OBAYASHI CORPORATION has signed a Joint Development Agreement with PT. Persada Hijau Cemerlang, a subsidiary of Gallant Venture LTD (*1), aiming for the realization of the large-scale cultivation of cherry tomatoes and leafy vegetables by advanced greenhouses adapted to tropical climates, as well as establishing a distribution and sales network for the products. The companies plan to construct a one-hectare test facility on Bintan Island in Indonesia and to start sales in 2021 in Southeast Asia, mainly in Singapore and Indonesia.

Through this project, Obayashi Corporation builds on its expertise in large-scale hydroponic cultivation gained from the greenhouse at Obayashi Group's Oak Katori Farm, opened in November 2014 in Katori City, Chiba. This knowledge is being combined with proprietary technologies, such as temperature control through air conditioning, to implement advanced environmental control in the advanced greenhouse, with the aim of providing a large and stable supply of high-quality crops.

In the Southeast Asia region, recent economic growth has led to rising incomes and an increased focus on health, which in turn has spurred interest in safe, high-quality food products. Through this project, the companies will establish distribution infrastructure and channels in the Southeast Asia region, investigate marketability toward the region's target market of middle-income earners and above, develop new sales locations, and examine the possibility of large-scale business development in the future.

• *1 Gallant Venture LTD
  A holding company, listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, that focuses on investments in Indonesia. The company's main business focuses on automobile sales and the operation of industrial parks and resorts on Bintan and Batam Islands in Indonesia.