KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Malaysia’s chemical industry is poised to continue growing this year, with approved investments in the chemical and chemical products sectors to surpass the RM4.1 billion chalked up in 2017 if more big players participate in the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project.

Chemical Council Industries of Malaysia (CICM) deputy chairman Datuk Muhtar Hashim said there were more opportunities for the local and international players in the downstream petrochemical sector to set up manufacturing plants within the RAPID area.

"The availability of raw materials for downstream and refinery activities as well as utility support will be safely said to be available from 2020, but I see that the opportunities are for bigger players as the investments required are high,” he told reporters after the pre-event presentation here today of Achema 2018, a world forum for chemical engineering, process engineering and biotechnology.

Achema 2018, which will be held on June 11-15, 2018 at Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is expected to see more than 3,000 exhibitors from all around the world. — Bernama