Easy ownership scheme for Mah Sing property

Property developer Mah Sing Group Bhd is offering attractive price rebates in 11 projects in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor in conjunction with its 18th anniversary celebrations.

Embarking on a property promotion exercise over three months this Saturday, the road show will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor with the theme, Realizing Dreams.

The launch at Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur on June 16 will have activities for the whole family and will continue the next day. The celebrations which will be attended by celebrities will include entertaining shows.

The other scheduled venues are Equatorial Hotel in Penang from June 22-23 and KSL Hotel in Johor Baru from June 29-30 .

To be hosted by emcees Xandria Ooi and Kevin Chong, the KL launch will feature the China Bond Girls and Shanghai Star Acrobatic Ballet during the opening ceremony at 10.30am.

The internationally-acclaimed China Bond Girls musical group will play instrumental hits while the Shanghai Star Acrobatic Ballet will perform gravity-defying feats over the weekend. The performers will also be in Penang and Johor Baru.

A series of informative talks will include tips for property buyers on enhancing their living space. Experts will teach homeowners on the fine art of cooking, gardening and interior decorating.

Local celebrity Chef Wan will be cooking up a storm at all three venues. Furthermore, Chef Daisy, who specialises in organic recipes and Chef Michael Elfwing of Senses Restaurant in Hilton Kuala Lumpur, will demonstrate their cooking skills during the road show.

Sharing their expertise on transforming a living space into one that resonates with good energy will be Feng Shui guru David Koh and Vasthu Sastra expert T. Selva.

On June 17, a LEED accredited professional will talk about how environmentally-sustainable buildings should be built, rated and occupied. There will be a special animation workshop for teenagers and young children as well as an entertaining robotics dance. Children’s programmes will also be presented on Samsung’s Smart televisions to keep the youngsters occupied throughout the duration of the road show.

Realizing Dreams Showcase
This is the first time the Mah Sing Group is conducting a property and lifestyle showcase on such a scale.

The company is offering special incentives from June 16 to Sept 15 to reward their property buyers who total 12,000 over the past 18 years. The promotion exercise is also aimed at new buyers.

Eleven developments that include landed and high-rise residential property as well as commercial projects in the Klang Valley (including KL), Penang and Johor Baru will be promoted.

Properties have always been viewed as one of the best hedges against inflation, and there are still many buyers looking for good properties in prime locations for their own use or investment.

One of the key objectives of the Realising Dreams Showcase is to make it easier for buyers to own their “dream properties”, with affordable down payment schemes. This include having to pay only 2% down payment via 0% easy payment programmes stretching up to 36 months with selected banks.

Additionally, qualified purchasers will also benefit from the Anniversary Lifestyle Package of up to RM488,888 depending on the property purchased.

During the three-month celebration, property buyers will enjoy benefits of the developer interest bearing scheme (DIBS). They only need to pay the down payment and nothing else until the completion of the property. The properties under this scheme include:

• Icon City (Petaling Jaya)
• M City (Jalan Ampang)
• Icon Residence Mont’ Kiara
• Garden Residence & Garden Plaza (Cyberjaya)
• Kinrara Residence (Kinrara)
• Lagenda@Southbay (Penang island)
• Southbay Plaza (Penang island)
• Austin Suites (Johor Bahru)
• Non-DIBS projects include M Residence (Rawang) and Sierra Perdana (Johor Baru).

Mah Sing will also absorb the legal fees for the sales and purchase agreement and loan agreement for all 11 selected projects.

During the showcase, banks participating in the property promotion will offer “Pre-Approved Loan Assessment” as an added convenience for buyers of Mah Sing properties.

Mah Sing’s M Club members - involving loyal customers - will enjoy “Repeat Purchase Discounts” of up to 1.8% while all purchasers will enjoy “Buyer-Get-Buyer Rebates” of 1%.

There will also be weekly activities in all sales galleries of the Mah Sing Group.

By The Star

Gerbang Nusajaya, with RM18bil GDV, to be launched by end-year

KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Land Holdings Bhd will launch the 4,500acre Gerbang Nusajaya by the end 2012, which will have a gross development value of RM18bil. The project would be developed over 25 years.

UEM Land managing director Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim said the company would form joint ventures as well as look for strategic investors to develop the land.

Abdullah: ‘We are not looking to sell land.’

