September-October. 2025 | @ green

LOCAL NEWS

Solar Growth: Pekat Group secured an RM85.68 million contract for a 63MWac solar plant in Kulai.

ASEAN – Japan Collaboration: Strengthening supply chains and driving clean energy investment in the region.

Its managing director and head of global markets for Malaysia, Nik Azhar Abdullah, said the country’ s leadership could provide momentum for closer bilateral cooperation with Japan, particularly in strategic growth sectors such as digital services, semiconductors and clean energy.

Malaysia was already advancing projects in carbon capture, ammonia and sustainable aviation fuel, with 21 initiatives tabled under the Asia Zero Emission Community( AZEC). These efforts aligned with the National Energy Transition Roadmap and positioned the country as a springboard for ASEAN’ s low-carbon transformation.

Japan was poised to supply advanced technologies and investments in emerging energy solutions such as hydrogen, bioeconomy and carbon capture. Marquee ventures such as Sarawak’ s H2ornbill hydrogen supply chain and Petronas-led storage projects with Japanese partners were highlighted as early benchmarks for regional collaboration.

Such partnerships were expected to be crucial in a softer macroeconomic environment. MUFG projected ASEAN’ s economic growth to moderate to around 4.4 per cent in 2025 and 2026, as the export boost from recent frontloading faded.

Trade headwinds were likely to intensify, though looser macro policies across the region should help support domestic demand. External risks included slower growth in the United States and China, as well as persistent geopolitical tensions.

Beyond Malaysia’ s chairmanship, ASEAN-Japan relations were steadily evolving from“ good” to potentially“ transformational,” underpinned by rising Japanese foreign direct investment( FDI). In 2024, Japanese FDI surged 37.7 per cent to US $ 17.5 billion, with inflows targeting financial services, AI and semiconductor-linked industries, as well as growing commitments in logistics and coldchain networks.

ASEAN’ s appeal as a China + 1 destination, however, faced challenges from labour shortages and infrastructure gaps. Shortages of mid-level engineers and technicians, along with constraints in energy reliability and transportation networks, were identified as key barriers to fully capturing Japanese investment.

Japan’ s leadership on the energy transition, through AZEC with over 120 cooperation projects, and MUFG’ s participation in blended-finance and transitionfinance structures, were already catalysing decarbonisation. MUFG had supported landmark projects such as Indonesia’ s Muara Laboh geothermal plant, while mobilising private capital through innovative risk-sharing mechanisms.

Digital economy collaboration with Japan was also expected to become a major driver of ASEAN’ s growth, with the regional market projected to reach US $ 600 billion by 2030. Areas such as AI, data centres and cross-border fintech were poised to gain traction, particularly as evolving data sovereignty laws attracted hyperscalers and multinationals.

Malaysia’ s 2025 chairmanship was expected to set the tone for ASEAN-Japan relations in the coming decade. Success would be measured by whether Japanese FDI translates into deeper supplychain integration, technology transfer, and skills development, enabling ASEAN to become more resilient, innovative, and globally competitive.

PEKAT Group Bhd, through its wholly owned indirect subsidiary Pekat Solar Sdn Bhd, has secured an engineering, procurement and construction( EPC) contract worth RM85.68 million to develop a large-scale solar power plant with a capacity of 63 megawatts alternating current( MWac) in Kulai, Johor.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the group said the contract was signed with a company appointed as the main contractor for the project. The scope of work encompasses the entire development cycle of the solar facility, from design and supply through to construction, installation, testing, and commissioning.

The contract implementation will commence once the Notice to Proceed is issued by the main contractor. The project is expected to be completed and officially handed over by May 31, 2026.

According to Pekat’ s management, the contract is expected to contribute positively to the group’ s revenue, earnings per share, and net assets per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2025, and throughout the contract period. However, it will not affect the company’ s issued capital structure or the shareholdings of its major shareholders.

The group emphasised that the project is consistent with Pekat’ s long-term strategy to strengthen its presence in the renewable energy( RE) sector, particularly in the development of large-scale solar power plants. Such projects are gaining increasing national and regional attention as Malaysia accelerates its transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy sources.- @ green