The Sabah Government welcomes potential investors who are interested to invest in tourism-related projects such as the building of hotels and resorts, says Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew.
She encouraged business owners and tourism players in Hangzhou, China to consider investing in the hotel industry in Sabah.
Speaking to a six-member delegation from the Hangzhou Municipal Government at a courtesy visit and luncheon at a leading hotel in Kota Kinabalu on April 26, Liew (who hosted the luncheon) said: “Welcome to Sabah. I am very happy to meet all of you here today.
“This is a time to rekindle the friendship between the people of Hangzhou City and people of Kota Kinabalu City, and explore avenues for tourism, business and trade.”
SPONSORED CONTENT Carlsberg gets inked to celebrate pride of Sabah, Sarawak SHAH ALAM: Carlsberg Smooth Draught returns to celebrate Sabahan and Sarawakian pride for the third consecutive year with artful traditional tattooing designs of six beautiful icons from the Borneo islands. Read more Liew said Sabah has much to offer – sea, sun, ecotourism, iconic wildlife, Sipadan world-class diving paradise and many more attractions.
Hangzhou Foreign Office Deputy Director Kong Desheng, who led the delegation, thanked the Minister for being able to meet them as it was her good self who had led a Sabah delegation to visit Hangzhou in 2019.
Others in the delegation were Zheng Yongbiao (Deputy Director, Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce); Hua Yin (Chief Engineer, Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area Management Committee); Xia Shanmei (Division Chief, General Office of CPC Hangzhou Committee); Ding Guowei (Deputy Division Chief, Hangzhou Cultural and Creative Industry Development Centre); and Cheng Pan (Principal Staff Member, Hangzhou Foreign Affairs Office).
“We are reciprocating Christina’s inaugural visit to Hangzhou with the aim of following up with the Friendship City Agreement signed on September 20, 2019,” said Kong. On that historic day, Liew witnessed the signing of the Kota Kinabalu-Hangzhou Friendship City Pact by Vice-Mayor of Hangzhou City, Wang Hong, and Mayor of Kota Kinabalu, Datuk Nordin Siman in Hangzhou.
Both the Minister and Kong were of the view that the Friendship City Agreement could be strengthened through education, culture, tourism and trade. “We can pool our resources to initiate a student exchange programme as well as cultural activities so that the local community here (KK) will get to know more about the other Friendship City, and vice versa in Hangzhou.”
The agreement states that both cities will promote friendship in order to develop cooperation based on mutual respect, and foster a friendly environment in exchange of diverse information and knowledge for mutual benefit and development, said Liew.
Meanwhile, Kong took note of investment opportunities in Sabah, saying the Hangzhou Municipal Government can help to share relevant information with their potential investors.
Deputy Director-General of Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK – Financial Management), Lifred Wong represented the Mayor at the event.
Also present were Liew’s Political Secretary Vivien Lee, the Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary II Alesia Sion, Sabah Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive Officer Noredah Othman, DBKK Director-General (Operations) Robert Lipon and other senior officials.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
