GE Confident Malaysia Will Remain Main Hub For LNG In Asia-Pacific Region

By Zarul Effendi Razali KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 (Bernama) -- GE Oil and Gas is confident of Malaysia remaining strategically important as the base to serve its customers in the Asia-Pacific region. GE is an advanced technology, services and finance company operating in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. Its Global Services Contractual Services Leader for Asia-Pacific Girish Saligram said to date, Malaysia has been the most important market for GE regionally, mainly because of Petronas' presence. "There will be a lot more developments and projects in place, so we think Malaysia will continue to be our main hub for the Asian region, not for the domestic supply, but also for export," he told Bernama. Saligram was responding to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) latest report that predicted Malaysia would become a net importer of gas in 2017 due to increasing domestic demand. The report, released recently, also predicted that China would be the main global gas exporter by 2017. Saligram said Malaysia and China were important to GE as the company has no plans to shift base for its regional market. "Ultimately, you have domestic demand that will continue to grow, but liquefied natural gas will continue to be the part of equation because of the logistics. "It's a good sign that Malaysia's economy continues to grow with increasing domestic demand," he said. GE has a strong team in Malaysia and the company is using Kuala Lumpur as its base to serve Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries. "We think Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) will remain as our strategic hub to serve our customers in this region," he added. GE General Manager for Asia-Pacific Visal Leng said that if the prediction that Malaysia would be a net importer of gas in 2017 really happens, GE would definitely help Malaysia on the supply side, from being a net importer, maybe revert to a gas exporter. "We can contribute by bringing in the technology into selected areas in Malaysia like in marginal fields and in sub-sea as there is an aspiration for Malaysia to be a sub-sea centre of excellence for the region. "GE's technology, with our investment in sub-sea services, can definitely contribute to increase gas supply in Malaysia," he said. Leng said GE has plans to continue upgrading its capabilities and sees Malaysia as a suitable centre for turbo machinery and global services business. "China is a big market, they have so much needs. We already have strong presence there, but I can say whatever investments that we make in China will not take away the capital that we have invested in other countries in the Asia-Pacific region," he added. -- BERNAMA