PUC to set up joint research lab with Chinese institute

PETALING JAYA: ACE Market-listed company, PUC Bhd through its wholly-owned subsidiary PUC (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has entered a three-year joint agreement with Chinese industrial research institute ShenZhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (Siat) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) , which will see it invest RM6 million to set up the Presto Intelligence Technology Laboratory.
PUC’s share price was down 2.5 sen today to 23.5 sen with some 41.3 million shares changing hands.
The two will work together in the development of several new cutting-edge technologies such as the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, including Electronic Know Your Customer (E-KYC), facial recognition platforms, outdoor media demographics analyser as well as photo editing tools and many more, which would enhance PUC’s electronic payment and media services.
This innovative technology can further be applied for commercial purposes on top of enhancing PUC’s e-payment and media services which will contribute positively to the group.
Group managing director and CEO Cheong Chia Chou said “This collaboration reflects the group’s continuous journey to enhance our technological capabilities and pave the way for new breakthroughs in the world of technology. We believe this will benefit the group greatly as we focus on driving our new media, e-commerce, and financial technology-related businesses.”
“Not only that, Siat has numerous labs and resources that are crucial and valuable to our research efforts, and the transfer of knowledge and technology that is expected to take place during this duration will further elevate our expertise, putting us on par with various industry players with proven technologies. This collaboration will also strengthen the group’s objective as a catalyst to the emergence of a digital ecosystem in Malaysia, thus positioning Malaysia as a technology leader in this region,” he added.
Siat aims to enhance the innovative capacity of the equipment manufacturing and service industries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong region, promote the development of emerging industries possessing their own proprietary intellectual property, and become a world-class industrial research institute. Siat has fostered long-term partnerships with tech giants Huawei and Tencent as well as AI leader SenseTime, amongst others.