Sarawak Economy to Grow by 500% by 2030

KUCHING, Sarawak, Malaysia, January 25, 2011 - Sarawak's economy will grow more than 500% in the next 20 years by 2030,
as more business opportunities in manufacturing, construction and services
are taken up by investors in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy
(SCORE). As a result, jobs will more than double from 949,100 in 2009 to 2.5
million by 2030.

SCORE is one of the five regional development corridors throughout
Malaysia and will transform Sarawak into a developed state by the year 2020.
It aims to accelerate the state's economic growth, as well as improve the
quality of life for the people of Sarawak.

Overseas interest is key to the development of SCORE with investment now
totalling about US$30 billion in the aluminium, the polysilicon, and
minerals-based industries as well as agriculture including aquaculture and
the halal hub. In addition Chinese investors have recently pledged US$11
billion and Arab investors US$7 billion in the energy and aluminium clusters.

Focusing on five major growth nodes, Tanjung Manis, Samalaju, Mukah,
Baram and Tunoh, SCORE singles out 10 key industries for development. These
are tourism, oil, aluminium, metals, glass, fishing, aquaculture, livestock,
forestry, ship building and palm oil. Investors are being drawn to the region
because it is rich in energy resources, with an energy potential of 28,000 MW
of which 20,000 MW are in hydropower and 5,000 MW in coal-fired plants and
the remaining 3,000 MW in other energy sources including biofuel. This allows
Sarawak to price its energy competitively and encourage investments in power
generation and energy-intensive industries that will stimulate strong
industrial development in the corridor.

SCORE is developing a vast area that stretches 320 kilometres along
Sarawak's coast from Tanjung Manis to Samalaju and extends all the way into
the extensive and remote hinterlands where two rural growth nodes, Baram and
Tunoh, will also be developed. Furthermore, in order to connect urban centres
across thecentral region with the rest of Sarawak, new roads will be created
to provide more efficient transport of goods, access to resources and human
capital.

Sarawak's industrial sector is currently undergoing a transformation and
the opportunities for investment are immense. Value-added industries are
taking an increasingly dominant role in the development of the state and the
days when Sarawak exported raw materials that were finished elsewhere are
long over, with the new clusters set to put "Made in Sarawak" stamps on more
goods and services in the years to come.

Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud said:

"SCORE represents one of the most important steps we are undertaking in
collaboration with the Federal Government regarding Sarawak's future. SCORE
is positioning Sarawak as a major economic player on the world scene,
particularly in the fields of heavy industry and energy."

Press Office, Email: media at sarawaknet.gov.my, Phone: +60138269132