Shafie woos Japanese investors
Published on: Saturday, November 30, 2019
Shafie (second right) answering questions from Japanese investors at a seminar in Kobe, Japan. At right is Darell.
KOBE: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal began the first leg of his trade mission in Japan Friday addressing 200 investors and businessmen from 140 companies in Kobe, Japan by spelling out investment opportunities available in Sabah.He delivered a keynote address at a business seminar here and spent three hours explaining at length the many business potentials in Sabah due to its strategic location as a gateway for Japan to expand their trade to the Asean countries.ADVERTISEMENT
In particular, he said Sabah’s position alongside the increasingly favoured Lombok-Makassar Straits shipping route, ideally places it as a logistics hub for the region.
With new port facilities at the Lahad Datu Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC), Shafie said Japanese companies can take advantage of the port because it is located in the trade path of the Lombok-Makassar Straits.
“We lie along-side the Lombok-Makassar Straits shipping route, which is emerging as an important shipping route in Southeast Asia. This makes the east coast of Sabah a prime location to develop a logistics hub that can tap into the growing number of shipping traffic passing through the Lombok-Makassar Straits. This is the reason why the State Government has developed new port facilities at POIC Lahad Datu,” he said.
Also present were Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Darell Leiking while accompanying the Chief Minister are Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau who is also Minister of Trade and Industry, State Secretary Datuk Safar Untong as well as senior Sabah government officials.ADVERTISEMENT
Officers from federal government agencies included the Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, Datuk Azman Mahmud and CEO of the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation, Datuk Wan Latiff Wan Musa.
In addition to being a logistics hub, Shafie said Sabah is also renowned for its wealth of natural resources that offer great potential in the fields of oil and gas, halal industry, palm oil, aquaculture, fisheries, seaweed and even furniture making, due to its timber resources.
ADVERTISEMENT
With 1.5 million hectares of oil palm, he said Sabah produces six million tonnes of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and 30 million tonnes of Crude Palm Kernel Oil (CPKO) per annum for the biomass industry, which is popular in Japan.
During a Q & A session, Shafie assured the Japanese participants that the Sabah Government would provide easy access to any Japanese company seeking to invest in Sabah by reducing red tape provided the application is in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
“The furniture industry is yet 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.
“Sabah has some of the world’s oldest rainforests and our timber industry is being developed on a sustainable basis in compliance with global standards.
“Malaysia currently exports about 10 billion ringgit worth of furniture per year with most of it made from rubber wood. The export volume is expected to reach 12 billion ringgit per year by 2020, and Sabah would like to see its quality tropical timber being used for these furniture for export,” he said.
Some 200 Japanese investors and businessmen attended the Business Seminar Between Malaysia and Japan that featured Shafie and Darell as the panel for the question and answer session.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia