The Quy Nhon Plantation Forest Company of Vietnam Ltd., a joint venture of Sojitz Corporation, Oji Paper Co., Ltd. and Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., which undertakes forestry business in Vietnam, has been granted a Forest Management (FM) Certificate by the international certification body FSC (Forest Stewardship Council, headquartered in Germany). QPFL is the first company to acquire a FSC forest certification in Vietnam. In addition, a CoC (Chain of Custody) certificate, concerning production management of FSC-certified materials, has also been granted. Thus, FSC certification has been granted to all of the processes of the subject forestry project; from plantation and wood chip production to export.

QPFL began tree-planting operations in 1995, and has already planted approximately 8,500 hectares of trees. Since the company commenced its logging operations in 2002, wood chip products have been exported to Oji Paper group's plants following the processing of raw materials into wood chips. From now on, such wood chip products will be shipped as FSC-certified wood chips. QPFL has given maximum consideration to harmony with the local community and with the regional environment, and the subject certification acquisition has proved that such efforts are beneficial.

FSC is an NGO (non-governmental organization) established to familiarize sustainable forest management, and certification covers forests including managed forests sustaining the ecosystem, forest products, and wood chip and paper products originating from such forests.

Sojitz promotes the handling of FSC-certified materials, as can be seen from fact that the company began to import certified wood chips from Australia in 2005, and that it also commenced importation of certified wood materials from the Solomon Islands.

The volume of wood chips from plantation-grown trees handled by Sojitz exceeds 90% of the total volume handled, and QPFL?fs acquisition of the FSC certification will allow FSC-certified wood chips to account for about 30 percent of the entire volume handled.

Sojitz sees global environmental issues as its one of the key management issues, and strives to achieve a balance between economic development and global environment conservation throughout any and all activities. The company invests in forestry businesses overseas as part of such efforts. In partnership with Oji Paper, which is also a partner of QPFL, Sojitz is currently participating in three forestry projects in Vietnam and Australia that are related to papermaking materials.

Further, Sojitz has distributed to local residents in Vietnam free tree seedlings for planting every year since 2001. Up to the year 2005, the company had distributed approximately 14.5 million tree seedlings, which is enough for a plantation area of about 9,000 hectares. After this year?fs distribution of seedlings, the plantation area will be about 1,200 hectares; which is equivalent to the twice the size of the inner area of the Yamanote-line.

QPFL's seedling fields
Seedlings being planted on degraded land owned by QPFL

View of a QPFL plantation site

Outline of QPFL

Business Name	Quy Nhon Plantation Forest Company of Vietnam Ltd. (QPFL)
Head Office Address	Quynhon City, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam
Establishment	1995
Capital	US$415
Investment Ratio	Oji Paper Co., Ltd. 51%, Sojitz Corporation 39%, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. 10%
Types of Tree Planted	Eucalyptus, Acacia
Plantation Area	8,535 hectares (as of the end of March, 2005)
Target Plantation Area	9,100 hectares
Business Description	QPFL plants acacia and eucalyptus trees in treeless hilly and mountainous areas in Binh Dinh Province in Central Vietnam, with a total target plantation area of 9,100 hectares, with the objective of securing hardwood chip materials. The planted species have rotation periods of seven years, and logging operations began in July 2002. After logging operations were completed, Acacia trees were replanted utilizing vacant land. The land required for plantation is leased from Binh Dinh Province People's Committee, and plantation/logging operations are entrusted mainly to PISICO (Binh Dinh Production Investment Service Import-Export Company), a state-owned enterprise located in Binh Dinh Province. Raw wood materials are processed into wood chips, the entire volume of which is exported to Japan. The subject project is highly valued for its contributions to the forestry industry in Vietnam. The project was commended in 2005 by the Minister of Planning and Investment, and was also commended by the Governor of Binh Dinh Province.