BCB to purchase Batu Pahat land

BCB Bhd plans to acquire 148ha of land in Batu Pahat for RM41.15 million to increase its landbank. The acquisition of five parcels of freehold land from Focal Remedy Sdn Bhd will be made through BCB's wholly-owned subsidiary, Johbase Development Sdn Bhd, the company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

By New Straits Times

DNP plans five property projects

PENANG: DNP Holdings Bhd will next year launch in Kuala Lumpur and Penang five property projects that will be major contributors to its revenue for the 2008 and 2009 financial years.

Three of these projects were at Jalan Ampang, Jalan U-Thant and Bukit Ceylon in Kuala Lumpur, general manager Lee Kong Beng said after the company AGM yesterday.

Menara DNP, comprising 200 luxury condominium units, was slated for the 1.5-acre site at Jalan Ampang.

“The project will have 420,000 sq ft saleable floor space. A French architect has been engaged to design the project,” Lee said.

The Jalan U-Thant project is a low-rise 30-unit condominium block on a one-acre site while Bukit Ceylon would have four condominium blocks offering 420 units on a 2.67-acre site.

“In Penang, we will launch at least two projects on the mainland and on the island. These projects will comprise medium and high-end landed residential properties,” he said.

Lee said he could not disclose the gross sale value of the projects, as the unit selling prices had not been determined.

For the year ended June, property business contributed about 30% of the group's RM425mil revenue.

On the retail business segment, Lee said another 18 retail outlets selling the group’s fashion labels such as Topshop, Topman and Dorothy Perkins would open by the end of next month in Kuala Lumpur.

“This would increase the number of our retail fashion shops in the country to 50 from the present 32,” he said.

For the first quarter ended Sept 30, the group posted RM15.6mil in pre-tax profit on RM96mil revenue, compared with RM10.9mil pre-tax profit and RM79mil revenue previously.

By The Star (By David Tan)

Abedeen Resort set to open its doors

It will be new landmark for Kepala Batas

KEPALA BATAS: The hometown of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will have a new landmark when the five-star Abedeen Resort opens its door in January.

Construction work on the 323-room resort on 25ha was complete and only some infrastructure work, including road construction was left, said Unik Terbilang Sdn Bhd group managing director Abdul Wahid Mahbut.

A wholly bumiputra-owned company, Unik Terbilang owns the resort.

Wahid said besides five-star accommodation and facilities, the resort also offered three- and four-star room packages.

Abdul Wahid Maubut with a scale model of Abedeen Resort

“Under the five-star Perdana Villa, we have 32 suites including four presidential suites. There are 131 rooms under the Perdana Resort four-star category while Idaman Resort offers 160 three-star rooms.

“The resort design is based on Malay traditional architectural style.

“We want our guests to feel the Malay heritage ambience when they stay in the resort,” he said at the resort’s Hari Raya open house on Saturday.

The resort is expected to be opened by the Prime Minister in February.

Wahid said Unik Terbilang expected 60% to 70% occupancy at the resort when it was fully operational.

He also said the resort would have a water theme park that would be opened to the public.

By The Star (By Zulkifly Mohamad)

Starwood to manage Four Points hotel

The 300-room hotel is scheduled to open by Aug 31

KUCHING: Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts Pte Ltd will manage the proposed RM100mil Four Points by Sheraton Hotel to be developed by Global Upline Sdn Bhd at Jalan Airport here.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had performed the earth-breaking ceremony for the hotel project yesterday.

The proposed 12-storey 300-room hotel, which is expected to be operational by Aug 31, is one of the three international standard hotels planned in Sarawak by construction company Global Upline.

The second 220-room hotel will be built at Jalan Tabuan here while the third hotel has been earmarked for Miri.

PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his wife Datin Seri Jeane Abdullah looking at the model of the Four Points Hotel Sheraton in Kuching on Tuesday while Global Upline Chairman Tan Sri Ting Phek Khiing ( 3rd left) and Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud (centre) looks on

The proposed Four Points by Sheraton will form part of a complex which will also house an office tower.

