MyEG says govt agrees to extend its contract for immigration services, appoints it as revenue collector

Monday 13 May 2024

KUALA LUMPUR (July 7): MyEG Services Bhd announced that the government has agreed to extend its concession as the provider of online services for the Immigration Department of Malaysia, and has appointed it as the collection agent for government revenue.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing, the e-government services provider said it received a notification letter dated Tuesday (July 4) from the Ministry of Finance on Friday.

“The terms of the extension will be finalised pursuant to further discussion with the government in due course and an agreement to formalise the extension will be signed at a later stage,” MyEG said.

"At this point in time, the board does not foresee any risks in relation to the extension. The board wishes to express its heartfelt gratitude to the government for the extension," it added.

Previously, MyEG secured a three-year extension in 2020 extending its immigration services concession from May 22, 2020 to May 22, 2023 — with an estimated total value of RM208 million.

Back in February this year, MyEG shares underwent a period of turbulence — falling as low as 60.5 sen on Feb 13 — after the future of its immigration-related services concession was put into question.

This was due to a New Straits Times report having quoted Immigration Department Director General Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud as saying that the Home Ministry had set aside RM900 million for the roll-out of the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) in two years, and that the new system is expected to be a "game changer" that would improve the department's efficiency and customer experience.

NIISe, which is being developed by Iris Corp Bhd, is positioned to replace the current Malaysian Immigration System (myIMMS) the department has been using for around 13 years.

However, NIISe — the apparent successor of myIMMS — has come under some scrutiny with Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail back in March saying Iris Corp have not achieved adequate progress.

Two months later, in May, the project — awarded to Iris Corp back in March 2021 and initially given a delivery deadline of August 2024 — was provided a one-year extension to August 2025.

Later the same month, Saifuddin told the Dewan Rakyat that if Iris Corp is unable to implement the project, the government will appoint another contractor capable of implementing the project to ensure the new immigration services system can be realised.

Shares in MyEG closed 1.5 sen or 2.05% lower at 71.5 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM5.35 billion. Meanwhile, Iris Corp's shares ended unchanged at 9.5 sen, valuing the company at RM294.48 million.

Edited ByTan Choe Choe

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