03/06/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | JUNE 3, 2025

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Petronas ramps up LNG projects to supply China

Snowflake sees Malaysia as priority market PETALING JAYA: Snowflake, a global cloud computing company, views Malaysia as one of its top priority markets and among the most important economies in Asean for expanding operations, especially amid rising interest from the world’s top companies looking to invest in open data and data centres in the country. The US-based company, founded in 2012, powers the Data Cloud – a platform that enables organisations to unify, manage and analyse data with high performance and scalability across multiple cloud providers. Snowflake Asean managing director Satchit Joglekar said there has been significant investment from data centre providers and hyperscalers, with AWS and other large players having announced or launched local infrastructure and capabilities in Malaysia. “Malaysia is absolutely our top priority right now for investment and expansion. We are closely monitoring this (development) and will continue to support our Malaysian customers even better by working closely with our cloud partners like AWS. “Our intent is to continue investing more, not just in people, but also in our ability to provide local technological support. We are also ensuring robust investment in our partner ecosystem, which is critical for the success of our local customers across Asean, and particularly in Malaysia,” he told Bernama in a video conference recently, ahead of the Snowflake Summit 2025 to be held in San Francisco. Satchit said Snowflake is not only looking to strengthen its local presence and talent in the country, but is also investing heavily in upskilling its local partners in Malaysia, including regional, local, Asean-wide, and global system integrators with a strong Malaysian presence. Since 2021, Malaysia has approved RM278 billion in digital investments, with RM184.7 billion recorded from data centre and cloud related projects. The country’s data centre market is projected to rise to US$13.57 billion (RM57.7 billion) by 2030 from US$4.04 billion in 2024, driven by a 22.38% annual growth rate, according to data provided by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority. Malaysia also made history by clinching the top spot in the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) 2024/25 rankings, with an overall score of 90 and an exceptional 99 in data openness, surpassing 198 countries and leaping significantly from 67th in the 2022/23 assessment. “In the last 18 months, we (Snowflake) have made significant investments in Malaysia and Thailand. So now, looking at the last two or three years, our operations are no longer solely based in Singapore; we are expanding our teams across the five major economies – Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. “As our market opportunity has grown, moving beyond just a data warehouse to a unified data platform and an artificial intelligence Data Cloud, we are expanding our presence to ensure all major Asean economies are covered with a local Snowflake presence,” said Satchit, who has over 18 years of experience in big data, cloud, and cybersecurity. Satchit said that of the hundreds of customers across the region, almost half are now outside Singapore, with a strong balance across the Asean region and sectors including financial services, telecommunications, and retail. “For example, in Indonesia, we have a very good recent case study with XL Axiata, one of the largest telcos, where we helped them achieve data-driven transformation from their legacy on-premise infrastructure to cloud, resulting in significant cost savings and accelerated data and analytics reporting. “Similarly, we have great customer stories not only from Singapore but across all major economies and sectors.” – Bernama

Tiger Clean Energy,” Shamsairi said. At the Bintulu complex, Petronas is upgrading infrastructure by electrifying plants and phasing out older, less efficient gas turbines. “From mid-2026, the Petronas LNG Complex will gradually be powered by green electricity, allowing us to retire inefficient turbines,” he said. Offshore, Petronas’ Floating LNG (FLNG) facilities – PFLNG Satu and PFLNG Dua – demonstrate sustainable production capabilities, enabling offshore LNG output without large-scale land development. A third FLNG unit is under construction in South Korea and is expected to be commissioned in 2027, with a design capacity of 2.1 million tonnes per year. Looking ahead, Petronas also plans to invest in dual-fuel vessels and explore innovations such as liquefied CO Œ and ammonia carriers in anticipation of future energy transport demands. “With our diverse global portfolio and tailored offerings, Petronas is well-positioned to meet varying market needs across short-, medium- and long-term demand,” said Shamsairi. He advocates a balanced market strategy, combining long-term contracts for stability with short-term agreements to handle demand fluctuations, noting a gradual shift in supply terms over the years. “Despite growing demand for renewables, hydrocarbons still play a key role in meeting global energy needs, accounting for 80% today and projected to provide about 30% of supply even by 2050,” he said.

