Forest products

Both the Housing Industry Association (HIA) and Master Builders Australia (MBA) have just released reports on the gloomy forecasts for the Australian building and construction industry, particularly in the residential sector.

Last year global demand for softwood lumber increased by more than 10 percent after having hit a 50-year low in 2009. The rise in demand has pushed lumber prices in North America, Asia and Europe to their highest levels in ten months, reports the WRQ.

M-real Oyj has signed an agreement to divest the entire share capital in M-real Hallein GmbH to the Schweighofer Group. M-real Hallein GmbH assets consist of the Hallein pulp mill, bioenergy plant, paper mill closed in 2009 and the surrounding estate. The pulp mills annual capacity is approximately 160,000 tonnes of sulphite pulp and the amount of personnel is approximately 200. The debt-free value of the transaction is approximately EUR 34 million and the positive cash impact for M-real approximately EUR 24 million.