Two more land parcels for bumi developers

PETALING JAYA: Property developer Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd has carved out 10.43 acres in the Rubber Research Institute (RRI) land in Sungai Buloh to be developed by selected pre-qualified bumiputra developers.

Kwasa Land, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the master developer of the 2,330-acre Kwasa Damansara, said in a statement that the request for proposal (RFP) was for two parcels of land measuring 6.52 acres and 3.91 acres to be developed into residences.

Kwasa Land said the proposed reserved price for one parcel was RM125 per sq ft (psf) based on its leasehold title, while the proposed reserve price for the other parcel was RM135 psf for its freehold title.

Invitations to pre-qualified bumiputra developers are issued and submission for the RFP tender documents will close by July 10.

“We are in the midst of calling the next pre-qualification of development partners for the Kwasa Damansara township as the last exercise was done three years ago,” it said.

The township will have two mass rapid transit stations, a well-connected network of four expressways and close proximity to SkyPark air terminal in Subang.

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UOA expects steady property demand

KUALA LUMPUR: UOA Development Bhd, which had sold RM146mil worth of properties so far this year, expects demand to be steady despite concerns about the goods and services tax (GST) and strict lending rules by banks.

“We expect revenue for 2015 to be consistent, taking into account the projects to be launched this year,” said general manager Eugene Lee after the group’s 11th AGM yesterday.

“Construction costs are expected to rise. Although, we have added GST in our costing, it’s too early to estimate how much it’s going to go up,” he said when asked the outlook for the year.

UOA had a good start in 2015, as first quarter ended March 31 net profit surged 76% to RM78.48mil from RM44.65mil a year ago on the back of a 79% hike in revenue to RM313.70mil from RM174.98mil.

Lee said projects in the pipeline for 2015 has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM2.42bil, which included a mixed integrated development on 10 acres in Kepong (GDV of RM1.5bil) expected to be launched in the second half of 2015.

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Grand-Flo upbeat on property development

BY THOMAS HUONG

Top officials: Tan (centre) with executive directors Cheng Peng Liong (right) and Yap Li Li looking at Grand-Flo’s the annual report after the AGM.

PETALING JAYA: Property development is expected to provide half of Grand-Flo Bhd’s revenue this year, compared with a 20% contribution in 2014.

The tracking solutions provider and property developer group has two ongoing projects located in mainland Penang – the Vortex Business Park with a gross development value (GDV) of RM220mil in Batu Kawan, and The Glades landed residential project with a GDV of RM63mil in Bukit Mertajam.

Both projects are targeted for completion in 2017, and currently, unbilled sales are at RM78.1mil.

“The take-up rate is 70% for the first phase of Vortex Business Park. There has been encouraging response for The Glades since the soft launch,” said Grand-Flo group president and managing director Derrick Tan.

He also said the group was looking for land with “good value” in the Klang Valley and strategic growth areas in the country.

“In addition to a healthy balance sheet, we recently raised RM14mil from the conversion of warrants, which would be utilised to expand our property venture and explore merger and acquisition opportunities,” said Tan after the group’s AGM at Tropicana Golf & Country Resort.

On its tracking solutions business, Tan said Grand-Flo’s order book was at RM14mil.

“We are still adding new customers from different industries, including food and beverage, logistics and fast-moving consumer goods,” he said.

Tan also said the group’s 19% Thailand associate, Simat Technologies PLC, which provides Internet broadband services, was aiming to break even by year-end.

“This can be achieved by growing the current 6,000 subscribers to 10,000 or 12,000 by end-2015,” said Tan.

Meanwhile, Grand-Flo posted a 50.5% year-on-year rise in net profit to RM5mil for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015 on the back of a 91.7% rise in revenue to RM27.2mil.

This was attributable to a favourable product mix as well as new contributions from the property segment besides software sales to companies that needed to comply with the implementation of the goods and services tax.

At the AGM, shareholders approved a final tax-exempt dividend of one sen per share, which translates into a total dividend payout of RM4.5mil, representing 67.9% of the 2014 financial year’s net profit.

Grand-Flo’s dividend policy is a distribution of a minimum 20% of net profit.

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UEM Sunrise wants to buy more land

Property developer allocating RM500mil for this purpose

Anwar: ‘Depending on what we identify, the payment can be spread over time.’

BY CHERYL POO
cherylpoo@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: UEM Sunrise Bhd will focus on land banking this year with its RM500mil-per year cash allocation for land acquisition over the next three to four years.

