Committee coordinating 11 investment proposals worth RM30 billion

KOTA KINABALU (July 9): The Sabah Industrial Investment Coordination Committee is actively coordinating 11 investment proposals with a total potential investment amounting to RM30 billion.

Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Phoong Jin Zhe revealed that aside from foreign investments, the Sabah government is committed this year to continuing to empower the committee to help coordinate various domestic investment projects.

He pointed out that attracting and successfully realizing investments are the results of the joint efforts of the Sabah Industrial Investment Coordination Committee to achieve the goal of making Sabah an industrial and investor-friendly state.

He mentioned that Invest Sabah Berhad (ISB), established under his ministry, acts as a one-stop center consolidating investment proposals from various industries.

He added that through ISB as a one-stop center, investors need only consult the agency without having to visit every government agency for investment matters. This initiative will make it easier and faster for investors to handle their investment processes in Sabah.

“At the same time, Invest Sabah will continue to introduce and promote Sabah as an investor-friendly investment destination, in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan. With our strengths and efficiency in investment coordination, I believe we not only successfully attract investments to Sabah but also achieve successful investment cases like Kibing Group and SK Nexilis,” he said in a written response to Kukusan assemblywoman Rina Jainal during the state assembly’s question-and-answer session, where she inquired about how the state government ensures the investment process is simple, fast and transparent, and whether there is a one-stop center or dedicated agency to assist foreign investors with official and approval matters.

Phoong noted that the Sabah government successfully secured investments from SK Nexilis Malaysia Sdn Bhd and China’s Kibing Group during a very encouraging period, reflecting the state government’s commitment to ensuring the investment process is simple, fast and transparent.

“Sabah’s journey to becoming an investor-friendly state began with the establishment of the Sabah Industrial Investment Coordination Committee under my ministry. The committee comprises members from state government agencies, the federal government, and local authorities, serving as a platform to coordinate and promote domestic and foreign investment affairs in Sabah,” said Phoong.

He also cited the example of the SK Nexilis Malaysia and Kibing Group factories, which were completed within just seven months, demonstrating that the committee’s existence has indeed successfully facilitated state investments and reduced bureaucratic red tape.

Both factories are now operational and producing their respective products.

Phoong further pointed out that when Korea’s Curix Sdn Bhd decided to invest in a copper granule manufacturing plant in the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP), it also illustrated the committee’s significant success in coordinating investments.

Phoong also revealed that according to the latest 2023 Malaysia Gross Domestic Product by State Report published by Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM), Sabah’s manufacturing sector grew by 4.4% in 2023, surpassing the national average growth of 0.8%, making it the highest manufacturing growth in the country for 2023.

The minister described this result as an indication of the initial achievements in Sabah’s industrial development.

“According to the report, although Sabah’s overall GDP grew by only 1.3% in 2023 compared to 2022, the significant growth in the manufacturing sector is noteworthy,” he said,

Phoong attributed this success to the government’s recent efforts in attracting investment and promoting industria development.

However, he acknowledged that this is just the beginning, and Sabah’s industrial development still faces variou challenges and difficulties.

He highlighted that Sabah’s manufacturing sector only accounts for 7.3% of the state’s GDP, which is much lower than other industrial states like Penang (46.5%), Kedah (29.2%), Johor (29.8%) and even Sarawak (26.5%).

Phoong stressed that Sabah has to double its efforts to advance industrial development and boost Sabah’s economy.

The industrial contribution to Sabah’s economy has never exceeded 10% in the past decades, resulting in Sabah being relatively underdeveloped and poor.

Phoong believes that with the recent successful attraction of significant foreign investments to Sabah, especially the SK Nexilis copper foil manufacturing plant investment of RM4.2 billion and the Kibing Group’s RM3 billion solar glass manufacturing project from China, which both commenced production this year and started exporting, the manufacturing sector is expected to grow further.

Additionally, he disclosed that according to the report, Sabah’s service sector GDP reached a new high, the highest in the past decade, with a total value of RM42.3 billion, accounting for half of Sabah’s GDP.

On the other hand, Phoong also revealed that although Sabah’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant 2015 prices have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, Sabah’s GDP per capita has recently surpassed the 30,000 ringgit mark, indicating a positive sign of economic recovery.

And Sabah’s GDP at current price actually increased compared to pre-Covid time.

He expressed regret that some assemblymen in the State Assembly have sensationalised the decrease in Sabah’s GDP per capita from 2022 to 2023 without presenting data from the past decade to reflect the objective facts.

Indeed, the per capita GDP in 2023 was 31,147, lower than the 35,860 recorded in 2022.

However, compared to the pre-pandemic figures of 25,368 in 2019 and 25,832 in 2018, there is a significant increase. And this even performed better than many states.

Given this, it significantly shows that despite facing various challenges and issues, Sabah’s economy is clearly recovering.

This is evidenced by the best industrial growth performance in 2023, the best service sector performance in a decade, and the per capita GDP exceeding the 30,000 mark for two consecutive years.

He mentioned that with the growth of Sabah’s industrial and service sectors, trade will become more active. He reiterated his opinion that the congestion issue at Sepanggar Port must be addressed and resolved immediately to avoid inflation, which would negatively hurt Sabah’s economic growth.

Phoong also said he would continue to voice the concerns of the industrial and business sectors to the Cabinet, urging the port management to address the congestion issues.