“We are not looking to sell land,” he said. “We want to generate more recurring income. Gerbang Nusajaya will not just generate income, but also create employment. We will have activity malls, campus offices, trade centres and residential development, among others.”

He also said some RM4.5bil of development projects would come onstream this year and that UEM Land had a target to complete RM3bil worth of sales. Last year, it completed RM2.2bil worth of sales.

Over the next few weeks, UEM Land will be launching its CS-2 apartments in Nusajaya, which Abdullah said would be priced attractively.

He said UEM Land had some RM900mil in cash and a gearing level of about 0.24 times, which gave it a comfortable war chest to acquire more land.

Abdullah said 2012 was its tipping point', and that he would not be surprised if revenue from Nusajaya overtook that from its subsidiary Sunrise Bhd. For 2011, Nusajaya's revenue contribution was 46% versus Sunrise' 54%. In terms of net profit contribution, they were almost evenly matched.

By The Star

UEM to start work on Johor project by Dec

UEM Land Holdings Bhd, Malaysia's largest property developer by market capitalisation, aims to start works on Gerbang Nusajaya, its new project in Johor worth RM18 billion, by the end of the year.

The 1,875ha development is located next to Nusajaya, one of five key nodes of Johor's Iskandar Malaysia economic growth corridor.

UEM Land, the real estate investment and development arm of UEM Group Bhd and Khazanah Nasional Bhd, is the master developer of Nusajaya.

Its managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim said the layout plan for Gerbang Nusajaya had been submitted. The project will take 25 years to develop.

"We hope to hit the ground before the end of this year. We are not sure when we will put the products into the market but hope to come up with something by year-end," he said.

Wan Abdullah, speaking to reporters yesterday after the company's shareholders meeting, said the key strategy behind Gerbang Nusajaya is to attract Singaporeans and create jobs.

He said UEM Land will not sell land this time but look for strategic partners to jointly develop it.

"UEM Land has been criticised for lumpy performance from land sales. But there is a major shift now with 74 per cent contribution from property development.

"In the long term, we hope to increase contribution from all our divisions, including investment properties and management," he said.

Gerbang Nusajaya will have residential precincts, a golf course, campus offices, activity-based retail and an industrial park.

"The market is beginning to shine for south Johor. We are leveraging on our proximity to Singapore. If we are not next to Singapore, I don't think we can enjoy the benefits that we are reaping like demand for our properties, and price increases," he said.

CIMB Research is maintaining its trading "buy" call or target price for UEM Land at RM2.56.

Its research head Terence Wong said the potential re-rating catalysts include positive news flow on Nusajaya and strong sales in the second half of 2012.

The stock closed two sen down yesterday to RM1.94

Wan Abdullah said UEM Land will launch new catalyst projects in Johor, including condominiums.

He hopes UEM Land will do better in the current fiscal year, helped by sales from its on-going projects in Johor, Greater Kuala Lumpur and Canada.

UEM Land targets to launch projects to the tune of RM4.5 billion this year, and achieve RM3 billion in sales. It has so far achieved sales of RM600 million.

By Business Times

Axis-REIT buying two buildings in PJ

KUALA LUMPUR : Axis Real Estate Investment Trust's (Axis-REIT) trustee, OSK Trustee Bhd, has entered into two sales and purchase agreements to acquire Wisma Academy and the Annex in Petaling Jaya for RM85m il from Academy Resources Sdn Bhd.

“The proposed acquisitions will also enable Axis-REIT to diversify and enlarge its portfolio of properties and is expected to benefit the trust in the long-term as a result of economies of scale,” said Stewart LaBrooy, chief executive officer of Axis REIT Managers Bhd, the manager of the trust.

He said the acquisition was in line with the trust's investment objectives as well as its growth strategy which was to provide unitholders with stable income distribution.

By Bernama

Expo offers all kinds of everything under one roof

The Perfect Home Living 2012 will be the perfect place to source for any home or commercial building improvement items and fixtures.

To be held at Stadium Indera Mulia from July 12 to 15, the exposition would showcase anything from furniture to furnishings, decorative items to home entertainment systems.

Perfect Home Living Sdn Bhd executive director Karen Law said visitors would be spoilt for choices with 100 exhibitors taking up 365 booths covering up to 8,000 sqm of exhibition space.

“Visitors will get to choose from a diverse range of quality products and services at affordable prices.

“We are targeting 80,000 visitors throughout the four-day event,” said Law.

The exposition opens from 10am to 10pm daily. Admission is free.

