• SME News
Sabah To Set Up Special Unit To Look After SMIs
KOTA KINABALU, March 8 (Bernama) -- The State Ministry of Industrial Development plans to establish a special unit within the ministry to look after the affairs of small and medium industries (SMIs) in Sabah.
Disclosing this Monday, its minister Datuk Raymond Tan said the unit would work closely with SME Corporation Malaysia which formulates policies and strategies for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
In addition, the ministry would also be setting up an SME Park in the state, Tan said at the annual media conference of the ministry and its Journalism Award. He said details of the park were currently being prepared but it would provide such facilities as an incubation centre and common user facilities, including packaging and grinding centres. On biomass, Tan said a study to formulate a biomass policy for Sabah would begin next month.
Biomass, especially from the oil palm or palm oil industries, have been found to be useful raw materials in generating energy as well as developing new industries.
"The issue of availability of supply and pricing is a problematic area and we need to address it by having a policy," he said. On the performance of Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco), one of the agencies under the ministry, Tan said the group managed to record a turnover of RM685.0 million for last year, up by 5.7 per cent over the forecast and 1.2 per cent higher than the 2008 turnover.
He said the main contributors to the group's turnover were Cement Industries (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, Perkasa Trading Sdn Bhd and Lahad Datu Flour Mill Sdn Bhd. On Sedco's plans, Tan said the group was conducting a study for the establishment of a deepwater oil and gas support services hub in Kudat.
The proposed project, he said, was aimed at supporting the upstream and downstream activities of the oil and gas industry. On development of the ministry-owned KKIP Sdn Bhd, Tan said for this year, 226 operational entities and factories were expected to generate an investment value of RM2.01 billion and provide jobs for 6,389.
He said from 2010 to 2012, a total of RM5.44 billion in investments, from local and foreign investors, was expected to flow in, providing employment for 1,850 workers. These investments, he added, were expected to range from biotechnology, silicon-based solar cells, to wood-based and rubber-based manufacturing.
On the manufacturing sector outlook for this year, Tan said the state's economy was expected to remain stable, supported and driven by the implementation of public-funded projects in full gear.
The minister later presented prizes to winners of the ministry's Journalism Award 2009. Daily Express senior reporter Mary Chin was the winner in the English category while Bong Tze Phin of Overseas Chinese Daily News took the top prize in the Mandarin category. -- BERNAMA
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