Malaysia Daily Media Highlights

TELCO Sector: The Government will sell up to 4 WIMAX Licenses
Malaysia’ government said it plans to issue up to 4 WIMAX licenses that will allow companies to offer wireless high-sped Internet services. The government hasn’t decided on a price for the so-called WIMAX permits, Energy, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik told reporters toady in Kuala Lumpur. The government expects a decision “by the end of this month,” he said. The commission, which oversees the telecommunications and the multimedia industry in the country, changed an original plan to announce the winners in July after the minister said some specifications weren’t in line with government policy. Lim declined to say if the government wants the bidding process to be repeated. He said the government prefers companies which plan to roll out the service nationwide. The government will allocate 30MgH of spectrum for each of the winners to start WIMAX services. (BT)

No Tender for MNP clearing house
Energy, Water and Communications Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik has shot down any suggestion of a tender to appoint a central clearing house operator, a lucrative job, for the implementation of mobile number portability (MNP). “There will be no tender. There will be only one company,” he told reporters. Dr Lim had said one company, Talian Gerak Alih Sdn Bhd, had presented its plans to him and that he was impressed with it because of its US-based technology partner, Telcordia Technologies Inc. In an immediate response on Oct 10, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia commission (MCMC) chairman Datuk Dr. Halim Shafie said he was unaware of the minister’s decision not to have a tender for the clearing house operator. MCMC had also identified NP Clearinghouse Sdn Bhd (foreign partner Syniverse Technologies of Florida), MSCtrustgate.com (foreign partner Verisign of California), Solution Provider Asia and Swedtel Southeast Asia (foreign partner Worldtel Ltd of Sweden) and Nusa Advanced Systems (foreign partner Neustar plc of Virginia). The lucrative nature of the clearing house job stems from the high and growing mobile volume, which saw 75 billion calls and data traffic being sent last year. The report said the MCMC had hoped the charge by the clearing house through a competitive bidding process would be less that 0.1 send per re-routing. Dr. Lim on Oct 10 said that the ministry was sticking to its target to implement MNP next year.

Johore Tin: In Talks on 2nd Indonesian Plant
Johore Tin is in talks to set up another can-making factory in Indonesia, said its managing director Edward Goh Swee Wang. The company sees Indonesia as a high growth market due to the huge demand for cans there, and because the company has not yet gone aggressively into that market. He said the factory would service another part of Indonesia and not North Sumatra, where it already has operations. The North Sumatra factory caters to local demand only. On the home front, Johore Tin will see the completion of its factory in Seelong, Johor by the end of the month. (BT).

Genting: Proposed to invest RM11.4bn to develop resorts at Sentosa
Genting group has proposed to invest over S$5bn (RM11.4bn) to develop a world-class integrated resort at Sentosa Island in Singapore. The bid to build Singapore’s second casino resort was submitted by Genting International Plc and Star Cruises Ltd, both of which are part of the Genting group, on Oct 10. Two other groups – Kerzner International Ltd, which owns Atlantis gaming resort in the Bahamas, and Las Vegas based Eight Wonder – also submitted their bids to the Singapore authorities before the Oct 10 deadline. The winner is expected to be announced by year-end. (tehedgedaily.com)

Malaysia Airport: Bids for RM1b Jordan Terminal Job
Malaysia Airports Holdings has submitted a bid to build, operate and manage a US$280m (RM1bn) new terminal at the Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan according to company sources. Senior Airport officials confirmed a bid was made late last week and that it was a joint one with AIRPORT’s Kuwaiti partner. The new terminal in the Jordanian capital of Amman is expected to be built over a period of three years to help meet anticipated increase in passenger traffic over the next 30 years. Jordan is expected to announce the winning bid by as early as March next year. (BT)

SCN: Secures RM15m contract
Scan Associates has secured a RM15m government contract to provide maintenance and security support services to various agencies all over Malaysia. Scan had received a letter of award from the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation & Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) to provide its services for the government’s PRISMA project. The 24-month contract was expected to contribute positively to its earnings for the period of the contract. (thedgedaily.com)