For details, visit www.perfecthomeliving.com.my or call 019-5260187.

By The Star

i-City to earn more from properties

Eu with a model of i-City project.

SHAH ALAM: I-Bhd, the developer of i-City, expects to see its property development segment accounting for 50% of its net profit in two to three years.

“The bulk of it will still be from property development. As for the leisure, we see a contribution of 30% to our net profits in two to three years' time, while the balance will be from the property investment segment,” group chief executive officer Datuk Eu Hong Chew said.

The leisure business posted 43% to profit margin last year. Since the launch of i-City's “City of Digital Lights,” revenue from the segment has grown from RM2.8mil in 2010 to RM17mil last year.

i-City will be investing another RM25mil to build a children's gym and a water theme park. The 10,000 sq ft gym will be opened in August 2012 while the 4-acre water theme park will be opened in November.

Upcoming developments in i-City include the one million-sq-ft shopping mall known as CityMall. The mall will be built on a 14-acre lot and will comprise a five-storey podium block and four towers for a hotel and three serviced residences. The gross development cost, which is the total cost incurred from initiation to implementation is between RM600mil and RM700mil.

Eu said the company was currently looking for a joint-venture (JV) partner with shopping mall development expertise to help build and manage the mall.

“We expect to have a minority stake of between 30% and 40%. We will let the experts manage it. The mall will be funded by the partner,” he said.

He added I-Bhd had not signed any deals for the development of the mall. However, he expects the construction for the mall to start before year-end. “We are in the building plan stage now, and expect the mall to be complete in 2015,” Eu said.

CityMall will be the only other mall to have direct access from the Federal Highway apart from Mid Valley Megamall.

A direct flyover from the Federal Highway costing RM58mil is currently under construction and will be completed in September. The project was undertaken by the Mentri Besar Inc to ease traffic flow to and from the area.

By The Star

I-Berhad to launch first KL project next year

LUXURY CONDOMINIUMS: Grand i-Residence is expected to generate RM500 million gross development value

I-BERHAD plans to launch Grand i-Residence next year, its maiden property project in Kuala Lumpur that will generate RM500 million gross development value, its chief says.

Grand i-Residence is a luxury condominium project, located on 0.43ha along Jalan Changkat Kia Peng, nearby Traders Hotel.

It was originally slated for launch at the end of 2008 and called The Peak@KLCC, but was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Now that the company is bullish on the real estate market, it will proceed to develop it in a joint venture with land owner, Sumurwang Sdn Bhd.

Sumurwang is the majority shareholder of I-Berhad, controlled and founded by Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong.

Lim, via Sumurwang, bought the land at KLCC in 1993 for RM280 per sq ft.

I-Berhad is the master developer of the RM4 billion i-City here, its flagship project and only ongoing development.

"We have the development order ready but there are some adjustments, like increasing the height of the building from 41 to 50 floors, with smaller units.

"We hope to get the approval this year and launch it in 2013," I-Berhad chief executive officer Datuk Eu Hong Chew said at a media and analysts briefing yesterday.

Grand i-Residence will comprise about 450 Soho (single office/home office) units.

Meanwhile, Eu said I-Berhad is talking to international mall operators to help fund and operate the one-million-sq-ft shopping complex at i-City.

Eu hopes to ink a deal by year-end and start construction immediately, for completion in 2015.

The four-storey mall will be developed on 5.85ha, with a hotel and three residential towers sitting on top. Building construction for the four towers will commence from 2015.

Eu estimates the development cost for the mall and the four towers to be around RM700 million.

I-Berhad will also be investing RM100 million over the next five years, including RM25 million to set up a children's gymnasium and a water- theme park this year.

By Business Times

UEM Land’s planned development will help boost tourism industry in Desaru

Desaru is expected to be earmarked as the leisure and tourism region for Johor

DESARU, a tourist destination that never quite took off, seems to finally be on the right track with growing interests from investors keen to tap the area's tourism prospects.

The latest interest comes from UEM Land Holdings Bhd, which announced on Monday that it would develop 678.7 acres of land there on a 51:49 joint-venture basis with Desaru Development Corp, a unit under Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Government's investment arm.

The proposed development, which is estimated to have a RM5.4bil gross development value, will be completed in 20 years.

“Desaru is expected to be earmarked as the leisure and tourism region for Johor, offering an integrated resort lifestyle experience with world-class leisure and tourism accommodations, entertainment and attractions,” UEM Land said in a statement.

