Interview with Chew Leong Kim by Wallstreet Reporter

December 21, 2005

WSR:	Tell us about the company's services and solutions.
KIM:	Dataprep is one of Malaysia?s oldest IT companies. We were the first IT Company to be listed on the Stock Exchange back in 1991. The company was established in 1971, so it is a 34-year-old company. For the last three decades, we specialized in what we call managed services, which has obviously evolved to include outsourcing. We are also one of the strong players in systems integration market. Three years ago, we acquired the consulting arm of Arthur Andersen, which was then called Arthur Andersen Business Consulting. Today, we have three core businesses.

WSR:	Describe your target markets and market share.
KIM:	Up to this point, about 75% of our business, especially in the managed and outsourcing services are actually from the Malaysian government and government-linked companies. Of course, we do have businesses from the multinational companies, for example, we were awarded the outsourcing contracts from Citibank and AIG. Besides that, we are also servicing some locally listed companies that are owned by our fellow Malaysians.

WSR:	What are the key drivers and perhaps major trends affecting these businesses and how is Dataprep favorably positioned to take advantage?
KIM:	First of all, System Integration ('SI'), unlike other matured markets, is still very popular in our part of the world for one simple reason; technology adoption is still at an early stage. It is therefore not surprising to see International Data Corporation ('IDC') actually note that the SI market has about 33% of the ICT spending today. The SI portion is about 40% of our total revenue. Another major contributor to our revenue is the outsourcing and managed services, which has been our core business for the past 34 years and we have to-date acquire some very good clients from in the government sector as well as the government-linked companies. As Malaysian companies begin to look at focusing on the core business and starting to, if you like, outsource the back office function, the IT outsourcing and the managed services will gain strength. I believe a company like ours with 25 branches and service centers throughout the country, with a very low cost structure, is well positioned to exploit the market.

WSR:	To that end, do you feel you have the infrastructure in place to handle that additional growth in demand?
KIM:	I like to think we have. For one simple reason, like Computer Systems Advisers (M) Berhad, which is a subsidiary of the U.S. company Computer Services Corporation, we have 25 service centers throughout the country, East and West Malaysia. Even today, some of the jobs secured by local IT companies are being sub-contracted back to us. This gives you an idea of how large our service center is. The other thing about the outsourcing industry is that most outsourcing contracts will invariably require us to take over their people. For example, in the recent deal with Citibank, we took over 25 headcount from them. We like to think that we have the financial resources and capacity to absorb more and more people and we're in position to play.

WSR:	Will the company look to additional M&A activities as a catalyst towards continued growth?
KIM:	Absolutely. If you look at the IT industry structure today, on one hand it has got too many players, it is very fragmented; on the other hand it is very small. I?ve been an active participant at the industry level and as far as we can see, the next stage of growth in the ICT market in Malaysia will definitely involve industry consolidation. As an established company, we have well-endowed shareholders and distinguished directors, from ex-CEOs of, for example, the country?s largest electric company and also retired partners from the Big Five Accounting Firms. We are in a very good position to be a buyer of some of these companies; in fact, there are already deals on the table. I think if anything, we?ve been slow in consuming the deals because the valuation in the past (the last two years) has been extremely high. But with the adjustment and moderation of the technology counters on the Stock Exchange, the prices of these companies are within our expectations.

WSR:	What is unique about Dataprep? What defines and differentiates this company as a major player in this space?
KIM:	As has been identified by IDC in their recent independent study, Dataprep together with two local companies was identified as the local heroes in the services provider industry. The niche strength that I can point to has to be our unblemished reputation. We have been an established company for 34 years. We have served clients, both governments, government-linked, and multi-national companies. Besides, with the acquisition of the Arthur Anderson Business Consulting team, back in June 2002, it has added tremendous depth in our solutioning skills, and we believe that we are well positioned for the next stage of work. The last point perhaps is that being an established company, we are also able to attract talents. Towards that, we have been able to hire people from not just the Big Five, but also from the multi-national companies in the IT industry. I like to think all these factors make us a very strong player in the industry today.