The hotel and office tower blocks will share a common three-storey podium, which will provide shopping and dinning facilities.

Global Upline managing director Datuk Mohamad Daniel Abong and Starwood Asia director Thomas J. Monahan signed the hotel management agreement.

Daniel said the investments in the hotel industry marked Global Upline’s diversification into the hospitality service sector to cater for the expanding tourism industry.

“Our company has grown tremendously in the past eight years and has completed some RM1bil worth of infrastructure projects,” he said at the ceremony.

According to him. the airports and flyover projects that the company have undertaken are all delivered ahead of time, within budget and with high quality.

Asia Pacific Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc president Miguel Ko said the proposed Four Points by Sheraton Hotel would cater for both mid-scale business and leisure travellers.

He said Starwood’s portfolio of hotel company brands also included Sheraton, Westin, St Regis, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Element and Aloft.

“The Four Point by Sheraton brand, with 136 properties in 16 countries, is consistently rated as a top performer in the mid-priced category by business travellers,” Ko said in his message in the souvenir magazine published to mark the proposed hotel ground breaking yesterday.

By The Star (By Jack Wong)

Leong not selling his stake in Mah Sing

PETALING JAYA: Mah Sing Group Bhd's single largest shareholder and managing director Datuk Leong Hoy Kum said he has no intention of divesting his 40.1% stake in the property company.

“I have not received any offer to acquire my stake in Mah Sing.

“I would like to clarify that I still want to maintain my shareholding in the company,” Leong told StarBiz yesterday when asked to comment on a media report that a consortium from the Middle East was keen to take a strategic stake in Mah Sing.

He said Mah Sing group had always welcomed strategic partners who could bring in new projects and more landbank for future developments to sustain its earnings growth.

It was “good news” for Mah Sing should there be parties interested in buying a stake in the company, he said, adding that such interest would speak well of Mah Sing's fundamentals and its solid track record, especially the company's quick project turnaround time.

“Investors may like our project turnaround time of only six to nine months from land acquisition to property launch.

“This helped us generate high returns on equity of about 21% last year,” Leong added.

Any investor or consortium interested in Mah Sing need not buy the company's shares from its major shareholders, namely Leong, Capital Group International Inc (with 9.69% equity interest) and Koperasi Permodalan Felda Bhd (8.55%).

Interested parties can accumulate the company's shares from the open market or from other substantial shareholders.

Leong declined comment on whether other major shareholders wanted to dispose of their stakes in Mah Sing.

Mah Sing's share price rose 15 sen, or 9%, to RM1.86 in the first hour of trading yesterday, but closed 6 sen up at RM1.77. Trading volume ballooned to 4.97 million shares versus 1.27 million shares on Monday.

Leong believed that should a foreign partner emerge in Mah Sing, it would pave the way for the group to expand abroad.

“We are now exploring opportunities regionally, such as in Vietnam, China, India, but we are not in a hurry to go overseas since we have good projects at home that are doing well,” he added.

Mah Sing currently has 14 projects in the Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang.

“These projects should be sufficient to generate healthy earnings growth,” Leong said, adding that the company's RM241mil cash pile would enable it to embark on more projects.

For the six months ended June 30, Mah Sing posted a higher net profit of RM38.3mil against RM31.3mil in the previous corresponding period. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at 8.1 sen.

Market consensus forecasts the company achieving an EPS of 13 sen for the current year ending Dec 31.

By The Star (By Kathy Fong)

Crest Builder shares undervalued: Kenanga

SHARES of Crest Builder Holdings Bhd, a construction and property company, are very undervalued based on the firm's potential profits next year.

The stock is trading at a multiple of 4.5 times its 2008 earnings, Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd said in a research report.

This compares with an average multiple of 15 times for construction firms with small market values.

Shares of Crest Builder have gained 10 per cent so far this year, underperforming the broader market's 26 per cent rise in the same period.

"Crest Builder is undoubtedly a deeply undervalued construction and property stock," it said in the report.