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is accelerating efforts to strengthen its position as a reliable long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) partner to China by expanding domestic gas development and its global production portfolio, aimed at ensuring consistent and sustainable energy supply for one of the world’s largest LNG importers. Petronas LNG Marketing & Trading, Gas & Maritime Business vice-president Shamsairi Ibrahim said the company is building a global production network to provide alternative supply sources for China’s growing LNG demand. “These projects include new domestic gas fields such as Timi, Kasawari and Jerun, while continuing development of Rosmari and Marjoram to ensure long-term supply from our LNG complex,” he told Bernama in conjunction with the World Gas Conference 2025 in Beijing. Shamsairi said this comes as China’s LNG imports surged to around 77 million tonnes in 2024, up 8.1% from the previous year, driven by economic recovery and infrastructure expansion. Looking ahead, China’s imports are expected to exceed 83 million tonnes in 2025, surpassing the previous record of 79 million tonnes set in 2021. He said Petronas remains committed to reinforcing its presence in China and improving supply reliability in support of China’s dual energy goals, security and decarbonisation. o Oil major well-positioned to meet market needs KUALA LUMPUR: Senheng New Retail Bhd continued to future-proof its revenue streams amidst challenging consumer sentiment in the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 (1Q25), leveraging its ecosystem of over four million PlusOne loyalty members and enhancing its omnichannel retail network and digital penetration during this period. The group recorded revenue of RM277.0 million and net profit of RM4.5 million in 1Q25, compared to RM322.0 million in revenue and RM6.2 million in net profit in the previous corresponding quarter (1Q24), reflecting a normalisation from the exceptional demand surge seen during 2020-2021. Meanwhile, Senheng’s online sales contribution is reflecting successful digital penetration and engagement through new media channels. This digital drive is further fueled by actively utilising new media and growing its presence across various social media platforms, enhancing brand awareness among diverse consumer segments. The group is actively implementing its Senheng’s“Flywheel 1.0”strategic blueprint – a comprehensive framework unveiled earlier in 2025. Executive chairman, Lim Kim Hen said that driven by the blueprint, the company is enhancing its operations for greater experiences across every touchpoint – from optimising the physical store network for immersive shopping to leveraging digital platforms and AI for seamless online engagement. Senheng’s ongoing omnichannel network

“Currently, Petronas accounts for around 10% of China’s LNG imports,” he said, noting that the company exported about eight million tonnes per annum to China in 2024. As part of its long-term strategy, Petronas is leveraging its liquefaction capabilities at the Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu while expanding international projects to increase supply flexibility and resilience against market and geopolitical shifts. “Internationally, we are expanding supply nodes from North America, especially with our first cargo from LNG Canada expected in mid-June 2025,” said Shamsairi. The LNG Canada project will offer Petronas more flexibility in supplying the Asia-Pacific region, including China, while optimising Pacific routes and reducing reliance on any single source. Beyond upstream and liquefaction, Petronas is enhancing its LNG shipping and delivery infrastructure to meet evolving demands, including marine, inland and off-grid applications. “We’ve added three new vessels to support deliveries to Shenergy’s Wuhaogou terminal in Shanghai. “We’re also providing an LNG Virtual Pipeline System (VPS) for the Yangtze River and introducing LNG bunkering for marine transport,” he said. Petronas is expanding its fleet with energy-efficient LNG carriers, with four currently under construction at the Hudong Zhonghua shipyard in China. The VPS system, which uses ISO tank containers, delivers LNG to off-grid customers across Peninsular Malaysia, enabling cleaner energy access for remote areas lacking natural gas infrastructure. “We have started large-scale LNG ISO tank deliveries from Bintulu to inland China via

He added that demand is driven by rapidly growing Asia-Pacific markets, where rising energy needs mean renewables alone may not meet baseload demand in the near term. – Bernama Senheng bolsters market share with omnichannel retail optimisation

Senheng is optimising its physical stores for immersive shopping. optimisation involves continued review of operational performance of outlets, with a strong focus on driving improvements,

implementing strategies and promotions to boost store productivity, and enhancing overall efficiency across all locations.