KUALA LUMPUR: The government will continue to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) to diversify high-value agri-commodity products, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said Chinese government-owned companies would be working with local companies and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to produce hydro treated vegetable oil and sustainable aviation fuel involving FDI value of RM6 billion.
"Companies from China (involved) are Shanxi Construction Investment Group Co. Ltd. (SCIG) and Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICC-CAS), while the Malaysian companies are Pengerang Maritime Industries Sdn Bhd (Benalec) and Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation (SOGDC).
"The collaboration will see 1,000 new jobs created," he said while launching MIACES at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre today.
The construction of the first HVO and SAF factories in the country is one of the initiatives to drive the palm oil sector towards being a high-tech and high-valued industry.