Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is now attracting more than RM60 billion in investments, a significant turnaround from the economic challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, said retired banker and Sabah Economic Advisory Council (SEAC) and Institute for Development Studies (IDS) adviser Datuk John Lo.
Lo credited the achievement largely to investor-friendly policies introduced by the State Government under Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor since taking office in 2020.
Speaking on Daily Express ‘Sabah Matters’ podcast, he said Sabah had emerged from a difficult economic period marked by weak investment activity, negative growth and declining state finances.
“Hajiji inherited a government that had been ravaged by Covid-19.
“At that time, investment was virtually zero, economic growth was negative and the state treasury was running low,” he said.
According to Lo, one of the State Government’s first priorities was strengthening Sabah’s revenue base and creating a business environment capable of attracting investors.
“What Hajiji has done, on the advice of the Sabah Economic Advisory Council, was to implement investor-friendly policies.
“I believe very strongly that one of the most important economic tools a government has is the ability to make policies. If it is a good policy, the economy will move,” he said.
Lo said investment inflows initially started slowly before gaining momentum in both scale and intensity over the past few years.
“My own estimate is that the total investments, including those already implemented, approved, and those under negotiation or at the intention stage, now exceed RM60 billion.
“Considering the timeframe, this is very substantial,” he said.
He noted that the increase in investments has contributed to a sharp rise in State revenue, which grew from about RM4 billion when Hajiji took office to nearly RM8 billion by the end of the administration’s first term.
Lo identified the oil and gas sector as one of the key drivers of Sabah’s economic growth.
He said efforts by the State Government to secure greater participation in the industry, including regaining certain oil and gas rights and establishing collaboration arrangements with Petronas, had created new opportunities for local companies.
According to him, about 80 Sabah-based companies are already participating in the oil and gas supply chain under programmes involving Petronas, with the number expected to exceed 100.
“This has never happened before. We never had Sabah companies participating in oil and gas on this scale,” he said.
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