South Beach Project building agreement signed

SINGAPORE: South Beach Consortium led by City Developments Ltd (CDL), which successfully bid S$1.69 billion (RM5.6 billion) for the 3.5ha Beach Road sale site, has signed the Building Agreement with the Singapore government. Apart from CDL, the consortium also includes Dubai World’s Istithmar and Elad Group. The project (pix), designed by world-renowned architect Norman Foster, includes four conservation buildings, which are to be restored, as well as office and hotel towers. The developer has adopted an environmental design approach and green technology suited to a tropical climate. A key feature is the large “environmental filter” canopy, which covers the open spaces and ties together the new and conservation buildings.

By theSun

CRSC finalising plans for Rampai Business Park II

KUALA LUMPUR: CRSC Property Sdn Bhd (CRSC) will be launching Rampai Business Park II in February next year, in a commercial joint-venture project between Pancaran Nilai (M) Sdn Bhd and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

The leasehold project takes up 1.7 acres and is located in Taman Sri Rampai, Setapak. “There will be two blocks of 8- storey shop offices,” said Sheryn Lim, assistant project director of CRSC.

“The ground floor and first floor will be shop lots, mainly for retail while the rest will be offices,” said Lim. There will be approximately 200 units in total. “We are currently finalising the plans for this project,” she said.

According to Lim, Rampai Business Park II will cater to the younger crowd, as there is a large student population in Setapak with the Tunku Abdul Rahman College located close by. “Coffee houses and Internet cafes will attract the youngsters,” said Lim.

Located opposite Rampai Business Park II is the RM100 million Rampai Business Park, which comprises seven rows of 2- and 3-storey shop offices set on 12.85 acres of leasehold land.

Launched in May 2006, there are a total of 106 units, 85% of which have been taken up.

“Rampai Business Park is more focused on retail compared with Rampai Business Park II,” said Lim. Currently priced at RM1.168 million onwards, standard units in Rampai Business Park are sized at 22ft by 80ft.

Other projects under the CRSC Group include Prima Tiara Apartments in Segambut. Block I and Block II launched in 2003 have been fully sold. Bumiputera units are now released for sale.
“There are 25 apartment units and nine shop units left,” said Lim.

Sized between 918 sq ft and 1,166 sq ft, the apartments are going for RM131,926 while the shops – sized between 622 sq ft and 692 sq ft – are going for RM154,717. For further details, call 03-4021 8811.

Above Article By theSun (by Yeong Ee-Wah)


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Lasseters plans to buy resorts, hotels in Malaysia

Gaming firm Lasseters International Holdings (LIH) Bhd said it plans to acquire resorts and hotels in Malaysia and integrate the business with its properties in Australia and New Zealand.

LIH is looking at investing in Malaysia for the first time, but it won't be through joint ventures, executive chairman Datuk Jaya J.B. Tan said.

"We plan to buy and operate up-market resorts and hotels in Sabah and Sarawak. Tourism in the two states is booming and we feel now would be the right time to invest there," Tan told Business Times in an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

LIH, listed in Singapore in 2004, has a strong asset base in Australia.

Tan said the combined net valuation of LIH and Singapore-listed Etika International Holdings Ltd, a food and beverage group, which he controls with his brother, is around S$145 million (RM332 million).

LIH currently owns Lasseters Hotel Casino in Alice Springs and 13 hotels and pubs with some 750 gaming facilities across four states in Australia.

The company, through Australian-listed Cypress Lakes Group Ltd, also owns Cypress Lakes Resort - Golden Door Spa, a Health Retreat - more than 200 villas and a destination convention centre.

Tan, a former executive chairman of Pengkalan Holdings Bhd, said LIH also operates an Australian-based tier-one online casino and spot betting.

In New Zealand, the company had acquired Wharf Casino by assuming all its debt.

"This was one of six gaming licences issued in New Zealand. The government has said it won't issue new ones so we decided to grab the chance after doing a due diligence," said Tan.

Tan said LIH is expected to spend close to RM18 million next year to refurbish some of the properties and uplift the profile.

Tan, through his privately-held company, Radiant Investments Ltd, also has a 51 per cent interest in Grand Imperial Saigon Hotel Ltd, which operates the Park Hyatt Hotel Saigon in Vietnam, established in 2005 for US$60 million (RM199 million).

According to Tan, there is a dispute with the shareholder of United Concord International Ltd who had mismanaged the hotel during construction, resulting in cost overruns of RM28 million, some of which were unauthorised.

He said the stakeholder, currently general director and chairman of the hotel, also refuses to relinquish the post despite an 81 per cent equity vote calling for him to do so.

"The first instance hearing where the 81 per cent equity vote was invalidated in favour of unanimous vote had shaken our convictions in Vietnam. We are now appealing to the supreme review court in Hanoi to give us a fair hearing of the case," Tan said.

