rapid rise of overseas consumers. Dato’ Dr Ebin was equally optimistic as he commended Javaplant for having the technological capacity that can help support the development of Malaysian herbal products. Meanwhile, Regent of Karanganyar, Mr Juliyatmono, who also attended the event, voiced his hope that the partnership will generate positive technological and economic benefits.

With the cooperation, Malaysia seeks to develop its bio-based industries in keeping with the goal of becoming an advanced economy by 2020. As such, a variety of long-term-oriented ideas were mentioned, including possibilities of setting up a joint venture between Jati Herbal and BiotechCorp, establishing a factory in Malaysia, as well as carrying out a joint production of medicinal herbal extract materials to be used to supply various industries further downstream, such as pharmaceuticals and the food industry. In that regard, Jati Herbal has been deemed as the most suitable partner offering a fast track to the objective.