A high-level ministerial delegation from Sarawak, Malaysia, is in the city for the third time, inviting investments in the areas of biotechnology, oil palm, halal food, ship building, electronic and high-tech sectors.
The 70-member Sarawak investment and timber selling mission to India is led by Second Minister for Resource Planning and Environment Sarawak, Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, and consists of assistant ministers, senior government officials and representatives of the private sector.
Talking to reporters, Assistant Minister of Environment and Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department, Haji Len Talif Salleh said: “Increasing bilateral trade volume between the two countries is a two-way street. We are trying to attract investments from Tamil Nadu in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) and to sell our products such as plywood, finished and semi-finished timber.
“India is an important market for us as it imports about 60 per cent of logs. Within India, Tamil Nadu is the biggest market. Our team members will visit local industries and hold individual business meetings with the captains of the industries.”
While extending a helping hand to Indian investors, he said SCORE was attracting huge investments in the energy intensive industries such as aluminium smelting, poly silicon, metal silicon and ferroalloys and offered opportunities in halal food, ecotourism, oil palm, wood, petrochemical and biotech industries.
Tanjung Manis Halal hub offered an ideal investment destination for feed milling and fertiliser, bio-tech, aquaculture, food processing, fruits and vegetables and horticulture.
In 2011, Sarawak exported timber and timber products valued at $377 million, to India, accounting for 16 per cent of the overall timber export value. The list was dominated by logs followed by particle board, plywood and medium density fibreboard. Small quantity items were sawn timber, dowels, mouldings and core plugs.
From January to November 2011, Sarawak's export to India was $1.72 billion, marking an increase of 59.6 per cent over the corresponding period last year. However, there was slight dip in log exports in 2011 due to change in climate during December and worldwide slowdown, he said.
During their five-day tour, the team members will explore investment and business opportunities in Chennai and Mumbai.
MoU signed
A memorandum of understanding was signed between Sarawak Timber Association and Chennai Timber and Plywood Merchant's Association (importers wing) to promote encourage and facilitate collaboration, business networking and interconnection between members.
