Puncak Niaga to expand overseas ventures

UTILITY company Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (PNHB) (6807) plans to venture into Indonesia by making the water project in Banten province in Java Island as a stepping stone.

Its subsidiary Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of Banten province to cooperate on the investment in water infrastructure.

"This will be our second overseas venture after China. We are also looking at a few projects in India, such as in Chennai and Madras," Puncak Niaga general manager Ahmad Marzuki Hashim told reporters after the signing ceremony in Subang Jaya yesterday.

The signatories for the MOU were PNHB executive director Tan Sri Rozali Ismail and Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak witnessed the signing ceremony, which was held in conjunction with the Asia Pacific Regional Water Conference and Exhibition 2008.
Ahmad Marzuki said Puncak Niaga will conduct a feasibility study on the water infrastructure project for industrial and residential sectors in the province within three to six months.

He said currently, most of the water used by industrial and residential consumers in the 9.5 million population Banten comes from ground water.

Banten is located in the west part of Java Island and serves as a gateway between Java and Sumatera islands.

PNHB had earlier stated that the group wanted overseas projects to form half of its total investment.

The group had earmarked RM250 million investment in seven water-related projects in China through 80 per cent-owned joint-venture company Sino Water Pte Ltd.