Talam gearing for property launches

Talam Corp Bhd, once the country's largest builder of low- and low-medium-cost houses, plans to launch properties worth as much as RM1 billion once its restructuring exercise is completed.

The property launches will be staggered over a period of two to three years.

The company expects to launch some projects by the second half of next year.

The group has sold off RM676 million worth of properties to settle its debts, of which RM393 million is due to Menteri Besar Selangor Inc and RM266.3 million to lenders.

When its restructuring is completed, the group's current liabilities will be reduced to RM190 million from RM887 million a year ago.
"Once this exercise has been approved by shareholders and regulatory body, we will use the remaining landbank to launch higher-range products," executive director Chua Kim Lan told reporters after the group's annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

After selling off some 1,942.5ha to settle its debts, the group still has 809.4ha in Selangor and plans to develop bungalows, semi-detached houses and industrial factories.

"One of the many things we learnt from this episode was, when we launch low-medium-cost houses, we get low returns. In addition to that, during the peak of the property market in the 1990s, we had a huge landbank of 7,284.3ha and the group's liability then was around RM4 billion to RM5 billion," chairman Tsen Keng Yam said.

"We do not need so much landbank, should only buy when you have money and when you need it," he added.

For this year, Talam is committed to finishing off its incomplete projects, including housing developments in Kinrara Section 3, Jalil Heights, in Petaling, Saujana Puchong and Ukay Perdana.

The projects have progress balance billings of about RM100 million.

By Business Times