Business

Tuesday April 27, 2010

Jalenas makes China’s Maipu tech partner


Chengdu-based firm will provide initial funding for HSBB project

KUALA LUMPUR: Maipu Communication Technology Co Ltd, a Chengdu, China-based supplier of Internet protocol network equipment and application solutions, has signed a deal to become a technology partner of Jalur Lebar Nasional Sdn Bhd (Jalenas).

According to previous reports, Jalenas, a provider of open-access fibre to the home network, has a target to link up 30,000 households in Kuantan by the year-end as part of the first phase of its high-speed broadband (HSBB) project.

Jalenas’ other technology partners include Ericsson and PacketFront.

Maipu’s product ranges from routers, switches, voice-over Internet protocol communications, security and integrated access equipment.

Maipu vice-president Jack Wang Jun (left) exchanging documents with Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin. With them are (from left) Jiang Jufeng and Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.

In a media briefing yesterday following an agreement signing between Jalenas and Maipu, Jalenas executive director Heikal Mohd Ali said Maipu would provide the initial funding for the project.

“Maipu will come in with the financing by providing the bridging loan first but we’ll still get financing from the local banks,” he said, declining to reveal the funding amount.

In a previous report, Heikal said the cost of the first phase was RM150mil.

Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, who witnessed the signing together with Sichuan provincial governor Jiang Jufeng, said the partnership was a start to Jalenas’ HSBB rollout programme.

“The market (for HSBB) is still there, Jalenas will have to compete for business just like any private company despite its status as a partially-owned entity of the Pahang government,” he said.

Jalenas has an eventual target to connect 2.5 million households nationwide, which High Speed Broadband Technology Sdn Bhd (HSBT) chairman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin had previously said would require RM2.5bil to rollout.

HSBT wholly owns Jalenas. HSBT is the special-purpose vehicle set up by the Pahang government and jointly owned by the state’s Pahang Technology Resources Sdn Bhd, Fabilanis Sdn Bhd and Bumiraya Resources Sdn Bhd.

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