2.2.1 Establishment and Administration

POIC Lahad Datu was established in January 2005 as POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd. It is the first comprehensive palm oil industrial cluster in the world. Owned by the State Government of Sabah, it is managed under the Chief Minister’s Incorporated and, operationally, by the State Ministry of Industrial Development.

2.2.2 Objectives

The key objectives of POIC Lahad Datu are to create jobs and investment opportu­nities, to reduce dependency on the upstream segment of resource-based industries, to diversify the economy by introducing value-adding and knowledge-based industries to Sabah, to increase competitiveness of the palm oil industry in realizing the upstream and downstream potentials, and to bring economic and industrial development to Sabah in order to be at par with Peninsular Malaysia. It does all these by providing the required basic and advance infrastructure.