“Such development of Desaru as an international tourist destination will be spearheaded by Khazanah,” the company added.

UEM Land said Khazanah's masterplan for Desaru would involve the proposed development of international hotels with renowned operators, two world championship golf courses, convention centre, themed attraction parks as well as other commercial and retail components.

The company also said the completion of the final 27km stretch of the Senai-Desaru Expressway, which now allows for reduced travel time between Johor Baru and Desaru, was expected to act as a catalyst for development in the area.

“The proposed project also enjoys direct spillover benefits due to its location within the centre of the main project, thus benefiting directly from the planned components under the Desaru Masterplan,” it said.

Apart from being a tourist destination, the development of Desaru will also complement Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas)proposed integrated downstream oil and gas complex in Pengerang in Johor's southeast region.

Dubbed the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid), the project is aimed at building something larger than Kertih.

“Those employed at Rapid, such as expatriates and their families, can look to Desaru, which is not too far away, as an ideal destination to unwind and relax,” said one observer.

KGV International Property Consultants executive director Samuel Tan said he was optimistic about Desaru's prospects.

“Desaru was slated to be a (major) tourist destination but it never took off. But now that Khazanah has taken over, especially with Petronas' Rapid project, Desaru should reach its potential faster.”

In an e-mail reply, PA International Property Consultants Sdn Bhd executive director V. Sivadas concurs that the development within Desaru will tie in with the oil and gas project in Pengerang.

“With an expected huge increase of skilled and expatriate staff over the next few years, residential and resort developments will enjoy the spillover effects,” he said.

He points out that there had been many plans to transform the entire Desaru belt into a major tourist destination since the 1990s.

“(But) it is only in the last one year or two that under the Khazanah leadership and direction, plans seem to be taking off in a big way.

“The Desaru development project by Khazanah covers 4,113.29 acres along a 17-kilometre coastline fronting the South China Sea. It is being proposed to be developed into a major tourism and leisure belt,” said Sivadas.

He said there would be many opportunities for leisure-based developments within the Desaru belt.

“Khazanah, however, are expected to be selective in its choices of parties. This is to prevent parties from accumulating lands but not commencing work.”

He also said there had not been many transactions of lands in the area.

“Many are either plantations held by GLCs (government-linked companies) or related parties, or alienated smallholdings held by individuals. With the strong prices for palm oil, we don't expect a rush by major land owners to immediately develop their land bank.

“It may be prudent to submit preliminary applications for development while reaping the benefits of the oil palm,” he said.

Resorts located at Desaru include Batu Layar Beach Resort, Chalet Pantai Samudra, Desaru Damai Beach Resort, Chalet D'Punggai, Pelangi Balau Resort, Hotel Hiap Hwa, the Sebana Cove & Marina Resort, Balau Bay Resort, Lotus Desaru Beach Resort, the Pulai Desaru Beach and Punggai Beach Resort.

By The Star

Ho Hup to expand concrete ops, develop properties

HO Hup Construction Company Bhd wants to further expand its ready-mix concrete business and re-enter the construction market as part of a revised regularisation plan.

Executive director Derek Wong said the company cannot depend solely on a 24.2ha freehold land in Bukit Jalil now in contention at the Federal Court and therefore needs to form contingencies to keep it running.

Ho Hup had filed a suit in 2010 to declare a joint development agreement between its 70 per cent unit Bukit Jalil Development Sdn Hd (BJD) and Malton Bhd's Pioneer Haven Sdn Bhd, as null and void.

Ho Hup was granted leave to appeal to the Federal Court on May 17 this year after the Court of Appeal had in December last year overturned the decision by the High Court, giving it full rights to develop the land.

"If the Federal Court hearing is not in our favour, the company is looking at other avenues to regularise our financial plan.

"We have been doing that in the last three to four months since the Court of Appeal reversed the decision," Wong said after the company's annual general meeting here yesterday.

"Moving forward, Ho Hup will be looking at leveraging on its track record and competitive strengths to bring in new projects and expand ready-mix concrete division, which has shown significant improvements in performance," he said.

Wong said the company has bid for two or three medium-sized Economic Transformation Programme (ETP)-related construction jobs.

In line with the increasing construction activity in the country, Ho Hup plans to expand its concrete business to two or three more locations in the Klang Valley and is scouting for a suitable location in Johor.

