Serba Dinamik sets sights on Senegal

> In negotiations to set up technical and vocational education and training programme there

KUALA LUMPUR: Engineering services provider Serba Dinamik Bhd, whose share price has more doubled since its listing on Bursa Malaysia a year ago, has identified West African country Senegal as the expansion target for its training programme.

“It is not a firm order, we are negotiating to set up a technical and vocational education and training programme. They (Senegal) are very keen if an entity like Serba Dinamik can come in to upskill their manpower and their citizens,” the group CEO Datuk Abdul Karim Abdullah ( pix) told SunBiz recently about its plans to expand to Senegal.

The group provides technical and vocational education and training services for the oil and gas sector as well as petrochemical industry-related skills.

Karim believes that a skilled local workforce is important and cost efficient compared to bringing in foreign labour.

Recalling the group’s initial footing, he said the group ventured into training and skills development three years after its inception in 1996.

Serba Dinamik is predominantly involved in operations and management (OM) and engineering, procurement construction and commissioning (EPCC). It also has interest in IT solutions. Geographically, Serba Dinamik has footprints in several countries including Indonesia, Turkmenistan, India, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UK. Currently it is weighing possibilities of expanding its coverage to avoid overdependence on a particular country.

For the IT segment, plans are afoot to roll out the Malaysia Third Party Administrator (myTPA) platform by the end of the month, an online management system which serves as a payment regulating platform between panel clinics and companies developed in collaboration with Malaysian Islamic Doctors Organisation.

Karim expects the group to rake in RM200 million in revenue in the next three years with the rollout of the product.

As for its QR code-based parking payment application, QuickParking, Karim said Serba Dinamik is engaging with relevant parties to expand the use of the system to public transport.

The group has been enjoying a good run with the support from its two major income contributors. The OM segment accounted for 84.26% or RM671.89 million of total revenue of RM797.37 million, while the EPCC segment contributed 15.5% or RM123.47 million.

As at the middle of February, the group’s order book stood at RM6 billion.

Recently Serba Dinamik proposed to acquire a 40% stake in Maju RE Sdn Bhd, Maju RE (Talang) Sdn Bhd and Maju RE (Temenggor) Sdn Bhd from Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd, which currently owns a 70% stake in these three target companies. The rest is held by Perak Hydro RE Corp Sdn Bhd.

Karim said the power generation venture is in line with the group’s asset ownership model, which is key in generating steady recurring income in the long term, as OM contracts, though recurring at this point, do not ensure longevity.

Meanwhile, with a 30% stake in One River Power Sdn Bhd, which is mandated to develop a 30MW hydropower plant in Kota Marudu, Sabah, Serba Dinamik is hoping to increase its total capacity of power generation assets to 200MW this year.

On Bursa Malaysia last Friday, Serba Dinamik gained 1 sen or 0.29% to RM3.47 on volume of 1.84 million shares.