28/4/06 Kota Kinabalu (Sabah Daily Express) - Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Sabah Sdn Bhd estimates that the palm oil produced in Sabah (5.33 million tonnes in 2005) has potential of generating up to RM100 billion in economic value if its downstream potentials are fully exploited.

It asserted in a statement Thursday that Sabah's economic future lies in developing fully the potentials of palm oil because the State has seen potentials in timber and cocoa-based industrialisation come and go in the last three decades.

In connection with this a first-ever forum would be held here on May 5 to create broader awareness on investment potentials in palm oil-based bio-diesel industries in Sabah.

Dubbed "Forum on Investment Opportunities in Bio-diesel in Sabah", it is organised by the State-owned POIC which is promoting palm oil downstream industries at Malaysia's first palm oil industrial cluster at Lahad Datu. The half-day forum will start at 9am at the mini theatre of the Sabah Trade Centre, along Jalan Istiadat, Likas.

More than 200 people from the oil palm industry, business groups, government officials and non-governmental organisation representatives are expected at the forum, to be declared open by Minister of Industrial Development, Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin.

The main speaker at the forum will be Kota Kinabalu-based engineer Vincent Tan, who is the project consultant for POIC Sabah cluster development in Lahad Datu.

Tan has travelled extensively to China, Europe and India to make an in-depth study on existing bio-diesel production facilities as well as assessing future trends in alternative fuels, especially bio-fuels from palm oil.

Tan's talk will be followed by a dialogue with a panel comprising Ewon, his Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Ismail Abdullah and POIC Chief Executive Officer, Dr Pang Teck Wai.