Malaysia, Indonesia record total trade of RM13.98 bln in Q1 2015

KUCHING: Malaysia and Indonesia recorded total trade amounting to RM13.98 billion in the first quarter of this year, said Indonesian Consul General to Sarawak, Jahar Gultom.

He said of the total amount, the oil and gas sector accounted for RM2.91 billion while non-oil and gas sector constituted RM11.07 billion.

He said this at a luncheon talk, entitled “Indonesia and Sarawak: Venturing into a New Level of Economic and Trade Collaboration” after the 64th annual general meeting of the Sarawak Chamber of Commerce and Industry here yesterday.

“In the same period, Indonesia’s exports to Malaysia totalled RM7.52 billion while imports from Malaysia amounted to RM6.46 billion,” he said.

Indonesia had also recorded approved investments amounting to US$2.35 billion from Malaysia during the same period.

“The Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board considered this as the biggest investment from Malaysia since 2010,” he added.

However, Jahar said it could still be maximised as this amounted to only about 28 per cent out of the US$16.14 billion which Malaysia planned to invest in Indonesia.

Malaysia’s investment in the republic were in five main sectors, he added.

The sectors are construction with US$1.37 billion investment; agriculture and plantation (US$1.29 billion); food and beverage industry (US$532.55 million); basic pharmaceutical and chemical industry (US$214.58 million) and

transportation and communication with US$142.65 million.

“The biggest investment is in Java with US$1.97 billion, followed by Kalimantan-Borneo with US$1.28 billion and Sumatra (US$780 million).

The others are in Sulawesi (US$39.4 million), Papua (US$12.5 million) and Bali-Nusa Tenggara with US$12 million.

Meanwhile, Jahar called on Malaysian businessmen to consider investing in various infrastructure projects which the Indonesian government under President Joko Widodo had decided to implement this year to facilitate and enhance the country’s economic growth. — Bernama