KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd intends to explore rail transport construction opportunities in Europe, said the group's chairman Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock.

At a media conference after George Kent's annual general meeting today, Tan said the group is always seeking to grow its order book, and that it is currently eyeing more opportunities in European countries.

Its executive director Bernie Ooi Chin Khoon further explained that the idea of venturing into the region's rail industry in still in its infancy, and George Kent's management may still need more time to study the opportunities available there.

"We have made contacts with some of the investment bankers, to check the rail construction opportunities in Europe. We do send our people there to look at these projects, but these are still in exploration stage, very preliminary," Ooi said.

Tan, on the other hand, said George Kent will always ensure that the group has seven to eight years of work orders in hand for it to execute.

"We are always bidding for projects. Our tender book, at any point in time, is at a range of about RM5 to RM10 billion," he said, adding that the group currently has an order book of RM5.5 billion.