12/08/2025

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TUESDAY | AUG 12, 2025

Malaysian timber exports resilient in face of headwinds

Petronas reviewing upstream portfolio amid challenging oil and gas landscape KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is undertaking a strategic review of its upstream portfolio to strengthen its competitiveness and sustainability over the next decade, as the global oil and gas (O&G) industry is facing mounting geopolitical, technological, and policy-related pressures. During a briefing for editors yesterday, Petronas upstream business executive vice president and CEO Mohd Jukris Abdul Wahab emphasised the need for agility and foresight as the company navigates a fast-evolving energy landscape. “We have to be cognisant of what is happening around us, namely geopolitics, jurisdictional changes, shifting policies, and global conflicts that influence energy markets. “The future is going to be very complex and challenging. We need to ask ourselves how we want to position Petronas by 2035,” he said. Mohd Jukris highlighted that Petronas has consistently delivered strong results over the past five decades, evolving from a fledgling national company into a respected inter national player. He noted that while Petronas remains a national oil company, it behaves and competes like an international oil company (IOC), both in terms of operational execution and commercial acumen. “We have come a long way and can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other IOCs. But to stay relevant, we must continue to review and reshape our portfolio, like other major players in the industry,” he said. Key to this strategy is capital efficiency, technological deployment, and maximising operational effectiveness, all while staying aligned with national aspirations and main taining value creation for stakeholders. The company is also closely monitoring emerging trends such as artificial intelligence, workforce evolution and sustainable development to shape its future investments. Mohd Jukris said the group’s focus goes beyond production to include the entire value chain – from discovery and development to delivery. “The question is how can we do this better, faster, and more competitively.” As Petronas plans its future trajectory, the upstream division is expected to play a crucial role in building resilience and unlocking long-term value across its global portfolio. Meanwhile, Petronas is very keen to expand its presence in Canada as the country is now one of its major liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers, said Mohd Jukris.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s timber exports continue to show resilience, achieving a total value of RM9.03 billion from January to May this year despite headwinds such as the United States’ imposition of tariffs, a slowdown in the global economy and other external challenges. Plantation and Commodities Deputy Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said the main export products during this period were wooden furniture worth RM3.9 billion, plywood RM933.8 million, sawn timber RM797.8 million, builders’ joinery and carpentry RM560.5 million, and mouldings RM382 million. “Nevertheless, the industry continues to strive for better results despite the challenges faced, to maintain the competitiveness of Malaysia’s timber exports,” he said at a Timber Exporters’ Association of Malaysia (TEAM) anniversary event, which drew over 400 attendees, including representatives from government agencies, industry councils, international buyers and trade partners. Chan acknowledged the industry’s concerns over the European Union Deforestation Regu lation (EUDR), which demands a high level of supply chain transparency and verification. In response, he said that the ministry is working closely with relevant agencies to ensure full compliance throughout the entire timber value chain, with a strong focus on traceability, transparency and legality. The ministry has also been engaging with industry stakeholders, including TEAM, on other developments such as the proposed listing of the Shorea species under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. “While this listing poses compliance and operational challenges, it also presents an opportunity for Malaysia to reinforce its position as a leader in sustainable and verified timber production,” Chan said. o Govt engaging with stakeholders to ensure transparency and sustainability throughout industry’s value chain

From left: Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB) chairman Datuk Larry Sng, Chua, Chan, Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia directory-general Datuk Zahari Ibrahim and MTIB director-general Saiful Bahri Salleh.

formation and evolving consumer lifestyles. “Through the National Agricommodity Policy 2021–2030, we are addressing these challenges via five key thrusts – sustainability, productivity, value creation, market development and inclusivity.” Chan emphasised that global consumers now place strong emphasis on environmentally responsible products, adding that Malaysian manufacturers are already at the forefront of sustainable practices, backed by internationally recognised certification such as the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). MTCS is the first tropical timber certi fication in the Asia-Pacific to be endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the world’s largest forest certification system. “As we move forward, let us continue to strengthen the industry’s credibility through initiatives such as the Malaysian Timber Legality Assurance System, the development of traceability and digital documentation tools, building national capacity to meet EUDR requirements, and adopting a holistic ap proach to mitigate the potential listing of Shorea under CITES,” Chan said. TEAM president Chua Song Fong is urging the government to exempt timber and timber based products from the expanded SST list, like cement and sands. He proposed that the government initiate a stakeholder dialogue to reassess the impact and explore alternative tax models.

