VGI entered into the ASEAN market through its JV partnership with 3 Leading Advertising Players in Malaysia. Awarded 10-year contract to operate advertising concession at new MRT, Malaysia.
VGI made a fresh move to increase its presence in an international market by setting up a joint venture firm - Titanium Compass Sdn Bhd – with three major out-of-home advertising firms in Malaysia to acquire a 10-year contract to manage advertising platforms at 31 MRT stations and on 58 trains on the new 51km-SBK line, which is expected to begin its first phase of operation by year-end and become fully operational by mid-2017.
Mr Surachet Bumrongsuk, Chief Executive Officer of VGI Global Media Plc, or VGI, a “Data Centric Media Hypermarket”, revealed VGI’s decision to establish a Malaysia-incorporated joint-venture firm called Titanium Compass Sdn Bhd, or “TCSB”, jointly with three major out-of-home (or OOH) advertising firms in Malaysia to operate advertising media platform business in the country. The Malaysian partners include Puncak Berlian Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary fully owned by Redberry, Malaysia’s second largest OOH media agency, having the country’s most diverse range of advertising platforms (e.g. airports, mass transits, office towers, cinemas, etc.); Utusan Airtime Sdn Bhd, a leading media publishing house; and Ikatan Asli Sdn Bhd, operating more than 2,400 advertising billboards, screens, etc. throughout Malaysia.
Initially, TCSB will be 19%-owned by VGI, with Puncak Berlian Sdn Bhd, Utusan Airtime Sdn Bhd and Ikatan Asli Sdn Bhd holding 51%, 20% and 10% equity stakes, respectively, in the company.
TCSB has made a tender offer for, and been awarded, a contract under which MRT Corp, developer of the new SBK (or ‘MRT1’) metro line, the first heavy rail line in Kuala Lumpur, with a distance of 51 kilometres, grants TCSB a10-year concession to manage advertising platforms at 31 stations and on 58 trains on the line, which is expected to begin the first phase of operation by this yearend and become fully operational by mid-2017. It is expected that there will be 400,000 passengers using the service in the first year.
After that TCSB will raise its registered capital to MYR 18 million (or about THB 148.53 million), at a maximum, upon which VGI may increase its holding in the company to a new level of up to 30%.
“The award of the contract for SBK (MRT1) line to TCSB marks a major milestone for our mission to increase our presence in the ASEAN economic community (or AEC) as a way to enhance our growth rates,” he said.
