Malaysia perlu lahir lebih ramai pedagang petroleum tempatan, kata industri

Malaysia requires a greater number of locally trained petroleum traders, according to industry players, in order to seize international market opportunities and boost the nation's commercial value. PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian industry emphasizes the need for more homegrown petroleum traders and easier access to financing to achieve the goal of becoming a leading petroleum trade hub, stated veteran industry player R Jeyenderan.

With 28 years of experience, Jeyenderan advocates for building local expertise with support from financial institutions and industry players to compete on the global stage. He proposes a six-month training program for undergraduate and PhD students, with two to four sessions per month. The training covers financial management, customer identification procedures (KYC), legitimate business practices, and trade risk management.

"The aim is to educate them on accurate international trading and financing methods. They need to understand the need for capital, manage price fluctuations, and assess financial capacity before implementing shipping business operations," he said in a statement. Jeyenderan stressed that financing access is crucial as traders need bank facilities to purchase cargo and meet business commitments.

"Without banks providing financing facilities, there's no point in talking about trading in Malaysia," he emphasized, urging more support for local traders aspiring to enter the international petroleum market. Based on his experience, Singaporean traders are among his toughest competitors when he first entered the bunker oil business nearly three decades ago.

He said small changes in petroleum prices can result in large gains or losses when dealing with large cargo volumes. Therefore, traders must understand price movements, practice disciplined financial management, and control risk, he said. To develop new skills, his company Maritime Network Sdn Bhd trains about five to 10 industry professionals each month, depending on the number of applications.

According to him, this should help more local traders gain expertise to seize market opportunities in the international petroleum market and generate commercial value domestically.