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Monday, May 18, 2009

Mah Sing makes the move to ride out the soft demand for homes

PETALING JAYA: Mah Sing Group Bhd will be building up its commercial property portfolio to ride out the soft demand for residential property that is expected to last until at least early next year.

Leong ... 'We may go into real estate investment trust later on'.

President and group chief executive Datuk Sri Leong Hoy Kum expects commercial projects to contribute to about half of the company’s sales target of RM450mil and 40% of the company’s revenue for the financial year ending Dec 31.

Leong said Mah Sing intended to use its potential war chest of close to RM900mil to expand its landbank for more commercial and residential projects that fit its business model of quick project turnaround.

It is looking to acquire one to two more pieces of land for integrated commercial developments next year.

“We see good demand for commercial properties, especially purpose-built buildings in prime locations and lifestyle commercial developments, including well-planned business parks, offices, shops, and retail space,” Leong told StarBiz.

He said most of the Grade A offices and shop offices in good locations were doing well and he expects prices to start climbing next year. Currently, office space is fetching between RM1,000 and RM2,000 per sq ft while shop offices are priced around RM500 to RM1,000 psf.

Although, all its commercial properties are for sale presently, “we may go into real estate investment trust later on.”

“At the moment, we see good demand for commercial properties, especially purpose-built buildings in prime locations and lifestyle commercial developments, including well-planned business parks, offices, shops, and retail space,” he said.

Mah Sing has five ongoing commercial projects in Kuala Lumpur and Penang worth a total gross development vaue of RM2.2bil. These projects will take between three and seven years to complete.

The Icon Jalan Tun Razak comprises two blocks of Grade A office space in the heart of Kuala Lumpur with a gross development value (GDV) of RM430mil.

With approximately 500,000 sq ft of net lettable area, it is slated for completion in the middle of this year. The office blocks have been sold to Kuwait Finance House and Kooperasi Felda.

The second in the Icon commercial series, Icon Mont’ Kiara worth RM305mil, will also be sold en bloc.

Southgate Commercial Centre in Kuala Lumpur comprises five blocks of office and retail space with 599,000 sq ft of net lettable area.

Three of the blocks are available for sale on strata basis, with retail lots ranging from 535 sq ft to 2,105 sq ft at average price of RM1,100 psf, and office suites from 587 sq ft to 1,712 sq ft at RM550 psf.

Close to 90% of the office and retail space in the three blocks has been sold for RM152mil and the RM458mil project is on track for completion by 2011.

Starparc Point in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, on five acres, will comprise mainly 24 three-storey shoplots and 22 units of six-storey shop offices for a GDV of RM125mil.

It will be launched next month for completion in 2012.

In Penang, the commercial precinct of Southbay Penang is an integrated commercial hub within a resort-like setting.

Comprising fine-dining restaurants, retail outlets, service apartments and hotel suites, the project will have a GDV of RM911mil.

The project will be open for private preview around the year-end or the first half of next year.

It is expected to be completed within five and seven years from the project’s launch by the first half of next year.

Meanwhile, the residential precinct of Southbay Penang on 54 acres will have 284 super-link homes priced from RM795,000 and 76 bungalows priced from RM3.7mil.

The residences will be launched for sale next month and will have total GDV of RM518mil.

By The Star (by Angie Ng)

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