Global Rail hopes to raise RM80m for Malaysian plant

By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST on Fb 23 2010

GLOBAL Rail Sdn Bhd, a railway engineering company, plans to raise some RM80 million from an initial public offering in 2012 to build a manufacturing plant in Malaysia.


The company plans to set up manufacturing plants in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, to produce electric multiple units (EMU) and locomotives for Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

It wants to have a plant close to a port in Johor, Penang or Port Klang, and one in Thailand, for around RM80 million each.

On January 22, Global Rail named former Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd boss Datuk Mohd Salleh Abdullah as its chairman.

Salleh, 57, said initially, he plans to work on the IPO and on winning new contracts for electrification, communication and automatic train protection system for Malaysia's double tracks.
 
Global Rail is in talks with India's Ircon International Ltd for the contracts. Ircon was awarded a RM3.45 billion job to lay parallel railway lines from Seremban to Gemas in 2008.
 
Set up in July 2008, Global Rail was founded by Fan Boon Heng, who previously headed ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation and later Balfour Beatty Rail Sdn Bhd for about 20 years.


"Thailand wants its own EMUs for its Metro Red Line project. We are in the final stage of discussions with the State Railway of Thailand and hope to set up a plant there within the next 12-15 months.

"We are talking to a foreign manufacturer from Asia and Europe to produce the trains and locomotives. The funding will initially come from China and later, we will look at private sector financing," Salleh told Business Times in a telephone interview.

Global Rail will also need government approval to build the plant in Malaysia. It plans to lease its EMUs and locomotives to KTMB.

"We will take full responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the trains for KTMB to run. We will use the money raised from the IPO to set up the Malaysian plant," Salleh said.

Salleh was KTMB managing director from January 1 2002 until his retirement on August 31 2008.

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