Kuala lumpur: The involvement of any local company in the train set rental project with a company from China has not yet been finalised, said the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The ministry revealed in a reply posted on the parliament website that the government intends to nominate local companies that have the capacity to catalyse the national rail industry ecosystem to develop local content.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, a due diligence process is being carried out to assess the project’s ability to meet the country’s strategic objectives, determine commercial viability, and ensure compliance with corporate governance obligations. This assessment is crucial in deciding the role and percentage of control or ownership that local companies may have in the operation and ownership of assets in the railway leasing project.

In response to a query from Tan Hong Pin (PH-Bakri), the MoF stated that decisions regarding the involvement of local firms, such as UEM Group Bhd, will be determined once the due diligence is completed. Tan Hong Pin inquired about UEM Group’s potential involvement in the negotiations for part of the 62-train leasing project with CRRC Rolling Stock Centre (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, which includes aspects of manufacturing, maintenance, management, and ownership.

Previously, local media reported that UEM Group had been mandated by the federal government to acquire a 51 per cent stake in CRRC RSC. This Chinese company is the supplier from which train operator KTM Bhd plans to lease 62 new passenger train sets at a cost of RM10.7 billion over 30 years.