Industry & Retail

Manufacturing accounts for 27.4% of Sarawak’s economy and employs about 11.2% of the workforce. The sector is expected to grow 5% per annum until 2030. Endowed with forests and vast plantation resources that are at risk of being depleted in the long term, the state is aiming to transition its production base away from basic resources and commodities extraction into value-added manufacturing as part of Malaysia’s Vision 2020 mandate to attain high income status by the turn of the decade. With an abundant and cost-competitive energy mix, proximity to key Asian markets, and a proactive local government that offers attractive incentive packages to investors, Sarawak possesses the key ingredients to become a significant industrial player.

This chapter contains interviews with Paul Koon, Group CEO, Press Metal; Aaron Toh Chee Ching, Group Managing Director and CEO, Sarawak Cable Toh, Sarawak Cable Berhard; and Sarudu Hoklai, General Manager, Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation.