KUCHING, Dec 24: Green Pellet (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan’s Kanematsu Corporation to pursue negotiation on both short- and long-term contracts for the supply of wood pellets to the Japanese market.
The collaboration between Sarawak and Japan was sealed through the MoU signing ceremony, which was witnessed by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan in Tokyo, Japan, yesterday (Dec 23).
According to a media release today, Kanematsu Corporation is also considering purchasing wood pellets from Sarawak on a long-term basis to supply to their customers in Japan.
The long-term contracts tenure of between 10 and 15 years, Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of International Trade, Industry and Investment (Mintred), said, will benefit not only the pellet industry but also the planted forest industry in Sarawak.
On the MoU, he added that it is one of the initiatives to be implemented to support the Post-Covid Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 aspiration to spur Sarawak’s economic growth through the green economy such as carbon trading, hydrogen production, hydropower generation, and biomass pellet production.
Green Pellet (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary of Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) that produces eco-friendly wood pellets from wood waste and logs from planted forests to produce high-quality pellets for industrial fuel.
In line with STIDC’s green initiative and slogan that ‘nothing should go to waste’, their main markets are Korea and Japan.
Kanematsu Corporation, on the other hand, engages in the business of commercial products trading, production of traded goods, investment and others.
The MoU was signed by Green Pallet (Sarawak) Bhd chairman cum STIDC general manager Datu Hashim Bojet while Kanematsu Corporation was represented by its Energy Division general manager Koji Nozaki.
Deputy Minister of International Trade, Industry and Investment Datuk Malcolm Mussen Lamoh, Mintred advisor Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development permanent secretary Datu Sr Zaidi Mahdi, Mintred acting permanent secretary Dzulkornain Masron, Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) chief executive officer (CEO) Datu Ismawi Ismuni, Land and Survey Department director Datu Abdullah Julaihi, Mintred special function officer Datu Liaw Soon Eng, Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) senior vice president (Corporate Strategy) Abang Arabi Abang Narudin and Recoda Investment Promotion director Lester Matthew were present. — DayakDaily
