Feronia Inc. Announces Appointment of New Director

TORONTO, Oct. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Feronia Inc. (“Feronia” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: FRN) today announces the appointment of Jean Habay to its board of directors (the “Board”) as a non-executive director nominated by CDC Group PLC (“CDC”).

Mr. Habay joined CDC in January 2016 as a director in its equity investments team. Prior to CDC he spent ten years as a senior member of the private equity team of Swicorp, a financial services firm focused on the Middle East and Africa, managing over US$1 billion in funds. Prior to Swicorp, Mr. Habay acquired a wealth of transactional, strategic and operational experience, first as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and then at Salomon Smith Barney and Capital One. He is a graduate of Ecole Centrale Paris and has an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Frank Braeken, Chairman of Feronia commented: “Jean is a great addition to the Board. Not only does he come with a wealth of business and private equity experience, as importantly he comes with a wide and relevant perspective of the agro and foods opportunities in Africa.”

The above noted appointment to the Board is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

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About Feronia Inc.

• Feronia is an agribusiness operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
• At the heart of Feronia lies a long established palm oil business, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), which has three remotely located plantations; Lokutu, Yaligimba and Boteka.
• When Feronia acquired its palm oil business from Unilever in 2009, it had suffered from years of underinvestment and considerable disruption caused by conflict in the DRC. Our initial focus has been on rebuilding the business and resuming production to secure its future and the livelihoods of the thousands of people we directly employ.
• Feronia’s plantations produce crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO). CPO is part of the staple and traditional diet of the Congolese and, with our products sold locally in the DRC, we are well placed to help decrease reliance on imports and increase food security and quality.
• Feronia prides itself on being the guardian of our 107 year-old palm oil business and its employees, communities, and environment. We have a long term commitment to improve the living and working environment of our employees and their communities and are committed to sustainable agriculture, environmental protection and community inclusion. Feronia has in place an Environmental and Social Action Plan which is focused on implementing environmental and social best practice and improving social infrastructure.
• Feronia is working towards certification by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and is implementing IFC/World Bank standards for environmental and social sustainability. Our oil palm replanting programme is brownfield in nature – replacing old palms with new – and it has no reliance on deforestation.
• Feronia’s management team has extensive experience in managing both plantations and farming operations in emerging markets.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.