Your Local Partner in Sabah

Sabah Bumiputera Chamber of Commerce (SBCC) could be your local partner if you want to do business in Sabah, especially under the Sabah Development Corridor. You can check their website at www.dpbs.org for mor information.

Alamesra

Alamesra is located along Sulaman Coastal Highway, next to 1-BORNEO and UMS

Many shops and offices are still empty but the biggest botanical garden is located at Alamesra.

Parking is still FOC at Alamesr.

1-BORNEO

Visit 1-BORNEO when you next visit Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. They are 4 hotels there including Tune.Hotels.com, Novotel Hotel and Mecure Hotel

1-BORNEO is a self contained Shopping Mall that has a big enough area to hold an exhibition.

1-BORNEO is located along the Sulaman Coastal Highway next to UMS and Alamesra Shopping,Offices and Residential area. One of the most colorful Shopping Mall I had ever seen!

SINTEXT

SINTEXT is an integrated complex in Sandakan that is supposed to provide the immigration, custom and quarantine services in one place.

SINTEXT is a private sector initiative but SEDCO, the Sabah State Government Agency had been given some share to provide the local content.

Shipping, Trading including barter trading activities will be shifted to this place when completed.

Sabah Oil and Gas Terimal Kimanis

Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) had been launched by YAB Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

There had been some concern on the gas being supplied to Sarawak but PETRONAS is quick to say that we must have the critical mass first as the deposit is not very large.

We hope that the petrochemical industries will be started in Sabah as PETRONAS promised.

Visit Kota Kinabalu over the weekend

Try visiting Kota Kinabalu over the weekend and you have the chance to see an all Blind people's band playing your favorite oldies songs at the Sunday Tamu at Gaya Street. If you are the kind heart ed person you may also contribute if you like their songs. Honestly I don't like their songs. Pitching all over the place. Gaya Street Sunday Tamu is the most popular Street on Sundays. They sell almost everything there. Where else can one go in Kota Kinabalu on Sundays,if not Gaya Street?

What is POIC?

POI C is the short form of Palm Oil Industrial Cluster. POI C provides land and other facilities to investors, both local and foreign who are keen to set up industries based on palm oil. POI C is centrally locally in Lahad Datu to cater for the needs of BIMP-EAGA and the neighboring countries.

POI C has signed an MOU with Rotterdam Port, Holland as Rotterdam Port is second with regards to the importation of palm oil from Sabah.

Sabah contributes substantially to the 30% contribution of the total world supply of palm oil and second only to Indonesia.

POIC Lahad Datu

POIC gave a briefing of the status and progress of the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu. DPBS HOLDING SDN BHD was led by its Group MD and Director cum Deputy President of Sabah Bumiputera Chamber of Commerce as well as DPBS Research Officer, Mr Abdul Karim and BIMP-EAGA Specialist, Mr Jonathan Nair. DPBS had indicated its interest to be involved in POIC. With the palm oil prices dropping to below RM1,500.00 it would be good idea for investors to go down stream in the palm oil sector.

End of Year Program

There are a lot of end of year programs before Christmas. Many of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies would want to finish their annual allocations or show that they are doing something for the people. We are pampered with such events, not forgetting also the expositions and festivals. Are we being loaded with too much information or junks as some people may want to call them. Junks or not information is necessary for us to increase our knowledge power. We have Cabbage Festival, Bamboo Festival, Fisherman Festival, Bazaar, etc and etc. We welcome such events. Thank you very much.

Bamboo Festival at Tamparuli, Tuaran Sabah

Join us in the Festival of Bamboo and Bamboo products on November 26, 2008 at Tamparuli, Tuaran SABAH. Tamparuli is located about 30 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu, Town. It is a small town but famous for its ethnic Kadazan song of "Jembatan Tamparuli", a song sung by many Artists. The festival is at Dewan Tun Hamdan, the community centre in Tamparuli. There is going to be lots and lots of bamboo noises like the Simpoton, the musicial instrument from bamboo and gourd, flute and the hitting of the bamboo musical instruments like the Tagungak. This festival is being organized by the District Office of Tamparuli.

Promoting Bamboo

Sabah has lots and lots of Bamboo but products from Bamboo are not many. A factory in Tambunan in the Interior of Sabah produces Bamboo furniture and other bamboo products. This is the only factory that I know of that produces Bamboo products.

Villagers produces Bamboo handicrafts that helps them in their daily lives,like baskets, hats and products for fishing. More can be done to produce bamboo products like Chopsticks etc. This could be another activity for SDSI - Satu Daerah Satu Industri (One District One Industry).

Cabbages, Anyone?

Cabbage is an auspicious symbol in the Chinese feng shui. It symbolizes abundance. Pesta Kobis or Cabbage Festival is held at the foolhills of Mt Kinabalu from November 14-16,2008. Lots of programs to celebrate this festival. The festival is held in Kundasang, Ranau. It is about 2 hours journey by good road from the capital town of Kota Kinabalu. You may want to climb Mt Kinabalu before or after the festival. It is cool and refreshing in Kundasang and it is the place for temperate vegetables like cabbage. Jom lets us go to Kundasang!

Is the year of the Ox going to be good?

Is it true that business is going to be more difficult next year (2009) as a result of the 3F problems (fuel, food and finance)?

Whether it is going to be good or bad, we have to prepare to any eventualities. We must adjust our lifestyle. Food prices had increased. Oil palm prices had dropped. Crude oil prices had dropped. Our Ringgit had dropped compared to the USD.

If we study the Ox, they like to spend their time in a pool of mud, doing nothing, but just soaking their bodies. If the year is like this character then the year is going to be very challenging for all of us. How to get the Ox to go out then. Take out the water! The Ox will then have to look for the water.

Agriculture may be a good business as the Ox will have more to eat and we will have more to eat next year. This is more a feng shui philisophy for us to take heed in case we have nothing else to refer to for our direction in life.

The Year of Ox is going to be better for us if we can manage it properly and to our advantage.

Electricity Supply in Sabah

Electricity supply is one important factor that investors will consider when investing in another country. A country cannot have an irregular electricity supply as this will affect the factories and industries of the investors.

My house had been experiencing an irregular electricity supply. My house now had about 40% electricity supply. I had to sleep without the air condition and fax since yesterday (November 13). The supply is not yet back to normal today (14 November). My fridge cannot operate. My aquarium is affected. My computers cannot operate. I cannot cook in the kitchen. Is this the scenario that we want for investors to come to our place? I think not and I hope not. Therefore the authorities concerned must solve this electricity problem once and for all.

The hydro station had to be closed down because of floods and people are objecting the use of coal for IPP. They said use replaceable energy. What is replaceable energy anyway. anyway. Whatever it is, we must solve this elecricity problem if we want investors to come to Sabah to do business.