KUCHING, Nov 13 — Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali today said the state continues to be an attractive investment destination in Malaysia, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the state Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development will continue to engage with investors either in person or online.
“For the first nine months of this year, Sarawak ranked number one as the most preferred investment destination in Malaysia in terms of investment value totalling about RM15.8 billion in the manufacturing sector as reported by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA),” he said in his winding-up speech for the State Budget 2021.
“Due to the increasing global demand for mobile devices, hard disk drives, servers and energy storage solutions, as well as automotive products, Taiyo Yuden, Western Digital (HGST), IMM Technology (Iljin) and X-FAB are proceeding with their expansion plans in Sama Jaya Industrial Free Trade Zone, valued at RM6.46 billion.
“These investments by foreign investors, especially during this challenging time, are a clear manifestation of the investors’ continued confidence in our leadership,” Awang Tengah, who is also the state minister of international trade and industry, industrial terminal and entrepreneur development, said.
Awang Tengah said among the foreign investors seeking investment opportunities in Sarawak, is a South Korean company where four of its senior representatives had travelled to Sarawak and willingly undergone 14 days’ quarantine to conduct the feasibility study for their investment recently.
He added his ministry is confident that the company will choose Sarawak for its RM2.3 billion investment.
He said investors from China are also in the midst of applying to enter Sarawak to further their feasibility studies in bathymetric for their proposed US$5.2 billion (RM21.5 billion) oil and gas project in Sarawak.
Awang Tengah said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed recently between SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation and Eneos Corporation on the establishment of a hydrogen production facility in Bintulu.
He said his ministry has also commenced discussions with another foreign company on its proposed hydrogen project and a joint venture between Japanese companies and a Sarawak Timber Industry Development (STIDC) subsidiary on biomass industrial fuel pellets project is at the testing stage.
He said the biomass industrial fuel pellets project, worth RM126 million, is expected to begin construction at Tanjung Manis in mid-2022.
He added the RM500 million battery project at Demak Laut in Bako, near here, is under construction, adding this is a joint venture between China and Sarawak companies.
Awang Tengah said a RM5.7 billion methanol plant in Kidurong, Bintulu is under site preparation while a RM17.05 billion steel project in Samalaju, Bintulu is expected to start site preparations soon.
“My ministry will continue to facilitate all these investments so that we do not miss out on these opportunities even during this pandemic,” he said.