The company's main business is construction, with an order book of some RM500 million. However, it ventured into property development in 2005 to boost income.

It is currently bidding for government and private jobs worth more than RM1 billion.

The latest project that it won was the construction of superstructure works for Gateway Kiaramas, a high-end service apartment in Mont Kiara.

Latest Project: Crest Builder won the construction of superstructure works for Gateway Kiaramas, a high-end serviced apartment project in Mont Kiara

Crest Builder's maiden property project, the 3 2 Square, has been well received with a take up rate of some 90 per cent.

"Future earnings from the property division will be underpinned by its property developments in Batu Tiga and Kelana Jaya," Kenanga said.

Kenanga expects Crest Builder's net profit to rise by a third to RM26.5 million in 2007 and by another 17 per cent to RM30.9 million in 2008.

By New Straits Times

Broker: Asia safe haven for property investors

Tokyo By Night: Japan remained the dominant market in Asia for international investors in the first half of the year, says Jones Lang LaSalle

HONG KONG: Asia provides a "safe haven" for property investors as returns decline on US and European assets because of subprime mortgage losses, said Jones Lang LaSalle Inc, the world's second-largest commercial real estate broker.

"The region could be a beneficiary of the fallout as investors reallocate funds from the US and Europe toward Asia Pacific in search of higher growth opportunities on a risk- adjusted basis," Jane Murray, Asia Pacific head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said yesterday in an e-mailed report.

The world's biggest banks and securities firms wrote down US$45 billion (US$1 = RM3.35) of assets this year and cut 10,000 jobs because of the collapse of the market for mortgages made to borrowers with poor credit.

Commercial real estate transactions fell in the UK and the US after defaults on subprime pushed up borrowing costs, creating turmoil in financial markets.

Global direct real estate investment in Asia gained 14 per cent to US$54 billion in the first half of the year, compared with the year-earlier period, LaSalle said in the report. Asian deals are about a third of the volumes in the Americas or Europe.

"Although regional investment volumes are still a comparatively low proportion of global direct property investment, interest levels are very high and we foresee the continuation of rapid growth in volumes," said Murray.

Japan remained the dominant market in Asia for international investors in the first half, accounting for more than half of investment in the region, Jones Lang LaSalle said.

Capital values gained 8.7 per cent in Japan during the quarter to 3.96 million yen (100 yen = RM3.05) per square metre (sq m), Jones Lang LaSalle said.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, the world's largest securities firm, bought the building that houses Tiffany & Co's flagship store in Tokyo in August for 37 billion yen, or about 54.45 million yen per sq m, the highest price paid since the burst of the bubble economy in the early 1990s, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

"Limited supply, coupled with robust demand, is expected to sustain the rising tend of rentals. Investment yield is anticipated to increase," said the report.

By Bloomberg

Tee family plans to buy rest of OUG

A GROUP of shareholders comprising the Tee family, one of the founders of unlisted developer Overseas Union Garden Sdn Bhd (OUG), plans to buy the entire stake in OUG it does not own for over RM100 million in cash.

The group, which now holds 22.6 per cent stake, or 2.03 million shares in the property developer, will buy the remaining 77.4 per cent stake for RM14.60 a share.

So far, United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd has agreed to sell its 29.28 per cent stake to the group of shareholders for RM29.7 million.

"From what we understand, the Tee family are doing this for sentimental reasons," said a OUG spokesperson.

The property developer, which developed the OUG township, currently owns assets which include Plaza OUG.

The deal is still subject to the approval of the Securities Commission.

Taman OUG or OUG is a main township in Kuala Lumpur, located mainly atop a hill. The township is located off Jalan Kelang Lama and was opened in the mid-1970s.

By New Straits Times (By Goh Thean Eu)

BLand buys luxury hotel in Vietnam fromTradewinds

BERJAYA Land Bhd (BLand) will take ownership of a new hotel in Vietnam's northern enclave under a US$75 million (RM253.5 million) deal to capitalise on the shortage of luxury hospitality units in the fast-growing Indochinese nation.

