KUCHING (July 17): The Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) received an overwhelming number of trade enquiries during its participation in the recently held ASEAN-Italy Economic Relations High-Level Dialogue in Kuala Lumpur. STIDC general manager Datuk Hashim Bojet said delegates at the dialogue were keen to explore business opportunities in the wood-based and non-wood-based sectors in Sarawak during the business-to-business (B2B) meetings. “This (STIDC participation) is a strategic initiative that augured well with the (Sarawak) Forestry and Timber Industry Master Plan 2020-2030 and the state’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030,” he said in a statement Sunday (July 17). He said the master plan and PCDS 2030 aim to ensure Sarawak’s economic resilience and generate RM8 billion in export earnings from the wood-based sector by 2030. “Last year, 75 manufacturing projects worth US$363.8 million with Italian participation were implemented across Malaysia, creating 4,320 jobs for the locals,” he added.