“Depending on what we identify, the payment can be spread over time. We don’t have a set limit, so if the price is higher than expected, we will manage the terms of payment based on progress,” managing director and chief executive officer Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib told the press after the company’s AGM.

Anwar said the property developer was working hard this year to manage its cash flow, which was negative last year.

Buying land would not be a problem, as the company’s net gearing stood at 0.27 times. However, it has to improve working capital management, especially on receivables.

“For example, we have to manage contractors better,” Anwar said.

In order to broaden its geographical offerings, UEM Sunrise, which is the master developer of Nusajaya – one of five flagship zones of Iskandar Malaysia – is looking to buy land in the Klang Valley, Sabah and Sarawak.

The property developer said it would tread cautiously, given the situation of oversupply in Johor.

“We are watching very carefully certain segments that display signs of oversupply.

“That’s why landbanking is very important to us,” said Anwar.

“There’s a peak and downturn in every property cycle, so we must be prepared to weather the downturn. That is why in this year’s launches, we feature a good mix of high-end products as well as affordables in the Southern region.”

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, UEM Sunrise posted a net profit of RM53.1mil, 13.7% lower than RM61.5mil last year due to higher selling cost in the development of Aurora Melbourne Central project in Australia and lower contribution from associates and joint ventures (JVs).

Revenue was at RM417.4mil, 3.9% higher than the RM401.6mil of last year, primarily due to higher revenue from construction progress made from the Teega and Arcoris projects, and the completion of the Summer Suites project in the current-year quarter.

Currently, the company has a total land bank of 14,600 acres locally and overseas, with an estimated remaining gross development value (GDV) of RM103bil, including JV projects, Anwar said. Out of this, 77% is in Johor.

“We also have a good pipeline of international products we can launch over the year to sustain our financial performance,” Anwar said.

“Apart from its Johor offerings, UEM Sunrise expects continued income from its overseas developments such as its Aurora Melbourne Central over the next three to five years, as only the residential component has been launched.

“There is still the retail, commercial and serviced apartment/hotel component with an estimated GDV of A$180mil (RM511.9mil), as well as the launch of The Conservatory, a high-rise residential mixed development in Melbourne with an estimated GDV of A$200.6mil (RM570.48mil).

For 2015, UEM Sunrise has targeted sales of RM2bil, which it hopes to achieve with new launches as well as existing products after some repackaging.

Last year, the group recorded 20% higher property development sales than the revised sales target of RM2bil, of which RM1.498bil came from international projects and RM945mil from the central and southern region in Malaysia.

Speaking on how the 11th Malaysia Plan, which was announced yesterday, would benefit UEM Sunrise, chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali said there would be some benefits from the Gemas-Johor double-tracking railway project.

“We would benefit from that, but more so, we would benefit from the high-speed rail project which will pass through Nusajaya before Tuas,“ he said.

Meanwhile, the company’s tussle with Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd’s subsidiary, Rakyat Holdings Sdn Bhd, for the recovery of Bangunan Angkasaraya at Jalan Ampang was being ironed out, Anwar said.

“We are talking to them for an amicable solution. Discussions have been positive because both parties are eager to move forward. Hopefully, this can be settled by the year-end,” he said.

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11MP to herald more houses, higher income and better Government services

PETALING JAYA: More affordable housing, higher per-capita income and strengthened national infrastructure – these are in the pipeline when the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) kicks off Thursday.

“The Plan, set to run from 2016 to 2020, marks a momentous milestone in our nation’s history.

“With 2020 now just five years away, the Eleventh Plan is the next critical step in our journey to become an advanced nation that is inclusive and sustainable,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the launch of 11MP.

The 11MP has six key thrusts, namely; strengthening macroeconomic resilience for sustained growth, enhancing inclusiveness towards an equitable society, improving well-being for all, accelerating human capital

development for an advanced nation, pursuing green growth for sustainability and resilience, strengthening infrastructure to support economic expansion and re-engineering economic growth for greater prosperity.

The 11MP will see 3,000km of paved roads constructed and 90,000 additional households being supplied with clean, treated water and 36,800 homes being supplied with electricity.

It will also see the mean monthly household income being raised to RM5,270 from RM2,537 in 2014.

“The 11th Malaysia Plan will make the difference – it contains specific strategies and programmes bounded on outcomes to unlock productivity and transform innovation to wealth.