“Nevertheless, Malaysia continues to maintain its edge through adherence to legal frameworks, professionalism and a long standing reputation for quality values that TEAM has consistently upheld,” he added. Chan also addressed domestic concerns over the expanded Sales and Service Tax (SST) and US trade tariffs, which have raised costs and eroded competitiveness. The SST, he said, has increased operational expenses by 8–12%, which has pushed up prices across the supply chain and particularly affected small and medium enterprises. “Although export products aren’t directly taxed, rising production costs are starting to erode Malaysia’s long-standing export strength. Meanwhile, US trade tariffs may reduce export volumes and profit margins, although economists believe the overall impact on Malaysia’s 2025 trade balance will be minimal,” he said. To mitigate these effects, Chan said, the ministry, along with agencies such as the Malaysian Timber Industry Board, the Malaysian Timber Council, TEAM, and the Malaysian Furniture Council, are actively engaging stakeholders to identify challenges, ease compliance burdens, and protect the timber sector’s global standing. “These efforts include gathering industry feedback and supporting businesses in main taining high standards of quality and sustain ability. The ministry encourages unity and innovation among industry players to ensure Malaysian timber products continue to be valued worldwide,” he said.

Petronas operates the North Montney Joint Venture upstream gas project and is a major equity partner in LNG Canada, a US$40 billion (RM169.4 billion) LNG facility. – Bernama SME Bank empowers 5,700 entrepreneurs in H1’25, up 158% year-on-year He noted that the global timber trade has become increasingly competitive, with neigh bouring countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam recording strong growth over the past two decades. Looking ahead, Chan said the domestic timber industry’s future will be shaped by three major trends – sustainability, digital trans “We remain committed to working with the government to achieve a balance between fiscal sustainability and industrial viability, and we stand ready to provide data, industry insights, and policy recommendations to support this cause,” Chua said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia (SME Bank) has empowered 5,735 entrepreneurs in the first half of 2025 (H1’25), an increase of 158% against the 2,225 entrepreneurs recorded in H1’24. In a statement yesterday, the subsidiary of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd said the achievement was driven by its dedicated capacity-building and training arm, the Centre for Entrepreneur Development and Research (Cedar). SME Bank acting president and CEO Datuk Dr Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim said that

in 2023, and the Program Pembangunan Kapasiti Vendor has onboarded 109 vendors with RM15.87 million in approved incentives. “As of 2024, 28% of the vendors recorded at least a 5% increase in revenue, contributing to total vendor revenue of RM1.23 billion.” Looking ahead, SME Bank said it will continue to play a pivotal role in advancing the MSME agenda, with over RM1 billion in strategic initiatives mandated to the bank under Budget 2025, including delivering both financing and beyond-financing support across key strategic sectors. – Bernama

persons with disabilities. “On the regional stage, Cedar has been appointed Asean’s Centre of Excellence for MSMEs in Green Transition, a recognition listed among the Priority Economic Deliverables for Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship in 2025. This affirms SME Bank’s leadership in shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future for enterprises, both domestically and across Asean,” he said. Meanwhile, SME Bank said the Halal Entrepreneurship Development Programme has supported over 400 participants since its launch

among the beyond-financing programmes entrusted to the bank was the Maju Usahawan Madani programme, introduced to strengthen the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) ecosystem through targeted capacity building. “Spanning from January 2025 to March 2026, the programme aims to assist 3,000 micro entrepreneurs. As of June 2025, a total of 1,632 entrepreneurs have benefited from this initiative, including MSMEs from the Bumiputera community, youth, rural areas, the bottom 40% (B40) income group, asnaf , senior citizens and