BLand will buy from Malaysia's Tradewinds Corp Bhd the 359-room five-star InterContinental Hanoi Westlake Hotel within the shores of Hanoi's West Lake.

The hotel will be managed by InterContinental Hotel Group, a global hospitality entity, with more than 3,700 hotels across nearly 100 countries in its portfolio.

"It gives us the opportunity to participate in the growth of the Vietnamese tourism industry," BLand chief executive Datuk Francis Ng said in a statement yesterday.

The deal, inked last week, will see BLand's wholly-owned Berjaya Leisure (Cayman) Ltd buying the entire stake in Tradewinds Corp's unit T.P.C. Development Ltd for US$25 million (RM84.5 million).

TPC owns 75 per cent of InterContinental Hanoi Westlake Hotel.

Berjaya Leisure will also assume US$50 million (RM169 million) worth of inter-company debts owed by TPC to its parent Tradewinds Resources Sdn Bhd which, in turn, is entirely owned by Tradewinds Corp.

BLand will resort to a combination of internal funds and bank loans to finance the deal, expected to be done by March 2008.

BLand, a unit of Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya Corp Bhd, has RM37.2 billion worth of overseas real estate jobs in China, Thailand and Vietnam, according to research firm ECM Libra Avenue.

By New Straits Times (By Chong Jin Hun)

Guocoland set to offer another niche development

KUALA LUMPUR: GuocoLand (M) Bhd is planning to offer another niche development
called The Nest in Kajang after successfully launching Cirrus, a bungalow and high-rise
condominium project located in Cheras, last month.

According to its annual report, The Nest will offer 36 bungalows with contemporary designs. The built-ups range between 3,810 sq ft and 5,236 sq ft, with prices starting from RM1.46 million. The developer completed the acquisition of the 8.76-acre freehold tract for a total cash
consideration of RM9 million recently.

For Cirrus, the developer has launched its bungalows first. Comprising 22 units, they have built-ups between 5,500 sq ft and 7,000 sq ft, with a price tag of RM2.7 million onwards. Situated on a 16-acre freehold tract, GuacoLand completed the acquisition earlier this year for a total cash consideration of RM66.7 million. The developer is still in the midst of planning
stages for the high-end condos.



An artist's impression of the Damansara City project

Another project expected to be launched early next year is the Damansara City development. Located on an 8.5-acre freehold tract next to Menara Milenium in Damansara Heights, the mixed project will offer some 2.2 million sq ft of residential, commercial and retail space.

GuocoLand group managing director Kwek Leng Seng said in its 2007 annual report, that Damansara City is envisaged to be an integrated commercial development that reflects the theme of “A city to Live, Work, Rest and Play”.

When completed in 2010, Damansara City will comprise a lifestyle retail mall, office towers, luxury condominiums, serviced apartments and a five-star boutique hotel that will be seamlessly integrated and incorporate state-of-the-art environmentally friendly and energy efficient architectural designs.

It is understood that construction has started on the basement levels and the luxury condominiums will be the first component to be launched. Meanwhile, Guocoland’s mixed
development along Old Klang Road in Kuala Lumpur, called Commerce One and Residence One, is moving along. Seven out of nine units of Commerce One have been sold. Commerce One comprises a block of five-storey shop offices with a lot size of 26ft by 77ft and priced from RM2.4 million. Two weeks ago, the developer completed a show unit for Residence One apartments to help boost sales. The leasehold project was opened for sale in April and is located on a 1-acre tract within Bedford Business Park, opposite Pearl Point shopping mall.

GuocoLand’s group revenue improved by 11%, from RM131 million to RM146 million,
following higher contribution from its residential projects. The results were based
on its financial year ended June 30.

By theSun (By Loo Pik Kwan)

Bolton First Half (1H) profits down 50%

KUALA LUMPUR: Bolton Bhd's net profit for the first half (1H) ended Sept 30, 2007 halved to RM18.96 million from RM33.17 million a year ago due to higher cost of sales and the absence of other investing income.