“Spurring productivity and innovation will provide the basis for sustained economic growth, create new economic opportunities and ensure continued well-being and prosperity of the rakyat,” said Najib.
He added that under the 11MP, the people will be the focus of all development efforts.

“The Plan will disproportionately focus on the people – the rakyat will be the centre piece of all development efforts,” said Najib.

The 11MP will see further improvements to safety in Malaysia, with an optimised emergency response time being set at eight minutes, a 5% reduction in the annual crime index.

Additionally, the 11MP aims to improve universal access to healthcare for all Malaysians, with a target of 2.3 hospital beds for every 1,000 people and a 1: 400 patient to doctor ratio.

It also aims to provide adequate quality, affordable housing to poor, low and middle-income households with 47,000 houses to be constructed or repaired for the poor and 606,000 houses to be developed for low and middle-income households

“The Eleventh Plan will be premised on the Malaysian National Development Strategy that will focus on rapidly delivering high impact outcomes to both the capital economy and people economy at affordable cost,” said Najib.

It was also revealed under the plan that the plan would work on strengthening disaster risk management (DRM), improving food mitigation and enhancing climate change adaptation as well as creating green markets, increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix, promoting low-carbon mobility and managing waste holistically.

“In order to sustain our growth momentum and ensure that the rakyat continue to prosper, we need to forge ahead with greater resolve and introduce bold measures for the long-term benefit of all Malaysians,” said Najib.

He added that greater volatility and uncertainty in the global economy was foreseen due to declining oil prices, realignment of exchange rates and geopolitical risks.

“We have to be cognisant that the global landscape is going to be increasingly challenging,” said Najib

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Bash to mark developer’s completed project

New lease: Ng (fourth from left) with representatives of tenant companies holding up a signed plaque to officiate their commencement as tenants.

ENGTEX Properties Sdn Bhd hosted an appreciation party for about 800 guests to celebrate its newly completed mixed commercial project, Emerald Avenue.

While guests wined and dined and were entertained with musical performances, the signing ceremony of tenants such as Jaya Grocer and Vibe Fitness also took place at the party.

There was also a lucky draw for those who were present.

“This function is held to thank our business partners, buyers, contractors and designers, all of whom have helped to make Emerald Avenue happen,” said Engtex Properties marketing general manager Jessica Ng.

The integrated development, located in Prima Selayang, Batu Caves, comprises the E Mall, E Retail, E Suite, E Duplex and a four-star international hotel.

E Retail has 120 units of three-storey shoplots while E Suite and E Duplex have 188 units and 71 units respectively, with most of the units fully sold.

The mall, with 22,296sq m of retail space, has an almost complete occupancy rate, while the hotel will be run by Mercure Hotel of the Accor Group.

“We have had presence in Selayang for over four years now since our first project, Tiara Residences, and we have yet to see a concept like this being introduced here.

“We know there is a demand and need for higher-end products in this area, which has a population of about 600,000,” explained Ng.

She said people today appreciated a better lifestyle, environment and security, and these were the factors taken into account for the concept of Emerald Avenue.

Ng said they envisioned the location to be right for the project when they saw it in 2008.
“The development is the company’s endeavour to offer something different from what Selayang already has.

“It is the area’s new heartbeat for a modern lifestyle and a unique commercial zone built for the community,” she stated.

Emerald Avenue will officially open its doors by end of the year.

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Kimlun plans residential property project in Kota Tinggi

KUALA LUMPUR: Kimlun Corp Bhd plans to undertake a residential property project in Kota Tinggi, Johor following the purchase of 29 parcels for RM28.30mil cash.

It had on Wednesday it had inked a sale agreement with two individuals to en bloc purchase 29 parcels of contiguous freehold land measuring about 140.8 acres.

The next stage for Kimlun is to convert the agricultural land to residential status a year after it completed the acquisition.

Kimlun said the development application would be submitted to the relevant authorities for approval after getting the go-ahead from the state authority which includes the conversion application and finalisation of the development planning.

“The source of funds to finance the development is likely to be from internally generated funds and bank borrowings,” it said.

The site is about two km from the Kota Tinggi town centre and this would enable Kimlun to increase the size of its land bank in strategic location to enhance its future revenue and earnings.

The land acquisition will be satisfied via a mix of bank borrowings and internally generated funds.
Assuming 60% is financed via commercial loans, it said the gearing ratio of the group was expected to increase by 0.04 times to 0.44 times.

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