MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Sarawak Filled with Growth Opportunities, Foreign Investors Told
Sarawak Filled with Growth Opportunities, Foreign Investors Told
14/06/2014 (Borneo Post) - More than 100 individuals attended the Sarawak Trade and Investment Business Forum held in Kazakhstan yesterday.
Addressing the crowd, Minister of Industrial Development Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said Sarawak was a progressive and modern state and had a strong tradition in its legal system and civil service.
The forum, held at the capital city of Kazakhstan, was organised by the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) and Ministry of Industrial Development (MID) to introduce investment opportunities in Sarawak and explore trade and investment opportunities in the republic.
“Sarawak is experiencing good economic growth. In the past, the state’s economy was driven by the primary sector, namely agriculture and mining, especially oil and gas, timber, oil palm and rubber.”
From 1980s onwards, he added, the state successfully diversified and broadened its economic base into the manufacturing and services sectors, especially electronics and other high-technology manufacturing and tourism.
He said Sarawak’s economy had been able to grow at four to five per cent annually over the last few years despite the global economic slowdown.
“In fact, Sarawak now was a strong economy and was the third largest economy among the states in Malaysia.”
He said Sarawak’s current gross domestic product (GDP) was about USD25 billion and its GDP per capita was USD14,085. Its conducive investment climate and sound financial position are reflected in the international credit ratings.
“We enjoy good credit rating of A- (stable outlook) by Standard and Poor’s and A3 (stable outlook) by Moody’s Investors Services. I believe this is indeed an important event, a venue for us to build strong networking and to expand trade and investment between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Sarawak.”
Awang Tengah, who is also Second Minister for Resource Planning and Environment, Minister for Public Utilities and STIDC Board of Management chairman, said Sarawak offered numerous attractions and opportunities for trade and investment in both resource-based and non-resource based industries.
He said investment totalling USD8.9 billion was approved for Sarawak’s manufacturing sector between 2011 and March this year.
Last year alone, Sarawak received USD2.3 billion worth of investment and was ranked among the top three states in Malaysia, he added.
Several resource-based industries that possessed good investment potentials for development had been identified. Among them are the halal, palm oil-based, ood processing, wood-based, petrochemical and ceramic industries.
These industries offered vast opportunities to investors to invest in the downstream processing activities.
The non-resource based industries that were also actively promoted pertained to shipbuilding, oil and gas support services, electronic and hi-tech industries, human capital development, ICT and tourism, added Awang Tengah.
Permanent secretary to MID Datu Liaw Soon Eng and STIDC general manager Datu Sarudu Hoklai also presented papers on trade and investments in Sarawak.
Addressing the crowd, Minister of Industrial Development Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said Sarawak was a progressive and modern state and had a strong tradition in its legal system and civil service.
The forum, held at the capital city of Kazakhstan, was organised by the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) and Ministry of Industrial Development (MID) to introduce investment opportunities in Sarawak and explore trade and investment opportunities in the republic.
“Sarawak is experiencing good economic growth. In the past, the state’s economy was driven by the primary sector, namely agriculture and mining, especially oil and gas, timber, oil palm and rubber.”
From 1980s onwards, he added, the state successfully diversified and broadened its economic base into the manufacturing and services sectors, especially electronics and other high-technology manufacturing and tourism.
He said Sarawak’s economy had been able to grow at four to five per cent annually over the last few years despite the global economic slowdown.
“In fact, Sarawak now was a strong economy and was the third largest economy among the states in Malaysia.”
He said Sarawak’s current gross domestic product (GDP) was about USD25 billion and its GDP per capita was USD14,085. Its conducive investment climate and sound financial position are reflected in the international credit ratings.
“We enjoy good credit rating of A- (stable outlook) by Standard and Poor’s and A3 (stable outlook) by Moody’s Investors Services. I believe this is indeed an important event, a venue for us to build strong networking and to expand trade and investment between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Sarawak.”
Awang Tengah, who is also Second Minister for Resource Planning and Environment, Minister for Public Utilities and STIDC Board of Management chairman, said Sarawak offered numerous attractions and opportunities for trade and investment in both resource-based and non-resource based industries.
He said investment totalling USD8.9 billion was approved for Sarawak’s manufacturing sector between 2011 and March this year.
Last year alone, Sarawak received USD2.3 billion worth of investment and was ranked among the top three states in Malaysia, he added.
Several resource-based industries that possessed good investment potentials for development had been identified. Among them are the halal, palm oil-based, ood processing, wood-based, petrochemical and ceramic industries.
These industries offered vast opportunities to investors to invest in the downstream processing activities.
The non-resource based industries that were also actively promoted pertained to shipbuilding, oil and gas support services, electronic and hi-tech industries, human capital development, ICT and tourism, added Awang Tengah.
Permanent secretary to MID Datu Liaw Soon Eng and STIDC general manager Datu Sarudu Hoklai also presented papers on trade and investments in Sarawak.