By New Straits Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Ekovest to complete Danga Bay buy by June

Property developer Ekovest Bhd expects the acquisition of Danga Bay Sdn Bhd to be completed by June next year.

Ekovest’s executive vice chairman Datuk Lim Kang Hoo said the acquisition processs is on going and the group is now focusing on its projects in hand.

“We are no stranger to property development. We have many years of experience in construction. It’s nothing new for us to go into property,” he said.

Current projects Ekovest is handling are the construction, completion and maintenance of the National Institute for Natural Products Vaccines and the Biology complex, a joint venture project with Faber Group Bhd which has already commenced.

Ekovest is also into the construction of the Duta Ulu Kelang Expressway, which is expected to be completed by the end of next year or earlier.

Ekovest took over Danga Bay Holdings Sdn Bhd for RM1.1 billion and the purchase is through the issuance of a combination of new ordinary RM1 Ekovest shares and irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks.

For the financial year ended June 30, 2007, the group recorded a profit after tax of RM17.341 million from a turnover of RM356.601 million compared to a profit after tax of RM8.167 million from a turnover of RM229.59 million in the previous year.

By Bernama

First Rendezvous Hotels & Resorts International (RHRI) hotel here soon

Rendezvous Hotels & Resorts International (RHRI) will open its first hotel in Malaysia in 2009.

RHRI, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Straits Trading Ltd, was appointed by Bluestone Group Malaysia in March to manage Kuala Lumpur's newest four-star deluxe hotel. Construction is on going.

In a statement, chief executive Alan Featherby said the presence in Malaysia would build a strong alliance with the established hotel in Singapore.

Furthermore, there was no upcoming four or five-star hotel within the vicinity in the foreseeable future, he noted.

Tourism in Malaysia is expected to grow by an average 15% per annum, with corporate travel expected to generate more business in and around Kuala Lumpur city centre.

The Rendezvous Hotel is located at Cangkat Thambi Dollah within the golden triangle and will consist of two adjoining towers.

The hotel tower would offer 388 rooms on 26 floors with three additional floors devoted to hotel facilities and commercial spaces such as a recreation and spa area with a pool, gymnasium, spa, steam and sauna rooms; a restaurant and bar; business centre and a conference centre.

The adjoining tower of also 26 floors consisting of residential apartments would have its own entrance, parking, lobby, as well as health and services facilities.

The Malaysian hotel would bring the number of hotels and resorts in the Rendezvous group to 17, including 11 in Australia, two in China and one in Singapore.

The group also planned to have over 30 hotels in Asia and Australasia in the next five years.

“Our growth will be most prominent in China and Australasia with secondary areas being South East Asia, Middle East and India,” Featherby said, adding that 16 key cities in China had been identified.

Negotiations were underway with expected announcements of several new hotels for the group, he added.

By The Star

Kuala Lumpur in the list as southern Europe hub

It is among the cities being shortlisted by Jetstar

Kuala Lumpur, together with Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok, are being considered by Jetstar to be the hub to fly to southern Europe, according to general manager of corporate relations Simon Westaway.

The planned two-stage flying to Southern Europe is expected to take off from mid-2009 with Athens and Rome as the two likely destinations.

Jetstar is also interested to fly to Munich, Germany later. Westaway said the review would evaluate airport cost, traffic rights, range of aircraft available and human resources.

The low-fare airline started its long-haul flights at the end of last year and so far, have carried more than one million passengers over eight destinations - Kuala Lumpur, Honolulu, Osaka, Nagoya, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, Phuket and Bali.

Owen Johnstone-Donnet (left) and Simon Westaway

He said besides the opportunity to increase the frequency of current flights, Jetstar was exploring opportunities to fly to Taiwan and South Korea.

Currently, only the Sydney-Osaka route has daily flights. Jetstar flies three times weekly from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur since its inaugural flight in September.

Without revealing the seat factor, Westaway said Jetstar's performance on the Sydney-Kuala Lumpur route “is currently meeting our expectations.”

The budget airline does not rule out future growth into Kuala Lumpur from other Australian cities.

“There is potential however for further international growth for our operations into Kuala Lumpur over the medium to longer term,” he added.

Jetstar, which is a wholly owned unit of Qantas Airways Ltd, complements its parent by covering leisure destinations while Qantas focuses on prime and business markets.

Last month, Qantas confirmed to buy up to 108 narrow-body planes, including 68 A320/321 aircraft and 40 options and purchase rights, to expand Jetstar size fleet.

Also, there is a provisional order of 17 A321s.

The low-fare airline has an existing fleet of 23 A320s and has previously announced an additional nine A320s for the Australian domestic operations to enter service between this month and March 2009.

