in 2007 Precious Woods acquired a minority interest (less than 10 per cent) in the Liechtenstein-based company Nordsüdtimber (NST). With this step the Precious Woods Group has laid the foundation for an expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo. The NST Group holds majority interests in four large forestry companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in several trading and service companies in various European countries. The contract includes an option for Precious Woods to substantially increase its participation at a later date.

For Precious Woods, the investment in NST secured medium and long-term access to extensive, high quality timber resources. At the same time, Precious Woods aims to play an active part in the development of a sustainable forestry industry in the Congo Basin. NST’s subsidiaries are already preparing their operations for certification according to the criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Precious Woods will lend its support to this process. The fresh capital provided by Precious Woods will be used to improve NST’s logistics in the Democratic Republic of Congo and to expand processing capacity.