By Kenny Chee

A GLOBAL company has committed itself to investing up to $95 million in cash in Addvalue Technologies, a Singapore satellite-communications firm, despite the economic turmoil.

The injection by the Cyprus investment-management firm, Pytheas (Cyprus), will help Addvalue expand through issuance of new shares, said the Singapore firm yesterday.

The satellite industry's resilience to economic downturns, said Pytheas (Cyprus) chief executiveHarris Samaras, is one reason why the company is still investing during an economic slowdown.

"Unlike consumer electronic products that are easily affected by a recession, there is always demand for satellite communications in sectors like shipping and the military," Dr Samaras told my paper.

There is also good growth potential for the satellite industry in emerging markets, such as the Middle East, he said, as the technology becomes cheaper and easier to use.

Addvalue Technologies CEO Colin Chan added that during wars and natural disasters, satellite communications becomes crucial as basic telecommunications could be down.

"There was a surge in the use of mobile-satellite services during the Iraq war in 2003 and the Sichuan earthquake this year," he said.

According to Addvalue, this innovation is more portable than its high-frequency version that uses large satellite dishes. The technology is also less affected by weather conditions when sending and receiving signals from a satellite.

On why a Singapore company was chosen for the investment, Dr Samaras said: "It's a plus that Singapore is a jurisdiction with good prudential controls, international accounting standards and a strong legal system."

Addvalue was founded in 1995 as a consumer-electronics company. It moved into the satellite business in 2005.

Since then, the firm has become the third company in the world, and the only one in Asia, to provide low-frequency satellite- communications technology, said Addvalue.

The company has struck partnerships with communicationsservice providers, such as Sing- Tel and United States-based Stratos.

Last month, Addvalue's services were used in Brazil's municipal elections.

For more my paper stories click here.