The rating on IOI Corp. Bhd. reflects the Malaysia-based company's favorable palm plantation profile, intermediate financial risk profile, sound access to capital markets, and competitive cost position. The industry risks associated with plantation business, and IOI's increasing exposure to property development partly offset these strengths. IOI's palm plantations have a favorable age profile, with more than 70% plants in prime category. The company's key operating parameters such as yield per mature hectare and oil extraction rates for crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel are better than the industry average. This helps IOI to maintain its cost competitive position. We expect CPO prices to remain high due to the lack of palm oil substitutes, limited availability of suitable land to