Tariffs to have minimal impact to Bintulu Port, says group CEO
KUCHING (April 21): The sweeping tariffs imposed by the United States are expected to have minimal impact on Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad (BPHB), says group chief executive officer Ruslan Abdul Ghani.
He said while it is still too early to draw a firm conclusion, the group does not expect to be significantly affected.
He explained this is because most of BPHB's exports do not go directly to the United States.
'We normally export to India, especially for our crude palm oil (CPO); to China, even to Africa.
'We don't deal directly with America, so hopefully that will have quite a minimum impact to us,' he told reporters after the group's 29th Annual General Meeting at Hilton Hotel here today.
Ruslan however acknowledged that there could still be some indirect effects.
'It's a bit too early to say, because there's the direct impact, and there's also the indirect impact. So we are currently evaluating all of this,' he added.
The group had earlier posted a record-breaking total revenue for its financial year ended December 31, 2024 at RM888.47 million, representing an 8.13 per cent growth driven by disciplined operational management and strong support from the state government.
The group also achieved a total cargo throughput of 51.94 million tonnes, making BPHB the third largest port in Malaysia in terms of volume handled.
The port's vessel traffic also reached a record 8,026 calls that positions BPHB as a critical maritime logistics hub in the region
Despite the uncertainties ahead, Ruslan remains hopeful about the group's outlook in 2025.
He said growth will be supported by new throughput, including volumes from green energy, as well as the continued strong performance of Sarawak PetChem and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
On 5 April, a blanket 10 per cent tariff was imposed on almost all imports into the United States. Four days later, the US announced even higher 'reciprocal' tariffs on goods from around 60 countries based on trade deficits. Malaysia faces a 24 per cent reciprocal tariff.
However, on the same day, Trump walked back parts of the policy by suspending the country-specific tariffs and while maintaining the 10 per cent blanket duty on almost all US imports. Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad lead ruslan abdul ghani tariffs
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