Half a dozen timber companies in Sarawak are to receive soft loans from the government as part of a drive to increase forest plantations.
Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, the plantation industries and commodities minister, announced the six loans after a briefing on the country’s plantation developments.
Ta Ann Holdings Bhd is the only company so far to have received a soft loan to bolster its forest holding and the next six, which Mr Chin said would be signed off shortly, are part of an initiative to increase the forest area in Sarawak to one million ha by 2020.
The value of the loans is decided by the size of the proposed plantation and the species being used, which are to be used to generate raw materials for Malaysia’s timber processing mills.