He added that its concrete operations, which grew by 50 per cent year-on-year in 2011, are expected to perform similarly this year.

It was learnt that Ho Hup is talking with several parties to develop properties on a joint venture basis.

Ho Hup will apply to Bursa Securities for a further extension of time, beyond June 30 2012, to submit its revised proposed regularisation plan.

Ho Hup had in July 2011 submitted a proposed financial regularisation plan to Bursa based on full rights to develop 24.2ha owned by BJD.

Wong expects the Federal Court ruling on the land matter to be made in August.

On the High Court order to buy over Zen Courts Sdn Bhd's 30 per cent stake in BJD, Wong said both parties will appoint an independent valuer next week to fix the final purchase price.

By Business Times

Ho Hup to carry on

KUALA LUMPUR: Ho Hup Construction Company Bhd is committed to growing its other businesses, even if the Federal Court does not rule in its favour in a much-awaited hearing that will determine whether it gets full ownership of a prized 60-acre freehold land in Bukit Jalil.

“The company must continue. Whatever the Federal Court's decision, there must be other contingencies,” executive director Derek Wong said after its AGM.

Wong: ‘The company must continue.’

“If the Federal Court ruling is not in our favour, the board will look at other avenues to regularise our position. We have been actively doing that since the Court of Appeal reversed the decision.

“The board has taken the position that we cannot just depend on the 60 acres to regularise.”

To recap, Ho Hup had in 2010 filed a suit to declare null and void a joint development agreement (JDA) between its 70%-owned subsidiary Bukit Jalil Development Sdn Bhd and Pioneer Haven Sdn Bhd, a unit of Datuk Desmond Lim's Malton Bhd.

The agreement was signed by Ho Hup's previous board led by Datuk Vincent Lye, a day before they were ousted in an EGM in March 2010.

Under the JDA, Ho Hup is the landowner while Pioneer Haven would be the developer.

Ho Hup is entitled to 17% of the total gross development value of RM2.5bil, or RM425mil, and stands to receive a minimum guaranteed entitlement of RM265mil.

But the company has maintained that it wanted full control of the development rights as that was a vital component to its regularisation.

The High Court's decision last June had favoured Ho Hup, but it was overturned by the Court of Appeal in December.

Subsequently, the Federal Court on May 17 granted it leave to appeal in what is seen as its last avenue to obtain the full development rights.

Ho Hup, whose financial difficulties have rendered it a Practice Note 17 company, will also apply to Bursa Malaysia for an extension of time beyond the June 30 deadline to submit its proposed revised regularisation plan.

Wong said he hoped the case was strong enough for it to be granted an extension at least until the Federal Court made its verdict.

“We want finality in the case, whether we win or lose. Then we can put the right (regularisation) plan in.”

Meanwhile, he said the company would focus on expanding its ready-mix concrete operations and reviving its once-thriving construction arm.

He said Ho Hup was in the midst of bidding for a few medium-size Economic Transformation Programme-related construction jobs, but he could not disclose their value.

In its prime, the firm's turnover from construction was about half a billion ringgit, and it was involved in large scale projects such as the North-South Expressway, parts of the Twin Towers and the Bukit Jalil stadium.

Asked whether the company possessed sufficient working capital to take on more construction jobs, he said: “We have the support of shareholders. If we win contracts, we are able to ringfence these projects and get finance institutions to look at them from a project finance basis.”

He added that the company was looking at developing properties in the Klang Valley and Johor on a joint-venture basis.

On the buyout of Zen Courts Sdn Bhd's 30% stake in Bukit Jalil Development, he said Ho Hup would appoint an independent valuer either this or next week to ascertain the value of the former's equity.

The High Court had on March 27 ordered that Ho Hup buy Zen Courts' shares in Bukit Jalil Development on a price to be determined by the latter's net tangible asset as at March 27, which needs to be valued by a mutually agreed independent valuer between Ho Hup and Zen Courts.

By The Star

Fajar Baru submits plans for condo projects

KUALA LUMPUR: Fajar Baru Builder Group Bhd is believed to have submitted plans to the local authorities in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur in a move to venture into the property development sector, people familiar with the matter said yesterday.

It is understood that the construction company had submitted the plans over the past three months to build residential condominium units in Puchong and Jalan Ipoh.

A company official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the matter, but noted that the company has yet to receive the full suite of approvals yet. "We are targeting for a launch in the early part of next year," said the official.

