Nippon Koei has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in ASAP Mobility, as part of its expansions into Malaysia and the regional market. With that, ASAP Mobility has become a subsidiary of Nippon Koei.
Shah Alam-based ASAP Mobility focuses on public transport systems. It has been actively providing system engineering and consultancy services to clients in some of the key public transportation projects in Malaysia such as the Light Rail Transit Shah Alam Line (from Bandar Utama to Johan Setia, ‘LRT 3’), Kuching Urban Transit System (‘KUTS’), and Johor Bahru Singapore Rapid Transit System (‘RTS Link’). In addition, ASAP Mobility has also undertaken consultancy assignments for overseas projects including the Jakarta Kelapa Gading to Velodrome Line LRT, Palembang LRT, Manila North-South Commuter Rail Extension (NSCR-Ex), Metro Manila Subway, Chennai Metro, Bengaluru Metro, several European Train Control System Level 2 (ETCS L2) mainline projects in Hungary, plus some consultancy works in Thailand, Egypt, Switzerland, and Botswana.
Nippon Koei is a Japanese giant providing consulting and energy services to clients worldwide. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, its market capitalisation was JPY52.18 billion (approximately RM1.74 billion) at end of July 2022.
Recently, Nippon Koei is actively exploring opportunities in ASEAN and other regions, including large railway projects such as the Ho Chi Minh City MRT Line1 in Vietnam, Dhaka MRT Line1, Line 5N, Line 6 in Bangladesh, and Dedicated Freight Corridor in India.
ASAP Mobility’s CEO Mr. Aniket Mukhopadhyay will continue to helm the company after the transaction has been implemented.
“We welcome the entrance of Nippon Koei as our strategic 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 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,” said Mr. Aniket Mukhopadhyay.
Nippon Koei Representative Director and President Mr. Hiroaki Shinya also feels encouraged and emboldened by this transaction. “We are very pleased to have the opportunity investing in ASAP Mobility. With ASAP Mobility’s leading position in Malaysia and intensive 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.”
ASAP Mobility and Nippon Koei jointly assure their clients, stakeholders, and suppliers that this shareholding change will bring a positive impact to their professional services and commitments. The company and its new strategic shareholder will work hard, closely, and immediately to reap the benefits of this partnership by exploring new business opportunities jointly, both in Malaysia and around the world.
Astramina Advisory Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian corporate finance firm, advises the vendors and ASAP Mobility on this cross-border share sale.