{"id":923369,"date":"2026-07-29T09:14:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/29\/sabah-is-open-for-business-hajiji-courts-investors-with-promise-of-sustainable-growth-carbon-negative-credentials\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T09:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:14:35","slug":"sabah-is-open-for-business-hajiji-courts-investors-with-promise-of-sustainable-growth-carbon-negative-credentials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/29\/sabah-is-open-for-business-hajiji-courts-investors-with-promise-of-sustainable-growth-carbon-negative-credentials\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Sabah is open for business\u2019: Hajiji courts investors with promise of sustainable growth, carbon\u2011negative credentials"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Sabah <\/picture><\/div>\n

Sabah is pitching itself as an Asia-Pacific hub for impact investing, betting that its forests, biodiversity and natural resources can become drivers of economic growth as it seeks private capital for sustainable development. \u2014 Picture by Firdaus Latif<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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By Julia Chan<\/p>\n

First Published: Monday, 13 Jul 2026 11:44 AM MYT<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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KOTA KINABALU, July 13 \u2014 Sabah is pitching itself as an Asia-Pacific hub for impact investing, betting that its forests, biodiversity and natural resources can become drivers of economic growth as it seeks private capital for sustainable development.<\/p>\n

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said Sabah was positioning itself as one of the region\u2019s leading destinations for sustainable investment and invited investors to establish long-term partnerships that could deliver measurable social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns.<\/p>\n

\u201cSabah\u2019s economic transformation has been remarkable. We have grown from an economy rooted primarily in the primary sectors into a multifaceted powerhouse,\u201d said Hajiji in his speech read by Deputy Chief Minister II Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun at the Sabah Asia-Pacific Impact Investing for Sustainable Development Summit here.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we align with Malaysia\u2019s broader economic objectives, our commitment to growth remains unwavering. Sabah is open for business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The two-day summit, attended by investors, policymakers, financial institutions and conservation experts, focuses on areas including green finance, sustainable tourism, blue economy initiatives, renewable energy, nature-positive agriculture and indigenous community development.<\/p>\n

Hajiji said impact investing had become increasingly important as governments sought new ways to finance development without compromising environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognise that impact investing, at its core, means deploying capital into investments that generate measurable social and environmental benefits alongside a financial return.<\/p>\n

\u201cSabah looks forward to investors who can blend expertise, experience and funding to advance inclusive, social and ecological development with real results,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hajiji claimed that long before sustainability became an international agenda, Sabah had already been protecting its forests, oceans, wildlife, and some of the richest ecosystems in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cSabah has contributed, not only in words but through policy, land stewardship, and real sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we are proud that almost 30 per cent of Sabah\u2019s landmass is under Totally Protected Areas. We also maintain our status as a net carbon sink (carbon-negative state) based on greenhouse gas inventory data, supported by the significant forested areas that strengthen the nation\u2019s carbon-absorption capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur inclusive forest management approach, built with local communities, enables us to strike a balance between environmental conservation and the socio-economic well-being of our people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Hajiji acknowledged that Sabah continues to face pressing development needs, including improving road connectivity, electricity supply, water infrastructure and economic opportunities for its people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need better roads, more reliable electricity, cleaner water and greater economic opportunity. Our people require tangible improvements in livelihoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question before us is not sustainability or development. It is how we build and practise an unexplored model where sustainability becomes the engine of real economic growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the central challenge and the central opportunity for my administration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hajiji said the Asia-Pacific region was well positioned to lead the next phase of sustainable investment, adding that forums such as the summit could help forge international partnerships in areas such as technology, green energy and sustainable development.<\/p>\n

He also thanked the George Town Institute of Open and Advanced Studies (GIOAS) at Wawasan Open University for jointly organising the summit with the Sabah government through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Julia Chan
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sabah is pitching itself as an Asia-Pacific hub for impact investing, betting that its forests, biodiversity and natural resources can become drivers of economic growth as it seeks private capital for sustainable development. \u2014 Picture by Firdaus Latif By Julia Chan First Published: Monday, 13 Jul 2026 11:44 AM MYT KOTA KINABALU, July 13 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":923370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[378,53607],"tags":[8652,94028],"class_list":["post-923369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","category-sabah","tag-business","tag-sabah"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=923369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/923370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=923369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=923369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=923369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}