Revenue for the six-month period also came in marginally lower at RM168.1 million from RM168.7 million before. That coupled with a 6.8% higher cost of sales took gross profits down 14.1% year-on-year.

In notes accompanying its unaudited accounts, the company did not say why earnings came in lower year-on-year.

Instead, Bolton said earnings for the second quarter was higher than the first quarter mainly due to lower overhead costs and a RM1.5 million increase in contributions from its quarry and premix division.

Its property development and investment division contributed RM118.4 million or 62% of the group's turnover.

Bolton's property division remains to be the group's largest earnings generator despite its contribution down RM1.7 million from the previous quarter, it said.

Earnings per share fell to 5.63 sen from 10.16 sen previously. Nonetheless, its directors remains confident that the group's performance for the current financial year ending March 31, 2008, will be "comparable" to that of the previous financial year.

The company, led by executive chairman Datuk Mohamed Azman Yahya, has in recent months sold non-core assets to cut gearing and rejuvenate its balance sheet. It has refocused its business to property development.

By The EDGE

Property projects set to become major earnings stream for DNP

DNP Holdings Bhd expects its property development activities to serve as a major contributor to earnings, with the launch of several property projects in the Klang Valley and Penang next year.

The Penang-based company will launch three up-market condominium projects in Kuala Lumpur next year in Bukit Ceylon, Jalan Ampang and Jalan U-Thant.

In Penang, between two or three projects are expected to be launched on the island and Seberang Prai, its general manager (treasury and accounts) and company secretary Lee Kong Beng said yesterday.

He did not disclose the gross sales value of the projects as the selling prices of the units have not been determined.

"On Penang island, we will launch a landed property project on a 1.84ha site in Relau during the first half of 2008," he told reporters after the company's annual shareholders' meeting.

Lee said the other two projects on mainland Penang in the central Seberang Prai district will likely to be medium-cost housing projects.

In the Klang Valley, the development on Bukit Ceylon will comprise 420 units of condominiums. The project, which is yet to be named, will sit on a 1.06ha of land and is expected to be launched during the first half of the year.

Along Jalan Ampang, the proposed Menara DNP is set to emerge as an architectural icon, said Lee.

"We have engaged a French architect for this project which will comprise two blocks of 200 high-rise condominiums and is expected to be launched during the second half of 2008."

Meanwhile, along Jalan U-Thant, a low-rise apartment project comprising 30 units will be launched also during the second half of 2008.

On DNP's proposed disposal of its 6.28 per cent stake in Hong Kong-based Diamond String Ltd (the operator of the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong) for RM66 million, Lee said the proceeds from the proposed transaction will be used to repay borrowings and for working capital.

On the company's trading business, Lee said DNP planned to increase its existing 32 apparel and life-style outlets to 50 by the end of the year.

Its fashion brands which include Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, are found at outlets in Kuala Lumpur, George Town and Johor Baru.

By New Straits Times (By Marina Emmanuel)

Mah Sing owner open to strategic partnership

The major shareholder of property developer Mah Sing Group Bhd has not ruled out the possibility of tying up with strategic partners who can add value to the group.

A company spokesperson said in a statement that managing director Datuk Seri Leong Hoy Kum, who owns a 41 percent stake in the firm, was not immediately selling his shares in the company.


LEONG: Owns 41 pc stake in the firm, but is not immediately selling his shares in the company

"Our major shareholder wants to maintain his controlling stake and has no intention of selling down."

"We are not in talks with any parties at the moment but won't discount the possibility of tie-ups with strategic partners who can add value to the group," the spokesperson said in an-email reply to Business Times

The spokesperson was commenting on a Business Times report yesterday which said a consortium of Middle East and Malaysian institutional and individual investors are considering taking a strategic stake in the developer.

It is understood various parties, including Middle East and Malaysian investors, have been briefed on Mah Sing's outlook and structure recently.

By New Straits Times