TUESDAY-4TH DECEMBER 2007-EXPO TO HELP BOOST AGRICULTURE, TOURISM AND MANUFACTURING SECTORS

Expo to help boost agriculture, tourism and manufacturing sectors
KOTA KINABALU:
The Sabah International Expo (STE 2008) will help boost development in the State’s agriculture, tourism and manufacturing sectors, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Scheduled to be held in August next year, the SIE 2008 will be the biggest ever held so far with 300 exhibition booths made available for participants from more than 30 countries. With such a large participation from multi-national companies, Musa said the expo would be a great venue for promoting Sabah as a new investment centre in the region. “The expo is in tandem with our efforts to promote the vast opportunities available in our State to foreign investors. “Sabah has 1.2 million hectares of oil palm plantation and is the biggest palm oil producer in the country, offering a lot of opportunities to be explored, especially in the downstream industry,” said Musa at the launching ceremony of the expo which was held at Le Meridien Hotel here yesterday. The expo to be jointly organised by Federation of Sabah Manufacturers (FSM) and the Malaysia Chambers of Commerce and Industries, will be held at One Borneo complex, which is expected to be fully completed and operational by next year. The event also saw Musa witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the organizer with commerce chambers from China, Singapore and Philippines for the booking of 150 exhibition booths at the expo. Meanwhile, Musa said efforts to develop the State’s agriculture, tourism and manufacturing sectors would be further strengthened with the implementation of the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) which is expected to be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi this month. Fuelled by the enormous RM2.303 billion budget this year, the launching of the SDC and various other development projects in Sabah under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) this year would stimulate the State’s economy growth, he said. “At the same time, STE 2008 would open opportunities to more foreign companies and investors to expand their businesses to Sabah,” he added. In this regard, Musa urged all Government departments and agencies to strengthen their collaboration with the private sector towards realizing the State’s development agenda. He said while foreign investors were very keen on exploring the business opportunities available in Sabah, strong support from all parties is vital in order to attract more companies and investors to the State. Meanwhile, FSM president cum STE 2008 organizing chairman Datuk Wong Khen Thau said they are expecting to double the sales from the previous STE to RM15 million next year. He said 12 countries have confirmed their participation so far and participants are being short-listed with priority being given to the high- tech sector.