Borneo Business Connect (BBC), a newly established business events company in Malaysia, is playing a key role in advancing the hydrogen economy in Sarawak and the Asia-Pacific region.
This was evident in June 2024 when BBC hosted the inaugural Asia Pacific Green Hydrogen Conference & Exhibition (APGH) at the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching, Sarawak.
Backed by Sarawak’s Ministry of Energy and Environmental Sustainability and supported by Business Events Sarawak, APGH provided a crucial platform for hydrogen industry players to network, share knowledge, and explore new opportunities across the region.
BBC is a joint venture between Place Borneo, a PCO based in Kuching, and DSA Exhibitions Holdings, a PEO headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.
BBC’s CEO, Mona Abdul Manap, explained to TTGmice that APGH was designed to attract investment into both Sarawak and the wider Asia-Pacific region. The inaugural event was a success, with 96 companies from 36 countries participating and over 3,200 trade visitors in attendance.
Established last year specifically to create APGH, BBC aligns its work with Sarawak’s Post-Covid Development Strategy 2030, which emphasises renewable energy development as a key part of the state’s future growth.
This comes as Sarawak is positioning itself to become the leading hydrogen hub in Asia-Pacific, with its abundant water and land resources providing a strong foundation for hydrogen production.
In his keynote address at the launch of APGH the premier of Sarawak, Abang Johari Openg, announced plans to establish a Centre of Excellence for Clean Energy in Sarawak. This centre will focus on research and development of sustainable energy solutions, not just for hydrogen but for other clean energy sources to help combat climate change.
Looking ahead, BBC plans to make APGH a biennial event, with the second edition planned for 2026.
In the interim, they will launch the Hydrogen Economy Forum (H2EF) in 1H2025, which will zero in on the hydrogen economy value chain and its key players.
Mona shared that the forum will be held in Kuching and will build on the conversations and connections made during APGH, especially among companies involved in both the upstream and downstream sectors of the hydrogen industry.
BBC also has additional clean energy initiatives that will contribute to the multi-energy systems needed for global energy security.
