KUCHING, April 23 — Trade between Sarawak and China rose by 16.8 per cent to RM18.91 billion last year with exports from the state recording RM12.07 billion and imports at RM6.8 billion.
Sarawak’s major exports to China were Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), vegetable oils, electrical machinery, and apparatus. The imports were chemical products, coke, lignite, carbon, aluminium ore, base metals, and other commodities.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said Sarawak had a sound and stable government which was business friendly and protected the interest of investors.
“Recent investments from China include a RM1.05 billion silicon manganese plant by Pertama Ferroalloy (Hong Kong), RM2.18 billion integrated solar manufacturing plant by LONGi Technology and the RM17 billion high-grade steel plant by WenAn Steel.
“The latest foreign direct investment to come is Dongjin Semichem from South Korea, investing US$133 million for producing foaming agent used widely in household products, electronics and automotive sectors,” he said.
Also the Deputy Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources and Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, he said this in his keynote address at the Economic Workshop and Policy briefing on cooperation between China and Sarawak here today.
Also present was China's Consul General in Kuching Cheng GuangZhong; Assistant Minister of Entrepreneur and Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais; and Assistant Minister for Industrial Development, Malcolm Mussen Lamoh.
In agriculture, Awang Tengah said Guangken Rubber Group Co Ltd from Guangdong had formed a joint venture with the Sarawak Farmers’ Organisation to establish the US$20 million Standard Malaysia Rubber (SMR) factory in Debak, Sri Aman.
He added that Sarawak offered many comparative advantages and remained among the top preferred investment destinations in Malaysia and had consistently ranked among the top three for the past five years. — Bernama
