M’sia-China JV to produce hydrotreated vegetable oil, sustainable aviation fuel
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will soon produce its own hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) following joint venture cooperation between local companies and Chinese government-owned companies, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic).
The Prime Minister said the Federal Government would continue to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) in a bid to diversify agricommodity products with high added value.
“For palm products, companies owned by the Chinese government will collaborate with local Malaysian companies as well as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to produce hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Malaysia involving FDI worth RM6bil,” he said in his speech at the launching of Malaysia International Agricommodity Expo and Summit 2022 (Miaces) here on Tuesday (July 26).
Miaces is organised by the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry and its agencies.
According to Ismail Sabri, the joint venture was expected to produce more than 1,000 working opportunities.
“The establishment of the first HVO and SAF factories will be among the main initiatives to drive the country’s palm oil sector towards a high technology and value-added industry,” he said.
The company representing China will be Shanxi Construction Investment Group Co Ltd (SCIG) and the Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICC-CAS).
While for the Malaysian side, the government has identified Pengerang Maritime Industries Sdn Bhd (Benalec) and Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation (SOGDC) for the joint venture.
Ismail Sabri also pointed out that Malaysia’s agricommodity sector remains firm at RM31.6bil as of February this year despite several challenges including bad weather.
The Prime Minister said the value of commodity export increased by five per cent which was RM31.6bil, compared to the same period last year.
“Towards the end of last year, the sector also achieved an export value of RM270.2bil, which is an increase of 39.7% compared to the year before,” he said.