Malaysia: Mida okays RM2b RE investments

Malaysia: Mida okays RM2b RE investments

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) approved investments
totalling RM2.07 billion in renewable energy (RE) projects in the first
eight months this year, up from RM1.37 billion approved for the whole of
2015.

Deputy chief executive officer ll Datuk N Rajendran said that in 2014 total
investments of RM1.2 billion were approved for similar projects.

"German companies not only continue to invest in Malaysia, but more
importantly in quality projects while incorporating the latest technology
and high value added activities," he told a press conference on the
sidelines of the RE Symposium Decentralised Power Generation in Kuala Lumpur
on Tuesday.

The one-day symposium, which gathered Malaysian and German RE-related
industry players, was organised by the Malaysia-German Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (MGCC).

Its executive director Daniel Bernbeck said Germany RE companies are keen to
establish joint ventures with Malaysian companies for decentralised power
generation projects, especially in solar energy, hybrid system and
mini-hydro in rural Sabah and Sarawak.

He said the opportunities for such projects were tremendous, given the lack
of access to sustained electricity and people have to rely on diesel
generators as well as other forms of alternatives, including RE.

"There is demand from the industry to electrify rural areas that don't have
the grid as we cannot foresee the connection to it in the next five years,"
he added.

Rajendran urged Malaysian companies to seize the opportunity to expose their
capabilities in securing investments from these potential RE projects.

"We call on Malaysia companies to engage with Mida and MGCC to venture into
the RE space and form collaborations with German companies," he said.

He said this initiative would also help Malaysia achieve the target of
securing 11% of RE contributions to energy mix by 2020, against 0.69%
currently.

In 2015, Malaysia-German bilateral trade amounted to RM43.3 billion. As of
August this year, Mida had approved 562 manufacturing projects with German
participation that involved investments of RM41.02 billion with over 66,430
jobs created.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/11/29/mida-okays-rm2b-
re-investments-by-german-firms/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com