KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is promoting its new port facility at the Lahad Datu Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) to Japanese companies since the Lombok-Makassar Straits shipping route is becoming increasingly popular.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who is in Japan for a seven-day trade mission, said Japanese companies could take advantage of the eastern Sabah port as it was located in the trade path of the straits.
“We are alongside the Lombok-Makassar Straits shipping route, which is emerging as an important shipping route in South-East Asia.
“This makes the east coast of Sabah a prime location for a logistics hub that can tap into the growing number of ships plying the straits.
“This is the reason why the state government developed a new port facility at Lahad Datu POIC,” he said in his keynote address at a business seminar in Kobe which was attended by some 200 businessmen from 140 companies.
Shafie told the businessmen that Sabah also offers great potential in the fields of oil and gas, halal industry, palm oil, aquaculture, fisheries, seaweed as well as furniture making due to its timber resources.
He said with 1.5 million hectares of oil palm estates, Sabah produces six million tonnes of crude palm oil and 30 million tonnes of crude palm kernel oil per annum for the biomass industry, which was popular in Japan.
“The furniture industry is another area that we would like to see being developed further in Sabah. We have already banned the export of round logs in order to support the growth of the furniture industry.
“Malaysia currently exports furniture worth about RM10bil annually with most of it made from rubberwood. The volume is expected to reach RM12bil by next year, and Sabah would like to see its quality tropical timber being used for this furniture for export,” he said.
Later in a dialogue, Shafie assured Japanese investors of easy access to companies seeking to invest in Sabah by reducing red tape, provided the application follows the standard operating procedures.
This is Shafie’s first trip to Japan since becoming Chief Minister last year.
Among the highlights of his visit are engaging two major corporations in Japan which have shown interest to invest up to RM230mil in the state.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who is in Japan for a seven-day trade mission, said Japanese companies could take advantage of the eastern Sabah port as it was located in the trade path of the straits.
“We are alongside the Lombok-Makassar Straits shipping route, which is emerging as an important shipping route in South-East Asia.
“This makes the east coast of Sabah a prime location for a logistics hub that can tap into the growing number of ships plying the straits.
“This is the reason why the state government developed a new port facility at Lahad Datu POIC,” he said in his keynote address at a business seminar in Kobe which was attended by some 200 businessmen from 140 companies.
Shafie told the businessmen that Sabah also offers great potential in the fields of oil and gas, halal industry, palm oil, aquaculture, fisheries, seaweed as well as furniture making due to its timber resources.
He said with 1.5 million hectares of oil palm estates, Sabah produces six million tonnes of crude palm oil and 30 million tonnes of crude palm kernel oil per annum for the biomass industry, which was popular in Japan.
“The furniture industry is another area that we would like to see being developed further in Sabah. We have already banned the export of round logs in order to support the growth of the furniture industry.
“Malaysia currently exports furniture worth about RM10bil annually with most of it made from rubberwood. The volume is expected to reach RM12bil by next year, and Sabah would like to see its quality tropical timber being used for this furniture for export,” he said.
Later in a dialogue, Shafie assured Japanese investors of easy access to companies seeking to invest in Sabah by reducing red tape, provided the application follows the standard operating procedures.
This is Shafie’s first trip to Japan since becoming Chief Minister last year.
Among the highlights of his visit are engaging two major corporations in Japan which have shown interest to invest up to RM230mil in the state.
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