The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: HAYASHI Nobumitsu) signed on May 31, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on strategic cooperation with Sarawak Energy, a Malaysian company. The objectives of the MOU include promoting cooperation to support energy transition and enhance electricity grids within the Asia region.
Sarawak Energy is a vertically integrated power utility and Malaysia’s largest renewable energy developer wholly owned by the Sarawak Government. Sarawak is endowed with abundant renewable energy resources, primarily hydropower, which form the backbone of Sarawak’s generation mix. The signing of this MOU further reinforces the cooperative relationship between JBIC and Sarawak Energy to support the development of renewable energy and regional interconnectivity infrastructure in alignment with the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) vision, which aims to enable cross-border electricity trading and energy security in ASEAN. This concept aims to achieve wide-ranging electricity sharing across ASEAN countries. As Japanese companies focus on realizing a sustainable, decarbonized society, strengthening the relationship with Sarawak Energy will drive their business expansion.
The government of Malaysia expressed its intention to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45% compared to 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), announced in 2023, it sets a target of increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix to 70% and aims to expand solar power generation capacity and establish a power grid development plan. In addition, the government has promoted the APG concept, which is expected to promote the efficient utilization of clean electricity within the region.
In the Fifth Medium-Term Business Plan, released in June 2024, JBIC aims to contribute toward realizing both carbon neutrality and economic growth, supporting efforts toward global green transformation (GX) and energy transitions based on countries' diverse pathways to carbon neutrality. The signing of the MOU is in line with the Medium-Term Business Plan of JBIC.
In January 2022, the government of Japan proposed the concept of the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), a framework to provide support and cooperation for efforts for energy transition by Asian countries by leveraging the strengths of Japanese companies, such as their technology and expertise. Malaysia is an important partner country in the AZEC framework, and the signing of the MOU is in line with the policy of the Japanese government.
As Japan's policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to contribute toward creating business opportunities for Japanese companies and maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese industry through strengthened cooperation with important partners in the decarbonization sector.
