Cheng.
KOTA KINABALU: The Lion Group is prepared to invest more than RM100 million in Sabah, particularly in the agriculture, aquaculture and mining industries.
Group executive chairman Tan Sri William Cheng paid a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Apdal here yesterday to explore the investment opportunities in the state.
He said the company is seeking a suitable site to set up a hatchery farm to cultivate high-value aquaculture products, such as lobsters and white shrimp, with its eyes on the export market.
“If the model is successful, we shall duplicate it to benefit the locals,” he said to reporters after the visit.
Cheng said the company’s South American white shrimp hatchery has been successful in West Malaysia and the products are mainly exported to China and Japan.
“That is why we want to explore the opportunity here because Sabah’s seawater is less polluted and thus very conducive for aquaculture.”
He said the fact that a United States-based company has invested billions of ringgit on lobster farming in Sabah proves the good quality of seawater here.
He said Shafie had welcomed the company’s interest to invest in Sabah and has referred them to meet with the Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Junz Wong.
Apart from agriculture and aquaculture, Cheng said Lion Group is also exploring mining opportunities in Sabah.
“In Malaysia, we are one of the biggest open-cast tin mining operators.
“And for the last six years, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) from mining activities has been on a decline, except for one year,” he said.
Hence, Cheng said the company is keen to explore mining opportunities in other states, especially Sabah and Sarawak.
When asked on the estimated investment value, he said the company is still at exploration stage to identify suitable areas for its projects.
“But in general, the projects are estimated to be more than RM100 million.”
He also attributed Shafie’s aggressiveness in wooing investors and speedy approval of development projects as reasons for the company’s interest to invest in Sabah.
Lion Group had taken over the Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd (SFI) when the previously state-owned pulp and paper operation was privatized in 1994, and later disposed its entire stake in SFI to Ballapur Industries Limited (BILT).
The group also operates two Parkson department stores in Kota Kinabalu and a Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) plant in Labuan.