Rental income to be PHB's revenue driver

PELABURAN Hartanah Bhd (PHB), a group set up to boost Bumiputera holdings of properties, expects revenue to grow 17 per cent to RM70 million this year, driven by rental income from properties it has bought.

"We have acquired four buildings in Klang Valley so far this year and we are in the process of acquiring one more. We would have five or more buildings by the end of the year," managing director and chief executive officer Kamalul Arifin Othman said.

He was speaking to reporters after the launch of Lot G development by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at KL Sentral yesterday.

The RM1.4 billion development of a retail mall and an office tower will be done jointly by Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) and PHB. PHB and MRCB teamed up in late 2007 to develop an integrated transportation hub in Penang, called Penang Sentral.

Kamalul Arifin said the company currently has about 100ha of land in the Klang Valley and Penang. It may buy more, particularly in Johor's Iskandar Malaysia.

"We are also looking at prime buildings that can generate immediate yields," he said.

The buildings that it has bought include Menara Bumiputra-Commerce in Kuala Lumpur from CIMB Group for RM460 million, and CP Tower in Petaling Jaya, from CIMB-Mapletree Management Sdn Bhd for RM200 million.

PHB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yayasan Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera. The foundation was announced by former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Budget 2006. It was set up with an initial capital of RM2 billion.

By Business Times