EAST MALAYSIA TRADE TEAM LEAVES FOR OMAN, THE NETHERLANDS

KOTA KINABALU (Malaysia), Oct 26 (Bernama) -- A 20-member East Malaysia
Sabah-state trade delegation Monday left for Kuala Lumpur enroute to Oman and
The Netherlands, marking a major leap in the investment front.

Leading the delegation is Chief Minister Musa Aman who will
witness the signing of a framework agreement between the Port of Rotterdam
Authority (POR) and state–owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd which could lead to major
developments in the investment front.

Also in the delegation are Minister of Industrial Development Raymond
Tan, who is also POIC Sabah chairman, Rural Development Minister Dr Ewon
Ebin (former POIC Sabah chairman), POIC Sabah Chief Executive Officer Dr Pang
Teck Wai and Federation of Sabah Manufacturers President Wong Khen Thau,
Sabah businessmen and government officials.

The delegation will visit the Sohar Industrial Port Corporation’s port and
industrial complex in Oman, a Gulf state rich in petroleum and gas, said the
Chief Minister's Department in a statement Monday.

Established in 2002, the SIPC is a joint–venture between POR and Omani
government, and is POR’s first overseas venture.

The POR-POIC framework agreement is aimed at replicating the Sohar model in
Lahad Datu to hasten palm oil–based industrial development within the Lahad Datu
palm oil industral cluster.

POR will have roles in designing, developing and managing the POIC port at
Lahad Datu .

It will also use its extensive network influence (about 200 countries have
business establishments in Rotterdam) to bring in investors to Lahad Datu, the
statement said.

It said the framework agreement is the culmination of more than one year of
intensive study and negotiations between POR and POIC.

POR, Europe’s biggest port and one of the world ‘s biggest, wants to apply
its vast experience in port development and management to turn Lahad Datu into
an international maritime hub by leveraging on Lahad Datu’s importance in global
palm oil production and its strategic location in the resource-rich region of
BIMP-EAGA (Brunei–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East Asean Growth Area).

While in Oman, Musa will meet Omani Minister of Trade Maqbool bin Ali and
of SIPC CEO Jan Meijer.

In the Netherlands, the Chief Minister will meet POR CEO and board
members, Malaysian Ambassador to The Netherlands Dr Fauziah Mohd Taib and POR
investors who have expressed interest in POIC Lahad Datu.

Musa said he looked forward to the trip to witness the development in Sohar
and Rotterdam.

“ This visit signals the commitment of the state government to work with the
Port of Rotterdam towards a "win-win" initiative through
the signing of the JV Framework Agreement," he said.

He said the visit was of significance in terms of facilitating the
positioning of Lahad Datu Port as the “Rotterdam of the East".

" We expect very positive results from this visit, especially with the
Chief
Minister as the chief delegate," said Dr Pang of POIC Sabah.

" Our partners in Rotterdam have started to promote our investment
potentials, especially in POIC Lahad Datu, and the Chief Minister will get to
meet these potential investors."

POIC is developing the palm oil industrial cluster in Lahad Datu. About
460 hectares (1,150 acres) have been developed since 2005.

The state government has earmarked another 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres)
adjacent to the existing POIC Lahad Datu to be developed for oil palm biomass
industries.

" Now is the window of opportunity for the development of the biomass
industry because people around the world are talking about renewable energy
and sustainable development.

" We need the help of giant global organisations like Port of Rotterdam to
enable us to seize this window of opportunity’.

-- BERNAMA