WSR:	What can you tell us about the balance of the present board and senior level executive team in place at Dataprep?
KIM:	The controlling shareholder today is Datuk Lim Chee Wah, the youngest son of Tan Sri Lim, the founder of the Genting Group, which is Asia?s largest casino group. He was formerly the Deputy CEO of Genting Group and if you check Wall Street?s own in-house report, you would find that Genting Group has been voted nine times as the best run company in Malaysia as part of their Asian Excellent Companies survey. So, obviously, his focus is to make sure that Dataprep?s management today has what it takes, not just to navigate the challenges ahead, but also to take advantage of the opportunities that come before the Group. Our chairman is Encik Mirzan Mahathir and he has been in this business for a long time and he has been giving very good stewardship to the company. On the board, we also have the former CEO of the National Electric Company. Prior to his retirement which was two year ago, the National Electric Company was the third largest market cap company in the country. We also have the Chief Financial Officer of Titan Chemicals Corporation Berhad, which is Asia?s largest chemical company. On our Board are also two retired partners from the Big Five, myself being a retired senior partner from Arthur Anderson, and another director who is retired senior partner from Ernst & Young. He is also the chairman of the audit committee. With all these seasoned and senior experienced business professionals, I think my job is made much easier as we go forward.

WSR:	Do you feel the investment community understands this company and the direction here, given the current stock price and the level of interest?
KIM:	I would be the first to say that as the first local IT company to be listed on the Exchange and being a pioneer in the local IT industry, we have had our fair share of troubles in the past. But I would like to think that the Group, with the current management and the new shareholder who emerged as the controlling shareholder back in June 2002, are in good hands. We have an idea how to go forward and we have restructured the company. Last year, for example, we posted our first maiden profit after two years of drastic financial restructuring. This year is another year of challenging times, but we would like to think that by the end of the financial year, we should again position ourselves for growth in the coming year. We are confident that the IT industry has entered a phase where it is no longer a business hype. We have to take a long-term view, and as the CEO, I am always encouraged by the Board to take a medium to long-term view. We have slowly steered the company to become, what I call, an infrastructure company taking position in the country where IT is the key enabler in whatever we do. The country has lately lost its competitiveness a little in some of the sectors. We are moving in, we are trying to see how technology can help. In addition, as a small company, we have also started to team with external companies. For example, on the consulting arena our global partner is BearingPoint Inc., a Company Listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The reason being, some of the folks who joined BearingPoint were my former partners in Asia-Pacific. Apart from that, we have also teamed up with a Singapore company called ST Electronics. ST Electronics is a large company, with estimate annual turnover of Singapore Dollar 7 billion, and is owned by the Temasek group; Temasek is the state investment holding company. Where we do not have relevant skills, we team with other partners and collectively, we do have something that I believe has impressed the local investors. Our book value is about RM0.12 per share, whereas the share price is traded in the range of RM0.50 per share. So, there is market-to-book of about four times. I would like to think that this is only made possible because we have been optimistic in how we penetrate the market, and more importantly, how we manage the company. Though the financial numbers are yet not apparent that we have fully recovered, we need to look at this industry with a long-term view.

WSR:	In closing, could you summarize why investors should consider Dataprep Group as a long-term investment opportunity?
KIM:	I think investors should look seriously at Dataprep as a long-term investing company for at least three reasons. Number one, if you look at all the industry reports, especially from IDC, they have continued to project growth, 13% to 15% compound growth, from now to year 2010. So, the industry is still growing. Secondly, we believe Dataprep management has come around, and lastly, the company, as it stands today, is looking for opportunities for mergers and acquisitions, both inside and outside the country. Of course, I cannot share the details, but I feel strongly, putting all this together, we do have an interesting story to tell in the next 18 months to 24 months.