Sarawak was the third most preferred investment destination in Malaysia last year; it attracted a total investment of RM8.8 bln, the third highest figure in Malaysia after Johor (RM30.5 bln) and Selangor (RM18.8 bln).
Industrial and Entrepreneur Development minister Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said this in his winding-up speech yesterday.
He added that Sarawak had remained among the top three most preferred investment destinations in Malaysia for the past six years, thanks to intensive promotions by the state government.
The investment, he added, was expected to create 1,840 employment opportunities.
Out of the total investment of RM8.8 bln, RM8.6 bln was under the Industrial Coordination Act 1975 (ICA) and RM189 million under the State Industrial Coordination Committee (ICC), he explained.
“The 11 approved investments under ICA were mainly in the following sectors: petroleum related products – RM5.7 billion (methanol), basic metal products – RM2.8 billion (electro-deposited copper foil and metallic silicon) and non-metallic mineral products – RM44.5 million (industrialised building system components and pre-mixed bitumen),” said Awang Tengah.
Meanwhile, the 26 approved projects under ICC were mainly in food manufacturing (seafood processing), services (logistics and warehousing), wood-based (veneer, furniture, plywood, etc.) and basic metal products (fabrication of steel and other metals).
Awang Tengah said as of April 2019, Sarawak had supported a total of five projects worth RM17.05 bln for Manufacturing Licences under ICA (high grade steel, cement and chemical products, and food manufacturing).
“For the same period, a total of nine projects have been approved under ICC totalling RM27.4 million in non-metallic mineral products (batching plant), services (logistics and warehousing), plastic, basic metal and wood-based products (plywood door & sawn timber).
“These investments are expected to generate about 8,760 employment opportunities in the state,” he said.
Awang Tengah said his ministry would continue to diversify the state’s industrial landscape by strengthening and expanding certain industries (oil & gas; energy intensive; high-tech; food; shipbuilding alongside the traditional timber based, oil palm based and other manufacturing activities) all over Sarawak.
“For sustainable economic growth, Sarawak will move away from the low technology, low wage and labour-intensive model and shall encourage investments in industries that employ the latest modern technology to help us move up the value chain in the global economy.
“Sarawak will create highly skilled workforce through technology transfer, by setting up supporting clusters and downstream industries that benefit the local business community, especially the SMEs and promoting sustainability, green and environmentally friendly technology.”
The minister added that Sarawak had been quite successful in attracting these types of investments in Samalaju Industrial Park and Sama Jaya High Tech Park.
“For Samalaju Industrial Park, since its inception in 2008, Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) has been a major attraction for FDI and DDI and to date, SCORE has attracted a total investment of RM39.94b.
“Samalaju Industrial Park is promoted to investors of energy intensive and petrochemical industries. To date, it has attracted a total of RM28.43b worth of investments from local and foreign multinational corporations from South Korea, China, Singapore, Japan, South Africa and Taiwan, producing polycrystalline silicon, aluminium ingots and ferroalloys and others,
“New investments include the RM17 bln steel project and the proposed USD133 mln foaming agent project. For the steel project, the Detailed EIA report has been approved and the company is now preparing the plant design, while the foaming agent project is at the pre-implementation stage,” he said.
Added Awang Tengah,”Currently, eight companies in the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) are in operation, creating 7,670 employment opportunities. 61 per cent (4,250) of the workforce is local as these companies in SIP are generating about RM500m of economic spinoffs to the local economy monthly.”
He said last year, the total export value from SIP amounted to RM8.055 bln.
Meanwhile, construction work on the Malaysian phosphate plant had commenced.
“As for Sama Jaya High Tech Park, it is promoted as a hub for the high-tech sector in Sarawak, being the regional operational base for multinational corporations (MNC) from Germany, USA, Japan, South Korea and China.
“They are supported by clusters of industries made up of local SMEs. These MNCs are producing many high tech and sophisticated products used mainly in smartphones, solar panels, automotive and electronic industries,” explained Awang Tengah.
“To date, Sama Jaya has increased its workforce to 12,200 of which 98.5% are locals. In 2018 alone, Sama Jaya paid RM460 million in wages to its workforce and exported RM4.6 billion worth of E&E products.
“These companies in Sama Jaya are generating about RM215 million of economic spinoffs to the local economy every month.
“I must thank Sarawak Chief Minister on the success of Sama Jaya as he has been instrumental in the establishment of Sama Jaya when he served as the Minister for Industrial Development,” added Awang Tengah.
