RM4.3 billion investments due, best days ahead
Published on: Monday, January 24, 2022
.jpg "RM4.3 billion investments due, best days ahead")
Hajiji (4th left) witnessing the signing of 3rd MOU between Yayasan Sabah and Pavilion Kota Kinabalu Sdn Bhd for the Pavilion Harbour City development.
The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) State Government is proving to be the right choice for reviving the State’s economy, and as in attracting more investments.This is evident from the signings of three more Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) totalling RM4.3 billion between the State Government, Yayasan Sabah and investors during the Sabah International Business and Economic Summit (Sibes) 2022 held from Jan 17-18.
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First was a MOU between the State Government through the Sabah Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and BorneoMed Sdn Bhd to develop an Integrated Herbal Plantation (SIHP), with an investment of RM350 million.
BorneoMed’s investments include commercial technologies such as planting materials, high density and high yield planting technologies, Internet of Things (IOT) systems, smart agricultural digitisation, commercial processing equipment, warehousing systems as well as other infrastructure and facilities.
The second MOU was between the State Government through the Sabah Ministry of Industrial Development (MID) and investors from China-SBH Kibing Solar New Materials (M) Sdn Bhd to develop a silica sand processing plant and produce solar panels with an initial investment value of RM2 billion.
This project would create 2,000 jobs, of which 80pc would be reserved for locals and the entire operation is expected to commence in 2024.
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The third MOU was between Yayasan Sabah and Pavilion Kota Kinabalu Sdn Bhd for the development of Pavilion Harbor City with a gross development value (GDV) of RM2 billion.
The development covers an area of 30 acres of sea-land adjacent to the Northeast border of SICC and would be completed within 10 years. Pavilion Harbour City includes residences, seaside restaurants, fishing markets, luxury hotels for accommodation, resorts and recreational activities.
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The number of employment opportunities during the development is estimated at about 1,000 people, while about 2,000 people will get employment opportunities after the development is completed.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor, who is also State Finance Minister, witnessed the signings.
Sabah created history when it achieved the highest ever state revenue surpassing RM5 billion last year.
Already, under the GRS State Government, Sabah secured RM4.4 billion worth of foreign investments as of June 2021, the third biggest in the country.
Hajiji said the State Government is confident Sabah would be an attractive destination for investment.
“I have stressed from the onset that we want to be investor-friendly and we will ease all hurdles to facilitate all investments,” he said urging investors and entrepreneurs to have a closer look at what Sabah has to offer now that the State is open for business.
Hajiji is also confident that Sabah’s economy would grow in tandem with Malaysia’s economy as the world reopens from two years of lockdowns forced by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Bank Negara expects the economy to grow between three and four per cent. The Ministry of Finance in its Economic Report 2022 expects the Malaysian economy to strengthen between 5.5pc and 6.5pc.
“In other words, Sabah’s best days are definitely ahead of us. Although our economy was affected by the pandemic, we are confident of a rebound in 2022,” said Hajiji.
“With the various initiatives implemented by the Government, the negative growth of various sectors in 2020 has shown positive growth in 2021. Therefore, Sabah’s economic growth in 2021 is expected to show a recovery trend and will grow slowly but at a positive rate of 3.8 per cent to 4 per cent,” he said.
The Chief Minister also said the Federal Government has been very receptive to Sabah’s development needs as evident in the 12th Malaysia Plan which has committed to enhance Sabah’s development as one of the nine main focuses.
“With Federal Government support and in a span of two weeks from December 7, 2021 the Commercial Collaboration Agreement (CCA) was signed between the State Government and Petronas which will give Sabah greater say, greater participation and greater revenue sharing in oil and gas related matters.
“Following this success, I launched the Sabah Gas Master Plan on Jan 4, thus paving the way for collaboration between the State Government and Petronas to guide investments in Sabah’s natural gas resources,” said Hajiji.
But overall, he said, the Malaysian economy declined by 5.4pc in 2020 when the Federal Government implemented strict movement control orders.
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