30/4/06 (The Edge Daily) - SABAH also aims to enter a joint venture with another Indian multinational, the Aditya Birla Group, in oil palm cultivation.

The Birla Group is India's giant multinational corporation and a dominant global player in sectors such as viscose staple fibre, cement, non-ferrous metals, carbon black, fertilisers, branded apparels and financial services.

CM Datuk Seri Musa said the company has oil palm operations in Johor but is facing problems concerning supplies of Crude Palm Oil (CPO).

"They have a big factory in Johor but they don't have their own plantation. The company sees a possibility of co-operating with agencies in Sabah by not only having factories but also plantations for supplies of raw materials.

"We have invited the Group to visit the Palm Oil Industrial Clusters (POIC) in Lahad Datu and they have shown interests in co-operating with agencies such as Yayasan Sabah and Sawit Kinabalu," he said.

The Group is also keen on developing co-operation in cement and fertiliser productions in Sabah. "We will look into this and I believe, in Sabah, we are already trying to develop a cement industry."

The cement industry could be firmly developed in Sabah because of the abundance of limestone deposit.

The State also has an opportunity to develop the fertiliser and agriculture sectors with the presence of the POIC, coupled with the availability of land and a conducive climate for commercial crop production.

Musa was accompanied by Industrial Development Minister Datuk Dr Ewon Ibin, Yayasan Sabah Director and Innoprose Chairman Tan Sri Datu Khalil Datu Jamalul and Forestry Director Sam Mannan in the 16-member Sabah delegation.