Malaysia has opportunities to develop maritime economy

Malaysia has opportunities to develop maritime economy
03/02/2018 http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/malaysia-has-opportunities-to-develo...

Malaysia has the opportunities to further develop its maritime economy, with the support of numerous shipyards, ports and terminals, in addition to its prime geographic location.

Nazery Khalid, Honorary Secretary of the Association of Marine Industries Malaysia and Head of Planning & Development, Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation, said there were still opportunities for maritime players to tap into the ASEAN market with the ASEAN Free-Trade Area (AFTA) expanding into other regions such as the Middle East.

He said even though the maritime industry in Malaysia continued to be in rough waters owing to overcapacity and tight financing, opportunities were still aplenty.

“More players are also looking at building new vessels that are more energy efficient and environment friendly due to tighter environmental regulations in the shipping industry.

“With the government lending stronger support to the industry with the recent launch of the Malaysia Shipping Master Plan, the country is set to become a self-sufficient and internationally competitive nation, that can benefit players along the maritime industry supply chain,” he said in a statement.

Jackie Chieng, Director of Siong Ping Engineering Sdn Bhd, which will be exhibiting at the Asia-Pacific Maritime (APM) 2018, echoed a similar sentiment.

“We forecast that the deck machinery market for tugboats, barges and land crafts will slowly increase in 2018. For Malaysia, recovery in the maritime industry will be gradual but optimistic,” he said.

Dr Renco Wong, Executive Director of Gimhwak Enterprise Sdn Bhd, said many companies had adopted digital tools in their ships and businesses to track potential attacks and threats to reduce the risk of piracy raids.

“We also expect build orders to rise in 2018 to fulfill new regulations set by industry associations or the local government.

“At Gimhwak, we are also seeing a progressive demand for LNG carriers in the region as companies are preparing ahead of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulation on green shipping.

“As a shipowner and also a shipbuilder, our direction is to refocus on shipbuilding as the industry recovers, believe 2018 will be the start of the recovery of the maritime industry,” he added.

Besides discussing the outlook, opportunities and threats facing the global maritime industry in 2018, other issues such as maritime security, the future of LNG growth, and the ratification of the Ballast Water Management Convention by the IMO will also be discussed at this year’s APM Conference.

The 15th APM, Southeast Asia’s most established maritime, workboat and offshore exhibition and conference will present its strongest line-up of keynote and conference speakers when it takes place in Singapore from March 14 to 16, 2018.

Over 40 leaders and experts from across the global maritime industry will lead discussions on the major trends and issues shaping the maritime, workboat and offshore industries, while sharing their insights and forecast to help players forge the way forward.

“The strong presence of Malaysian companies exhibiting and the support from prominent Malaysian industry associations at the APM shows the event’s value in helping the industry discover new business opportunities and cement new partnerships,” said Yeow Hui Leng, Senior Project Director of APM.
Source: The Edge Market