Sabah tops with RM12.7b investments under 10MP
Published on: Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: The manufacturing sector received a total investment of RM12.7 billion during the 10th Malaysia Plan period, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman (pic).For the first quarter of 2016 alone, he said, Sabah received a total investment of RM1.69 billion with 3,907 employment opportunities."This has placed Sabah at the top of the list of investment received in Malaysia," he said during Malaysia International Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (MICCI) Sabah Branch annual luncheon, here, Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT His speech was read by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.Musa added there is a vast potential for growth in the manufacturing sector in Sabah, especially in the production of value-added and high-end products in the palm oil and oil and gas sectors. "As part of the State Government's initiatives to promote this, the Government through the Industrial Development Ministry has adopted an integrated approach and established industrial clusters such as the Palm Oil Industrial Clusters in Lahad Datu and Sandakan as well as the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park."He also said the people should be aware that knowledge-intensive industries are driving the new economy in the globalisation era, backed by rapid progress in technology, changing lifestyles and the push for sustainable development."This convergence offers Sabah a rare opportunity to transform its economy, leveraging on the State's natural resources in a sustainable manner. "We recognise that Malaysia, and Sabah in particular, can no longer afford to attract investors merely by relying on cheap labour. "We need to shift towards an innovation-driven, service-based economy powered by the creativity and talents of our human capital.ADVERTISEMENT "Failure to shift towards the new economic model will bar us from making headway in national income growth in comparison to its real potential, and the nation may eventually lose its growth momentum and slide backwards," he said. He also disclosed that Sabah's economic fundamentals are still strong and remain on the right track.
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"The State's economy remains resilient and was less affected than what had been anticipated earlier."Despite the sharp fall in prices of crude petroleum, the export volume of crude petroleum however has increased by 45.3 per cent to reach RM10.4 billion in the first eight months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. "The State's economic growth for 2016 is projected to be moderate, around 3.5 to 4.5 per cent.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"Even though the rate of economic growth is somewhat slowing down in Asia and globally, the State's economic fundamentals still remain strong, due to our wealth of natural resources such as crude oil, palm oil and forest products that are still in great demand in the world market."The State's total external trade in 2015 was RM71 billion comprising RM40.8 billion in exports and RM30.2 billion in imports and the five largest export markets in 2015 were India (RM7.5 billion), China (RM3.5 billion), Australia (RM1.7 billion), Singapore (RM1.71 billion) and US (RM1.67 billion). And the five main sources of imports in the same year were Singapore (RM2.8 billion), China (RM2.53 billion), US (RM1.36 billion), Germany (RM304 million) and Australia (RM278.5 million).