Digistar spending RM40m over five years to market portable panic button

PETALING JAYA: Security solutions provider Digistar Corp Bhd, the second most actively traded stock yesterday, announced that will spend RM40 million in the next five years to market its newly launched portable panic button, Panther Mobile, which triggers an alarm that will alert local authorities to the exact Global Positioning System of the holder.

Trading in the company’s shares was suspended in the morning pending the announcement. The counter closed unchanged at 20 sen with 115.7 million shares traded.

The device is the brainchild of Digistar Corp group CEO Mejar (K) Datuk Wira Lee Wah Chong, and the culmination of a three-year research and development effort with React Mobile Ltd (USA) as the expertise and technology provider.

Digistar and React Mobile have signed an exclusive partnership for the Southeast Asian market.

Panther Mobile will complement Digistar’s existing Panther911 Central Monitoring Station System.

The company said in a statement it is looking to attract 300,000 users within the next five years. This is only 3% of the 10 million postpaid active subscribers in Malaysia.

There are plans to expand the service to other countries, including those in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, over the next three years.

“Digistar will invest approximately RM40 million for this expansion and will set up approximately 30 service centre and concept stores nationwide in five years’ time,” said Lee.

Digistar has a customer base of 6,000 for its Panther911 service launched in May 2014, with command centres in six states.

Digistar also announced yesterday that Celcom Axiata Bhd will be its preferred wireless network provider to connect Panther911 via its M2M network platform. Digistar is also now an official dealer of Celcom postpaid and prepaid plans.