Sarawak

Concerns in Sarawak over a short-term decline in the price of crude palm oil (CPO), exacerbated by an increase in local production, are being eased by the prospects of CPO being used in national and international biofuel initiatives. However, doubts have been raised over the impact the programmes will have on the region’s vital CPO industry.

Sarawak is investing heavily in improved transport links as energy and investment projects crucial to national development get into gear. However, plans for a statewide railway connection have stalled over viability concerns.

Sarawak’s economy thrived in 2011, with record inflows of investment and a revving of the state’s growth engines sparked by projects such as the Bakun Dam and the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).