Astra Agro Lestari in BriefPT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk (the "Company") has been weathering the ups and downs of palm oil business for the last 31 years. It was started as a business unit of PT Astra International Tbk to develop 2,000 hectares of cassava plantation. Then it was transformed into a rubber plantation after seeing the rise of demand for rubber.Later, considering the promising business of palm oil, PT Astra International Tbk ventured into the palm oil industry. In 1984, PT Astra International Tbk acquired PT Tunggal Perkasa Plantations, which already had a 15,000 hectares oil palm plantation in Riau province. The business decision was proven timely and right as the palm oil business has been growing robustly, delivering a positive impact to the Company's business unit.Continually experiencing a strong growth, PT Astra Agro Lestari listed its shares for the first time on 9 December 1997 on the Jakarta Stock Exchange and the Surabaya Stock Exchange, which both had been merged into the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX). During its Initial Public Offering (IPO).After being in operations for 31 years, PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk has now had a total area of 266,706 hectares oil palm plantations, which consist of its nucleus estates and plasma (plasma plantations) in Sumatera, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, with an average age of 14 years. Until the end of 2011, the Company had permanent employed 26,473 people.