Industry & Retail
From The Report: Sarawak 2015
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Manufacturing accounts for 27.4% of Sarawak’s economy and employs about 11.2% of the workforce. The sector is expected to grow 5% per annum until 2030. Endowed with forests and vast plantation resources that are at risk of being depleted in the long term, the state is aiming to transition its production base away from basic resources and commodities extraction into value-added manufacturing as part of Malaysia’s Vision 2020 mandate to attain high income status by the turn of the decade. With an abundant and cost-competitive energy mix, proximity to key Asian markets, and a proactive local government that offers attractive incentive packages to investors, Sarawak possesses the key ingredients to become a significant industrial player.

This chapter contains interviews with Paul Koon, Group CEO, Press Metal; Aaron Toh Chee Ching, Group Managing Director and CEO, Sarawak Cable Toh, Sarawak Cable Berhard; and Sarudu Hoklai, General Manager, Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation. 

 

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Sarawak develops more value-added industries
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Manufacturing accounts for 27.4% of Sarawak’s economy and employs about 11.2% of the total workforce, a contribution that based on current trends and future development priorities is expected to expand significantly. In 2013, the value of approved manufacturing investment into Sarawak rose by 75% to RM8.3bn ($2.5bn) compared to the RM4.7bn ($1.4bn) recorded the year prior. According to the state Ministry of Finance, the manufacturing sector is expected to grow at 5% per annum up until 2030. Endowed…

Interview

OBG talks to Paul Koon, Group CEO, Press Metal
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Interview:Paul Koon How are industry players scaling up production to meet demand, and what competitive advantages does Sarawak hold for heavy industries? PAUL KOON: The aluminium industry is quite unique in that you cannot simply increase capacity at will, but rather need a corresponding power supply in order to scale up. This power can only come from a few sources. Coal is one option, though it is not favoured due to its longterm insecurity and vulnerability to price fluctuations. The only…

Analysis

Heavy industry is set to be a major player in the state’s future
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As Malaysia’s largest state, making up around 40% of the country’s total land mass, Sarawak stretches over an area of 124,449 sq km and occupies 320 km of coastline, endowing it with large plots of land that can be allocated for industrial development with import and export facilities. The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) is one of five regional development corridors taking place throughout Malaysia. Within SCORE there are five designated new growth nodes, each adopting a…

Interview

OBG talks to Aaron Toh Chee Ching, Group Managing Director and CEO, Sarawak Cable Toh, Sarawak Cable Berhad
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Interview:Aaron Toh Chee Ching What kind of precedent does Sarawak Energy’s deal to export electricity to West Kalimantan set for other Sarawakian companies? AARON TOH CHEE CHANG: Sarawak Energy’s initiative to export electricity across our border with Indonesia will benefit local Sarawakian companies. Sarawak Cable Berhad’s core business activities, for example, include the construction of transmission lines for power distribution, enabling us to gain a foothold in this international…

Interview

OBG talks to Sarudu Hoklai, General Manager, Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC)
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Interview:Sarudu Hoklai How do you assess the current global demand for timber? Has the market recovered from the downturn caused by China’s reduced imports? SARUDU HOKLAI: The timber industry has diversified its markets to countries and regions including Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, South-east Asia and the Middle East. As a result, the weak demand in China has not necessarily adversely affected the demand for Sarawak’s timber product. In addition, promotional activity is continuously…

Analysis

Sarawak state government hopes to relocate the marine engineering industry to a new township at Tanjung Manis
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The new township of Tanjung Manis, occupying a central location within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) and possessing a natural deep-water port, is earmarked for development as a strategic hub for the state’s timber, palm oil and halal food processing industries, as well as to become the new base for the marine engineering industry. The state-owned Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) has been tasked with overseeing the growth of the node and the firm…

Overview

Sarawak’s supply of retail space expanding rapidly
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During the 1980s, when the state’s income per capita was as low as RM700 ($213) and the poverty rate hovered around 60%, modern shopping complexes in Sarawak were few and far between, and those in existence confined to the main cities of Kuching and Sibu. In the decades that have followed, Sarawak has undergone an economic renaissance and by 2013 per capita GDP had expanded to reach RM40,000 ($12,170), while the poverty rate was reduced dramatically to below 3%. The economic upswing saw…