SEACERA (7073) - Seacera ups ante, tweaks proposal for electric fence job
Friday, 13 March 2015
Group managing director Zulkarnin Ariffin said the company, which had first sent in the proposal for the security fence in June last year, was adjusting it following the recent floods in Kelantan. “In view of the recent major floods in Kelantan, we are making some adjustments to our proposal, as it now has to include features to ensure smooth operations of the fence in the event of floods,” he told StarBiz.
Group managing director Zulkarnin Ariffin said the company, which had first sent in the proposal for the security fence in June last year, was adjusting it following the recent floods in Kelantan. “In view of the recent major floods in Kelantan, we are making some adjustments to our proposal, as it now has to include features to ensure smooth operations of the fence in the event of floods,” he told StarBiz.
PETALING JAYA: Building material manufacturer Seacera Group Bhd is tweaking its proposal for the country’s first electrified security fence project to incorporate features that would make it withstand massive floods.
Group managing director Zulkarnin Ariffin said the company, which had first sent in the proposal for the security fence in June last year, was adjusting it following the recent floods in Kelantan.
“In view of the recent major floods in Kelantan, we are making some adjustments to our proposal, as it now has to include features to ensure smooth operations of the fence in the event of floods,” he told StarBiz.
Seacera was one of the early movers of the security fence project.
Last year, it had suggested erecting an electrified fence measuring more than 500km across the Malaysian-Thai border. Kelantan is one of the states that borders Thailand.
It is learnt that Seacera’s proposal had reached the Home Ministry, which has been looking to beef up security and help minimise smuggling activities across the borders.
Apart from Seacera, there are at least four other companies that have submitted proposals.
It is learnt that the ministry would review the proposals from as early as next month. Seacera, which is involved in the ceramic tiles and other building materials, construction and property segments, surprised the market last June when the low profile bumiputra company announced that it had, together with another little-known firm, Intelligent Fence (M) Sdn Bhd, submitted a proposal for such a mega job.
A search with the Registrar of Companies shows that the main shareholder of Intelligent Fence is 35-year-old Chandrasegaran Uthamasselan.
Little else is known about it.
The proposal had drawn a slew of criticism, as Seacera does not have any track record in this area.
Certain quarters were also left scratching their heads, asking if the proposal was an unsolicited bid, or whether the Government had called for actual proposals in order to plug the leaks at its borders.
“There were no formal requests for this proposal, but we felt that there was a growing need for something such as this,” Zulkarnin who has a 22.6% interest in the company said.
Yesterday, The Star reported that smugglers were ferrying among others, goods, firearms and stolen vehicles worth some RM7bil a year – into and out of the country.
There is even the smuggling of individuals involved.
In line with this, the Home Ministry, the report said, was conducting a feasibility study on fencing, which would also serve as a replacement for existing border fences that were in a bad condition.
Zulkarnin declined to elaborate on the preliminary cost calculated for the proposed job it hopes to undertake together with Intelligent Fence, but said that it will cost the Government “a fraction of what it is losing every year in cross-border crime”.
Once everything is finalised, Zulkarnin said he believes that a competitive tender would be called for the proposed works.
In its announcement to the stock exchange in June, Seacera said it planned to participate in a “tender under the public-private partnership with the Home Ministry to build, operate and transfer an electric security fence along the national border of Malaysia and Thailand”.
Seacera is fresh from submitting a bid for the construction of the 118-storey Menara Warisan Merdeka building, which is supposed to be the country’s tallest building when it is completed in 2019.
On Feb 17, it had submitted a bid for the project which is said to have an overall cost of up to RM3bil, together with its partners, China giants Sinohydro Corp Ltd and Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd.
At last look, shares in smallish Seacera were trading at 80 sen apiece, giving it a market capitalisation of just over RM145mil.
http://www.thestar.com.my
Friday, 13 March 2015
Group managing director Zulkarnin Ariffin said the company, which had first sent in the proposal for the security fence in June last year, was adjusting it following the recent floods in Kelantan. “In view of the recent major floods in Kelantan, we are making some adjustments to our proposal, as it now has to include features to ensure smooth operations of the fence in the event of floods,” he told StarBiz.
Group managing director Zulkarnin Ariffin said the company, which had first sent in the proposal for the security fence in June last year, was adjusting it following the recent floods in Kelantan. “In view of the recent major floods in Kelantan, we are making some adjustments to our proposal, as it now has to include features to ensure smooth operations of the fence in the event of floods,” he told StarBiz.
PETALING JAYA: Building material manufacturer Seacera Group Bhd is tweaking its proposal for the country’s first electrified security fence project to incorporate features that would make it withstand massive floods.
Group managing director Zulkarnin Ariffin said the company, which had first sent in the proposal for the security fence in June last year, was adjusting it following the recent floods in Kelantan.
“In view of the recent major floods in Kelantan, we are making some adjustments to our proposal, as it now has to include features to ensure smooth operations of the fence in the event of floods,” he told StarBiz.
Seacera was one of the early movers of the security fence project.
Last year, it had suggested erecting an electrified fence measuring more than 500km across the Malaysian-Thai border. Kelantan is one of the states that borders Thailand.
It is learnt that Seacera’s proposal had reached the Home Ministry, which has been looking to beef up security and help minimise smuggling activities across the borders.
Apart from Seacera, there are at least four other companies that have submitted proposals.
It is learnt that the ministry would review the proposals from as early as next month. Seacera, which is involved in the ceramic tiles and other building materials, construction and property segments, surprised the market last June when the low profile bumiputra company announced that it had, together with another little-known firm, Intelligent Fence (M) Sdn Bhd, submitted a proposal for such a mega job.
A search with the Registrar of Companies shows that the main shareholder of Intelligent Fence is 35-year-old Chandrasegaran Uthamasselan.
Little else is known about it.
The proposal had drawn a slew of criticism, as Seacera does not have any track record in this area.
Certain quarters were also left scratching their heads, asking if the proposal was an unsolicited bid, or whether the Government had called for actual proposals in order to plug the leaks at its borders.
“There were no formal requests for this proposal, but we felt that there was a growing need for something such as this,” Zulkarnin who has a 22.6% interest in the company said.
Yesterday, The Star reported that smugglers were ferrying among others, goods, firearms and stolen vehicles worth some RM7bil a year – into and out of the country.
There is even the smuggling of individuals involved.
In line with this, the Home Ministry, the report said, was conducting a feasibility study on fencing, which would also serve as a replacement for existing border fences that were in a bad condition.
Zulkarnin declined to elaborate on the preliminary cost calculated for the proposed job it hopes to undertake together with Intelligent Fence, but said that it will cost the Government “a fraction of what it is losing every year in cross-border crime”.
Once everything is finalised, Zulkarnin said he believes that a competitive tender would be called for the proposed works.
In its announcement to the stock exchange in June, Seacera said it planned to participate in a “tender under the public-private partnership with the Home Ministry to build, operate and transfer an electric security fence along the national border of Malaysia and Thailand”.
Seacera is fresh from submitting a bid for the construction of the 118-storey Menara Warisan Merdeka building, which is supposed to be the country’s tallest building when it is completed in 2019.
On Feb 17, it had submitted a bid for the project which is said to have an overall cost of up to RM3bil, together with its partners, China giants Sinohydro Corp Ltd and Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd.
At last look, shares in smallish Seacera were trading at 80 sen apiece, giving it a market capitalisation of just over RM145mil.
http://www.thestar.com.my
