According to The Edge Markets and The Edge Financial Daily, the timber industry in Sarawak may need to work with foreign investments in order to advance its timber industry.
“At the moment, most of the players in the timber industry are based in Sarawak. They are mostly involved in the upstream segment but are now going towards the downstream segment for plywood and other timber products,” Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, said to at a press briefing on the 13th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), which will be held in Kuching, Sarawak, from the 21st to the 23rd of November 2017. “We would like to enhance the timber industry and our timber products. We may have to collaborate with other investors, especially from Japan, South Korea and China, which are the traditional buyers for the timber products.”
Sarawak is also looking to expand their furniture industry, which, despite bountiful timber resources, remains small. Awang Tengah stated that the state would need to begin with getting one renowned anchor company in order for the furniture industry to begin expanding.
Sources: The Edge Markets, The Edge Financial Daily