Fajar Baru, which has about some RM1 billion worth of ongoing construction jobs at hand, bought the land in Puchong for about RM39.94 million late last year.

It also bought 0.92ha land in the Jalan Ipoh-Sentul area last year for RM23.6 million. The land is said to be a gold mine as it is one of the nearest entry point to the city.

"The land in that area should easily fetch more than RM500 per sq ft," said the source.

RHB Research recently noted that for the year ending June 2012, Fajar Baru had secured five key contracts, boosting its year-to-date new contracts to RM668 million from RM368 million and outstanding order book by 46 per cent to RM925 million from RM625 million.

"... We gathered from Fajar Baru during a recent visit that it expects to put onto the market by the first quarter of next year a high-rise serviced apartment project in the Sentul/Jalan Ipoh area," RHB Research said in a report last month.

Business Times was told that the high-rise project in Jalan Ipoh will have a gross development value of about RM280 million.

For the year ended June 30 2011, Fajar Baru registered a net profit of RM13.6 million, but Kenanga Research expects its profit to rise to RM15.8 million this year and RM27.1 million by 2013.

The research house has an outperform call on the stock with a RM1.27 target price.

By Business Times

Starhill REIT proposes to buy Marriot hotels

Starhill Real Estate Investment Trust's (REIT) has entered into three separate hotel business and property sale agreements to buy the Marriot hotels in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for RM1.31 billion.

The agreements were entered by Starhill REIT indirect wholly-owned unit, Pintar Projek Sdn Bhd, with Commonwealth Managed Investment Ltd, 30 Pitt Street Pty Ltd, 515 Queen Street Pty Ltd and Lonex Pty Ltd.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd, the manager of the trust, said the proposed acquisition was expected to be funded through a combination of bank borrowings and cash.

"The proposed acquisition is expected to contribute positively to Starhill REIT's distributable income and distribution per unit," it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

Starhill REIT added that the proposed acquisition would reposition the company with stable fixed lease rentals from its existing properties and variable income from the Marriott Hotels.

AmInvestment said the proposed acquisition would also enhance Starhill REIT's position as a pure play international hospitality REIT.

The trust's property asset value would also increase from about RM1.58 billion to about RM3 billion comprising assets located in Malaysia, Japan and Australia.

By Bernama

Starhill REIT to buy Marriott hotels in Australia for RM1.3b

KUALA LUMPUR: Starhill Real Estate Investment Trust (Starhill REIT) is acquiring the hotel properties and business assets of three Marriott hotels in Australia for A$415mil (RM1.3bil) cash.

YTL Corporation Bhd managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping said on Wednesday the acquisition of these hotels would enlarge the trust's portfolio to about RM3bil from RM1.58bil now.

Starhill REIT had on Wednesday inked the agreements to acquire the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel, Brisbane Marriott Hotel and Melbourne Marriott Hotel from Commonwealth Managed Investments Ltd, 30 Pitt Street Pty Ltd, 515 Queen Street Pty Ltd and Lonex Pty Ltd.

Yeoh, who is also CEO of Pintar Projek Sdn Bhd, the manager of Starhill REIT, said the acquisitions would result in more than half of Starhill REIT's property value constituted by its hotel assets in Australia and Japan.

He said the acquisitions would make this the largest portfolio of overseas property investments of any Malaysian REIT.

"The acquisition represents a yield accretive opportunity for the trust, generating two income streams, firstly, stable fixed lease rentals arising from its existing property portfolio and, secondly, variable income from the three Marriott hotels, increasing the potential for distribution per unit growth and variations.

By The Star

Iskandar Waterfront serves conditional mandatory takeover on Tebrau Teguh

KUALA LUMPUR: Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWHSB) has served a notice of conditional mandatory takeover offer on Tebrau Teguh Bhd.

Tebrau Teguh said the Feb 13 conditional share sale agreement where IWHSB would acquire 222 million Tebrau Teguh shares or 33.15% from Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd (KPRJ) had become unconditional on Wednesday.

"IWHSB is obliged to extend a mandatory take-over offer to acquire all the remaining 447.72 million Tebrau Teguh shares (66.85%)" for 76 sen per share.

IWHSB had received an irrevocable undertaking from KPRJ that it would not accept their remaining shareholding of 53.59 million shares representing 8% of the Tebrau Teguh's paid-up capital.

"The board of directors of Tebrau Teguh will hold a meeting tomorrow to deliberate on the offer and upon its deliberation, announce whether it intends to seek an alternative person to make a take-over offer for the offer shares," it said.

