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AgBiotech & Environment
In the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the Government has declared a New Agriculture scheme for industry players with greater emphasis on supply-chain management and the cultivating of higher value-added activities. In light of this, the Prime Minister envisioned an agricultural sector not constrained by purely food production, but widening into greater aspects of the field.

	New species of bamboo and palm have been found in the Stong State Forest Park, further solidifying Malaysia’s status as a central region of biodiversity. The discovery were made by researchers who have been working in the area for two years, and it is believed that there may be more potentially undiscovered plants in store.
Industry
Biodiesel is the current hot topic in the industry as we see great government push for the fuel. With 14 licenses being approved for biodiesel projects across the country, much more is being anticipated of the sector, which may wean Malaysia off the oil market. In fact, a proposal is making its runs through the Cabinet to allow lower road tax rates as an incentive for using biodiesel to generate greater interest in the pioneering biofuel.
Facing strong growth and support from the government, biotechnology is scheduled to be the next great wave of knowledge-based industries that may contribute to wealth creation and employment opportunities in the country. The objective of this is to harvest biotechnology’s potential here and develop Malaysia’s niche in the industry.
Investment & Trade
The demand for palm oil will allow crude palm oil prices to maintain its stability despite the stockpile of 1.6 million tons, a record in the country. The sector is not worried of the prices plunging as by 2007, biodiesel plant within the country would have completed construction and will be fully functional. By then, the amount of palm oil needed to fuel biodiesel production is slated to be phenomenal, and are expected to be priced around RM1,500-RM1,600 per ton.

The recent announcement of the biotech push in the Ninth Malaysia Plan has industry players expressing optimism and strong backing to help push the effort to greater heights. The RM 2 billion allocation of funds by the Government is seen to induce a great boost to the industry. Hence, one should not be surprised with the gearing up for biotech services by the Penang State Government. Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon maintains the exploration of future potentials especially in medical biotechnology is ongoing for the island state.

On the other hand, Inno Biologics are expected to clinch deals up to RM44.4 million with foreign pharmaceutical companies by the end of the year. The company’s CEO Dr. Mohd Nazlee Kamal revealed that talks are ongoing at the world’s largest biotechnology conference, Biotechnology Industry Organisations International Convention (Bio 2006).
Policy
Local scientists whose products have been commercialized can rejoice as the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has announced the proposal of new laws that may see them enjoying bigger shares of profit from the fruits of their research. Under the new laws, scientists may own up to 40% in intellectual property rights of a commercialized product of theirs. This measure is seen to be an attempt to stem the brain drain as well as implant the spirit of entrepreneurship among top scientists locally as well as abroad.

In other news, the promised biodiesel-run vehicles have hit the streets. The vehicles would be seen testing out B5 palm oil biodiesel that has been given a strong push by the Government of late. The initiative would see greater implementation of environmentally friendly measures in the form of less polluting fuel in the future. It would also have the potential of weaning the country off the oil market whose prices have been surging and relatively unstable of late. In fact, the government has announced the tabling of a Biodiesel Bill which would see all diesel sold in the country from 2007 to contain five % palm oil.

The launching of “BioNexus” next month would see the launch of a biotechnology hub not unlike the Multimedia Super Corridor to help bolster the fledging industry in the country. BioNexus, would be worth over US$ one trillion and would have its own dedicated funding mechanism, venture capital agencies and set of tax breaks, along with many other incentives for biotechnology companies. This is just part of the set of perks for the biotechnology sector that has been announced by the Government of late.