KUCHING: Sarawak can contribute to Asean's economy by supplying power from its growing energy resources, says Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
The Premier said Sarawak expects to produce 10GW of power by 2030 and 15GW by 2035.
With the state's installed capacity at 5GW now, he said there is potential to export the excess to neighbouring countries.
"We plan to export energy to Sabah by next year. The Prime Minister has requested that the energy from Sabah be supplied to southern Philippines.
"In other words, we will supply power to Asean. That is our strength," he said at Affin Group's Chinese New Year celebration here on Monday (Feb 17) night.
Abang Johari also said it is important for Asean to strengthen its economy to face global uncertainties.
He said Asean has the advantages of a young population, a growing middle class and strong fundamentals.
"If Asean can collaborate, as a bloc we can respond to international economic trends.
In Sarawak, we feel that we can contribute to the strength in Asean because we have green energy," he added.
Meanwhile, Affin Bank Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah said the bank plans to increase its presence in Sarawak to 14 branches by July.
He said the bank currently has eight branches in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri, including two new branches recently opened in Kuching and Bintulu.
"Additionally, our loans in Sarawak have grown by 10% in 2024 with a total of RM3.2bil and we aim to achieve 12% growth for 2025," he said.
