KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 29): System engineering and consultancy company ASAP Mobility Sdn Bhd said it has attracted a Japanese peer company to be its strategic shareholder.

ASAP said Nippon Koei Co Ltd has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the group as part of its expansion into Malaysia and the regional market. With that, ASAP will become a subsidiary of Nippon Koei.

ASAP chief executive officer Aniket Mukhopadhyay, who will continue to helm the group after the transaction has been implemented, welcomed the entrance of Nippon Koei as its shareholder.

“This transaction will not only benefit ASAP Mobility in terms of helping to further build our capacity and moving up the value chain, but also bring higher value to our clients.

“We also strongly believe it will benefit Malaysia at large, as it will also allow us to expand our export of services, and with that, our local talents and expertise will have more opportunity to handle international projects and gain valuable experience,” he said in a statement.

Nippon Koei representative director and president Hiroaki Shinya said the company is very pleased to have the opportunity to invest in ASAP.

“With ASAP Mobility’s leading position in Malaysia and extensive experience in international projects, we believe it is a good fit for Nippon Koei as both a good partner and an investment target firm to accelerate our business expansion in Malaysia and the region as a whole,” he said.

Nippon Koei is a Japanese company providing consulting and energy services to clients worldwide. Listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange, its market capitalisation was ¥52.18 billion (RM1.74 billion) as at the end of July 2022.

It has been actively exploring opportunities in Asia, including large railway projects such as Ho Chi Minh MRT Line 1 in Vietnam, Dhaka MRT Line 1, Line 5 and Line 6 in Bangladesh, and Dedicated Freight Corridor in India.

Meanwhile, Shah Alam-based ASAP, which focuses on public transport systems, has been actively providing system engineering and consultancy services to clients in some of the key public transportation projects in the county.

This includes the LRT3 line from Bandar Utama to Klang, Kuching Urban Transit System and Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link.

Additionally, ASAP has also undertaken consultancy assignments for overseas projects such as the Jakarta Kelapa Gading to Velodrome Line LRT, Palembang LRT, Manila North-South Commuter Rail Extension and Metro Manila Subway, plus some consultancy works in Thailand, Egypt, Switzerland and Botswana.