Canada IT firm to set up HQ in Sultanate

CANADA-based IT firm Plantiga Technologies Inc is planning to set up headquarters in Brunei, a statement from the company yesterday said.

"Over the last nine months Plantiga has been engaged with the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) and a few other highly placed authorities with the aim of establishing a headquarters in the country," the release said.

Already, Plantiga has found a local partner in Teleconsult Brunei.

Hj Julian Johari Hj Abd Ghafar, Teleconsult Brunei director, said the Canadian firm is interested in setting up in Brunei because the country is a quiet place where they can do research and develop their product quietly without fear of being exposed.

"This is due to the nature of the biometric security industry. If and when it goes ahead, this will totally revolutionise the face of biometric as we know it and it is a potential multi-billion dollar industry," Julian Johari said.

He said that Plantiga is making a prototype to show the basis of their technology and they have already sourced an investor out of Brunei to fund the prototype.

"Once the prototype is ready, they will come back to Brunei to get the actual funding which is required to start a full-scale operation here," he said, adding Plantiga has already looked into research and development facilities in the country.

Julian Johari said the firm might even put up a manufacturing plant in Brunei.

"The time frame for the prototype will be done within this year or so hopefully, if not by the middle of next year. By the end of 2010, they will most likely gather the rest of the required funding to set up their HQ," Julian Johari added.

He said Plantiga has the full support of the Canadian Embassy here, especially from High Commissioner, Wendell Sanford.

Plantiga's press release stated that their technology, a new mobile biometric platform, will address existing vulnerabilities in global homeland security and will have immediate application in critical infrastructure protection, as well as maritime and port security.

The company said it wants to work closely with Brunei in the areas of research and development, beta testing and deployment and fabrication and manufacturing, all for the purpose of designing and producing its new technology.

One of their projects is a special type of footwear that could track the wearer. "The footwear doubles as a robust security platform because it generates individual walking patterns," the release said.

Quin Sandler, chief executive officer and co-founder of Plantiga in an email to The Brunei Times said Plantiga President and Chief Operating Officer Brian James Tracey "has travelled to Brunei various times in the last eight months, each time visiting with the BEDB. In his first trip, back in late spring, he met with Dato Timothy Ong."

In the press release, he said, "We hope, in the end, that our international headquarters will be established in Brunei."

The company hopes to exploit existing associations with regards the firm's technology development and marketing with the BEDB, ITB as well as the University of British Columbia in Canada, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Teleconsult Brunei.

Plantiga sees this opportunity as a win-win situation for both sides as they will not only grow in Brunei, as their objectives are a good fit with Brunei's goals, it said.

"By placing our operations within Brunei, we can capitalise on Bruneians' drive to create an advanced society. Our commercialisation process will be met by both the academic and business worlds, which will occur both regionally and on a global scale," Plantiga's statement said.

In concert with Brunei's other achievements, "Plantiga will lead to an affirmation and acknowledgment of the Sultanate as both a hub of innovation and a centre for high-growth business.

"Ultimately, the project will create jobs for Bruneians at a variety of levels, R&D (researchers and their assistants), skilled manufacturing personnel, testing and validation teams and office personnel, just to name a few. We look forward to working in concert with the skilled Bruneians that will bring our project to fruition," the release said. The Brunei Times