KUALA LUMPUR: Mitsui & Co Ltd. (Mitsui) of Japan is forming a strategic partnership with ACE-listed LGMS Bhd (LGMS) to broaden the latter's footprint throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
The partnership is facilitated by Mitsui after acquiring a substantial stake from LGMS executive chairman Fong Choong Fook and executive director Goh Soon Sei.
In an announcement to the stock exchange, LGMS said that Mitsui had acquired an additional 23 per cent stake in the company to supplement the two per cent stake Mitsui held previously.
This development results in Mitsui holding a 25 per cent stake in LGMS.
Mitsui general manager (digital solution business division) John Kenichi Kogiku described this development as a 'win-win' situation for both Mitsui and LGMS and that the strategic partnership is set to broaden and deepen LGMS' customer base across the region.
Further, this strategic partnership is expected to provide higher levels of professional cybersecurity services throughout Asia-Pacific, leveraging the expertise of LGMS' highly skilled cybersecurity professionals and Mitsui's extensive global network and experience in the cybersecurity industry.
LGMS' clientele includes local and international clients, first-tier banks, payment gateways, and telecommunications companies.
On the international front, LGMS' customers include various Fortune 500 companies.
At its end, Mitsui also has a wholly-owned cybersecurity subsidiary, Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions, Inc (MBSD), established in 2001. It provides high-end penetration testing, consulting, and managed services for Japanese blue-chip clients.
One of Japan's most diversified conglomerates, Mitsui today has a global footprint of 127 offices in 63 countries spanning six continents.
In Asia-Pacific, Mitsui is represented through its 26 offices in 15 countries.
Mitsui's business record in Malaysia stretches over 60 years.
The Mitsui Group has successfully undertaken and invested in various Malaysian industries, such as gas supply (Gas Malaysia Bhd), palm oil (Palm-Oreo Sdn Bhd), airport (KLIA Satellite Terminal), infrastructure (Rawang-Ipoh Electrification and Double Track Rail and the Port Dickson Electric Generation Plant), car manufacturing (Perodua) healthcare (IHH Healthcare Bhd) and the digital economy (Axiata Digital Services Sdn Bhd), as well as property development (Sime Darby Property MIT Development Sdn Bhd).
LGMS holds multiple industry credentials, including Malaysia's only PCI-accredited ASV and QSA.
LGMS is a Center for Internet Security member and the first Malaysian cyber security consultancy company certified by TÜV Nord in ISO/IEC 27001:2013.
"Mitsui's emergence as a substantial shareholder of LGMS would result in a partnership that provides 'world class' levels of professional cybersecurity services to the entire region," said Fong.
"We are extremely proud of this LGMS-Mitsui partnership, which is a formidable one to realise sustainable growth in the years and decades ahead."
Immediate initiatives in the pipeline include rolling out the LGMS PCI Compliance Wizard for e-commerce merchants throughout the region.
The Wizard platform, developed in-house by LGMS, owns the intellectual property (IP), is supported and powered by official PCI Qualified Security Assessors (QSA), and simplifies e-payment compliance processes via step-by-step guidance.
Fong added that LGMS would continue investing in advanced cybersecurity research and development (R&D), talent building and IP creation to meet growth targets.
"Through the global expansion of our cybersecurity business, Mitsui will continue supporting digital infrastructure and services to enhance people's quality of life.
"Concurrently, Mitsui strives also to protect businesses from cyber threats so that they are constantly protected and safe and able to operate productively and efficiently," Kogiku said.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
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