Major trading house Mitsubishi Corp. and security service firm Sohgo Security Services Co. have launched a joint venture in Singapore to conduct building management business in Southeast Asia as well as Japan.

Mitsubishi and Sohgo Security, popularly known as ALSOK, said in a joint statement on Monday that they have agreed to form a strategic partnership in facility management and established MC ALSOK Facility Solutions Pte. Ltd. in Singapore earlier this month.

The trading house holds a 70 percent stake in the joint venture and ALSOK the remaining 30 percent.

The joint venture will initially engage in joint building management operations in Thailand, where Mitsubishi commands a broad customer base, by utilizing ALSOK's locally cultivated security services know-know.

In addition, the two firms said Mitsubishi will acquire a 33.4 percent stake in ALSOK subsidiary, ALSOK Souei Co., which specializes in building management operations and security services in Japan, as part of their strategic partnership.

"It is our first full-fledged building management enterprise in Japan and abroad," a Mitsubishi spokesman told NNA on Monday. (NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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