By The Star

Wellcall arm buys land for RM4.6m

Wellcall Holding Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, Wellcall Hose (M) Sdn Bhd, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire a leasehold vacant industrial land at Kinta, Perak, for about RM4.635 million.

The land, measuring approximately 3.6 hectares, is located in Mukim Sungai Terap, Kinta, and a kilometre away from Wellcall's principal place of business and factories, the group said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia today.

The land will be used by Wellcall Group to build a new factory to cater for the anticipated increase in demand for its industrial rubber hose and also for future growth in its business.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by year-end and will be satisfied entirely in cash.

By Bernama

Chinese green building expert to share expertise

PETALING JAYA: In the effort of promoting a greener and more efficient living environment, Green Building Index Sdn Bhd (GBI) had invited the senior vice president of BROAD Group from China, Juliet Jiang, to share her expertise in building a green building efficiently at the Green Building International series 2012.

This Chinese construction company completed a 30-storey tower that currrently serves a hotel in Hunan province in 15 days. The video of this project had drawn the attention of millions of Youtube viewers since it was posted.

“We hope the focus is not just on the amount of time taken to complete this project. We would like to emphasise that we do not compromise quality in the process and would like to highlight the sustainability technology behind it,” Jiang said in a statement.

“The building had passed the resistance test of a level nine earthquake. It conserves energy of up to five times compared with that of a conventional construction, and provides air that is 20 times purer than the traditional buildings through our innovative air purification system.”

The accomplishment is made possible because 93% of the building materials are manufactured in the factory. The company welcomes global franchisees to adopt this model and build such factories locally. In supporting the company's value to be green, the factory should be located no more than 500km from the construction site.

There are currently six factories in China in different provinces. Besides China, BROAD Group has also set foot in India. These franchisees have made full payment for the transfer of technology which costs US$34mil for a population of 10 million and US$50mil for a population of 50 million.

Architect Dr Tan Loke Mun, one of the GBI Accreditation Panel, opined that the compressed period of accomplishing a construction project would reduce the work hazards faced by construction workers on the site, wastage and traffic jams.

“Financially, this will help construction companies save up on interest costs,” he said.

The organiser of the series hopes that Malaysians will be inspired to make a difference to create a more sustainable and efficient living environment through this kind of innovation.

“All parties ranging from the consultants to the end users will benefit if the span of construction projects are cut. This can reduce the number of abandoned projects,” Tan said.

By The Star

EPF buys 5.04% stake in YNH

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has emerged as a substantial shareholder in YNH Property Bhd with an effective interest of 5.04% in the property company.

The EPF bought 20.74 million of YNH's shares on June 6, circulars issued to Bursa Malaysia showed.

Scotland-based Aberdeen Asset Management PLC had also acquired an additional 588,500 shares of YNH on June 5, increasing its stakes to 12.81%, documents showed.

By The Star

Elements model for Pudu project?

HONG KONG FLAVOUR: UDA Holdings keen on Everbright International’s mall proposal as it ensures long-term sustainability.

UDA Holdings may redevelop Pudu Jail into an integrated transport hub, a la Elements of Hong Kong, to attract domestic and foreign direct investments.

The plan could generate more than RM8 billion in gross development value, said UDA chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

Nur Jazlan said the company had hired consultants to study proposals from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Everbright International Construction Engineering Corp (EICEC), a China government-linked company.

“We will compare the two proposals to see which is more superior. The study, which will take another six to eight months, will be presented to the government and the final decision is theirs,” Nur Jazlan told Business Times in an
interview recently.

UDA is in favour of EICEC’s proposal, which moves along the lines of Elements, a large shopping mall with an ice rink and a 1,600-seat cinema that is located directly above the Kowloon
MTR station.

This is also despite the MOF having rejected the Chinese developer’s proposal in favour of splitting the 8ha plot into three parcels, mainly to be given to Bumiputera developers.

“We prefer the proposal by EICEC as we get to control the land and it will give us RM2.4 billion worth of investment properties, which in turn will provide us with long-term recurring income,” Nur Jazlan said.

“EICEC also said it would hand over the properties to us four to five years after construction commences. The key here is money, which we need for long-term sustainability,” he added.

Nur Jazlan reiterated that UDA’s survival and the fate of its 1,400 employees depended on the success of the Pudu Jail redevelopment project.

