ANNUAL REPORT 2023 25 Ź The Group also made significant progress in realising its expansion plans to meet future accommodation needs for foreign workers. On 6 December 2023, the Group signed a lease agreement with the Penang Development Corporation (“PDC”) to build a RM108 million foreign workers’ housing in Batu Kawan after emerging as a successful bidder in a tender exercise. The workers’ village project, located at Batu Kawan Industrial Park 3, is expected to house at least 8,000 foreign workers upon completion. Along with this project, MYEG will offer other services such as application for work permits, and provision of fully equipped facilities and amenities for the foreign workers including a surau, a sundry store and recreational areas. The 30-year lease agreement with PDC was valued at a sum of RM20.4 million for the development of 8.3943 acres of land. In addition, during the previous year, other planned dormitory construction projects of varying sizes in Selangor and Johor continued to move through various stages of the approval process for the commencement of construction works. Ź In further deepening its contribution towards the development of e-government services in Malaysia, MYEG announced in March 2024 an acquisition of a strategic stake in Heitech Padu Berhad, an investment that paves the way for both parties to explore potential collaborations to create synergies by leveraging on their respective expertise and experience as established service providers to the Malaysian government. Meanwhile, major developments of our regional expension related to e-government services overseas in 2023 were as follows: Ź MYEG Philippines posted a significant jump in revenue and net income in FY2023 on the back of a sizeable increase in transaction volumes, which in turn reflected increased demand for online payment services for existing government agencies on the platform. This was coupled with maiden contributions from newly added agencies in 2023 such as the Department of Health, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in the Philippines. Ź As a testament to its successful track record and its position as the leading e-government service provider in the Philippines, in February 2023, the Group announced that MYEG Philippines had secured an agreement to deliver services for the National Bureau of Investigation for another three years. Ź The year 2023 also saw MYEG Philippines secure a Money Services Business license from the country’s central bank, paving the way for the company to further expand its value-added offerings moving forward. Ź In May 2023, MYEG Philippines launched a payment processing service for the SEC that provides more convenient and hassle-free payment options to the Filipino public via the eSPAYSEC using MYEG Philippines’ online payment network. In total, the service enables the public to make payments across more than 90,000 channels, both online and offline. Ź More recently, in February 2024, MYEG Philippines and SSS entered a groundbreaking partnership to enhance the payment experience for SSS members, enabling them to enjoy hassle-free and efficient online payment of loans and contributions through www.myeg.ph. In addition, members will be able to effortlessly generate their Payment Reference Number on the same platform. For its successful contributions towards the Philippines’ digitalisation drive, MYEG Philippines has won several awards including the Catalyst in Financial Inclusion Award at the GCash Digital Excellence Awards 2023, being recognised as an ‘Organizational Development Champion’ by the SEC, and receiving a Certificate of Recognition from the SEC. MYEG Philippines aspires to further solidify its role as the primary, all-encompassing e-government services provider in the Philippines. This involves broadening its array of services for both existing and new government agencies through collaborations, the adoption of blockchain applications and more. The Group remains vigilant in monitoring the local and regional markets for potential expansion opportunities. MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS (cont’d) PERFORMANCE
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