He said UDA had no choice but to be competitive as it was no longer receiving any direct assistance from the government.

UDA, with assets worth more than RM2 billion, is RM900 million in debt.

“If we find investors with risk appetite to take on the development, we will consider them. The project has big risk and we need more than RM1 billion up front to develop the infrastructure and build the properties.

“We want the development to be sustainable and, therefore, we need investors with deep pockets,” he said.

The Pudu Jail redevelopment is part of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) under the New Economic Model to turn the Klang Valley into the Greater Kuala Lumpur economic district and Malaysia into a highincome nation by 2020.

By Business Times

I-Bhd eyes 50pc profit from property devt

I-Bhd, the developer of the digital township i-City, expects property developments to contribute half of its net profit in the next few years with 40 per cent coming from its leisure business and the balance from its property investments.

After launching its serviced apartment project dubbed the i-Residence last month, the group is expected to start the construction of its 93,000 sq m CityMall shopping mall by year-end, Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Eu Hong Chew told reporters after the group's Annual General Meeting here today.

Asked how it is going to finance the mall's construction, he said the group is looking for joint-venture partners to implement the project with an expected development cost of around RM600 million, adding the group will manage the mall's parking bay.

He said I-Bhd hopes to sign a joint venture agreement by year-end.

Besides the mall, I-Bhd has some projects in the pipeline like the Small Office Home Office units to be launched in August and Small Office Versatile Office Units in November this year.

Next year the company plans to develop, subject to shareholders' approval, a high-rise residental project, the Grand i-Residence, on a 0.4 ha. piece of land in Changkat Kia Peng.

Eu said the group's leisure business has turned out to be very profitable. Since the launch of i-City's first leisure product, the "City of Digital Lights" in December 2009, the leisure business revenue has grown from RM2.8 million in 2010 to RM17 million in 2011, he said.

I-Bhd has invested RM30 million for the leisure business and will invest another RM25 million this year for a 9,300 sq m children's gymnasium and a 1.6 ha. water theme park, he said.

The gymnasium and water park will be opened to the public in August and November respectively, he said.

Eu said I-Bhd targets to invest RM100 million in the leisure business in five years, and all the theme park rides and attractions currently on land reserved for development will be relocated to the Shopping Mall which is expected to be ready by 2015.

This year, I-Bhd will also build a budget hotel as part of its hospitality programme as a long-term investment, he said.

"By the time i-City is completed in 10 years, apart from the development profits, I-Bhd will have three million sq ft of investment properties with gross development value of RM1.5 billion that will generate recurring rental income.

"At the same time, there will also be recurring income from the leisure business," he said.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011, I-Bhd recorded a revenue of RM27.2 million, up from RM9.9 million previously, while pre-tax profit was at RM1.8 million as against RM3.8 million a year before.

By Bernama

UEM Land plans Johor resort

UEM Land Holdings Bhd has bought nearly RM500 million worth of land to develop a high-end residential resort in Desaru, Johor.

It expects to rake in RM5.4 billion gross development value from the project, UEM Land said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

The company yesterday announced that it had bought 25 parcels of land measuring 271.48 hectares for RM485.3 million.

The proposed development entails residential components, comprising bungalows, semi-detached houses, link houses, townhouses and service apartments/condominiums as well as a beach club.

The development will be surrounded by two 27-hole and 18-hole golf courses.

The project, in collaboration with Desaru Development Holdings One Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Desaru Development Corp Sdn Bhd (DDC) is expected to start by 2013 with completion of the final phase within 20 years.

UEM Land said it was invited to participate in the Desaru development by DDC, the master planner of Desaru due to its expertise in high-end residential development, such as East Ledang and Horizon Hills, a golf residential development in Nusajaya, as well as high-rise developments in Mont Kiara, Klang Valley.

Desaru is expected to be earmarked as the leisure and tourism region for Johor, offering an integrated resort lifestyle experience with world-class leisure and tourism accommodation, entertainment and attraction.

Such development of Desaru as an international tourist destination will be spearheaded by Khazanah Nasional Bhd (via DDC).

UEM Land said the proposal is in line with the group's continuous effort in sourcing new landbank and property development opportunities to improve and sustain its long-term earnings growth.

The proposal will also allow it to diversify its development portfolio and due to the scale of the landbank, it will have the flexibility to conceptualise, design and develop a residential resort with wide-ranging features and amenities.

By Business Times