Jetstar has remained profitable since it commenced operations in 2004. In the first half year, it posted a pre-tax profit of AU$23.3mil including international long-haul start up costs of AU$27mil.

By The Star (Stories by Yeow Pooi Ling)

Drawing the crowd

SUNWAY CITY EXPECTS 2.5 MILLION VISITORS TO SUNWAY PYRAMID

Sunway City Bhd expects visitors to its Sunway Pyramid shopping mall to hit 2.5 million this month when various retailers fully occupy its RM550mil new extension.

The new extension that was opened in October, has more than doubled the number of available retail outlets at the shopping mall to 800 from 300 previously.

Sunway Pyramid senior general manager H.C. Chan said in a statement: “The mall encapsulates two-in-one format with worlds of experience - the Oasis Boulevard that hugs the exterior like a necklace and the mall within that are seamlessly connected at four floors in a 360-degree loop corridor.”

The architecture aimed to “reflect contemporary retail design with elements that echo the prevailing Egyptian theme”, he said. The shopping mall has now been divided into four shopping precincts featuring distinct colours, cultures and products from well-known shopping zones around the world.

Known as Fashion Central, Oasis Boulevard, Asian Avenue and Marrakesh, these shopping precincts were to cater to the growing market of affluent and savvy shoppers.

Fashion Central precinct comprises a bridge and high street commercial fashion boutiques that showcase the latest season's creations.

Asian Avenue offers the latest trend in street wear and attitude wear for the young and hip.

“Two hundred specialty shops are expected to be offering specialist and designers products within this precinct,” he added.

The Marrakesh shopping precinct

The Marrakesh precinct is inspired by the souks and bazaars of Morocco. Here arches and decorative columns featuring traditional Moorish patterns, materials and finishes could be commonly found.

The management plans for unique souvenirs, knick-knacks and a host of specialty retail merchandisers to make up the retail offerings, in this zone.

The new Oasis Boulevard, is based on the two-in-one concept of having two distinctive shopping precincts that offer mainstream day shopping within the mall and another night-time shopping outside the mall.

“The idea is to allow shoppers to enjoy quality dining, clubbing and entertainment activities for both young, old and with families even after 10 pm.

“The already successful al-fresco precinct had been extended to envelope the mall exterior from the East-North belt to the West-South belt,” said Chan.

C.Chan (riht) and Ngeow Voon Yean

The al-fresco area now includes areas for street-fronting themed concept restaurants and clubs as well as shopping space for retail goods and services.

Among the brands now making their appearance in Sunway Pyramid were Jusco, Cerruti 1881, Dorothy Perkins, French Connection, Xixili, United Colours of Benetton, Calvin Klein, Guess, Lacoste, Principles, Springfield, Promod, Marks & Spencer, Colin's & Loft, Forever 21, Elle Homme, The Gap, Raoul, Aldo, Nike and Adidas.

The car park had also not been neglected in the renovations and was now equipped with state-of-the-art car parking guiding system to enable customers to reach the car park bay directly.

It informs how many vacant bays are available as a visitor approaches a particular floor.

According to Chan, the accessibility issue is also addressed with the creation of multiple entrance and exit points to the complex.

“Notably, the multi-million ringgit infrastructure development included direct flyovers and tunnel link from New Pantai Expressway fronting the mall, both for Kuala Lumpur bound and Subang Jaya bound traffic to have direct access to the mall.

“It represented the first time ever in Malaysia a major highway accessible from both sides,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa is undergoing a progressive RM80mil renovation.

Group general manager Jean-Jacques Kiefer said, the convention facilities had already been refurbished and access to the hotel has been greatly enhanced.

According to Sunway City Bhd managing director of property investment Ngeow Voon Yean, the hotel is expected to see double-digit revenue growth for financial year 2008 and 2009.

“The hotel's proper yielding strategy also sees average room rates increasing from RM231 in the last financial year to RM309 in the financial year 2008 and 2009,” Ngeow said.

Despite the five-star Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa being partially closed for renovations, a total of about 90,489 room nights at an average room rate of RM295 “were captured” in the peak months of June, July and August, he said.

This works out to an increase of 14% in room revenue compared to the same period last year.

Other hotel properties managed by Sunway International Hotels & Resorts are Sunway Hotel Georgetown in Penang, Sunway Hotel Seberang Jaya in Prai, Sunway Hotel Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Sunway Hotel Vietnam.

By The Star (by Loong Tse Min)

PJCC aims to emulate success of Mid Valley

Commercial properties in prime locations have been experiencing good take up rates for the past few years.

Besides a good location, competitive pricing is also an important factor.

The PJCC (Petaling Jaya Commercial City), an upcoming integrated three-phased commercial development comprising a Retail City (shop offices and service suites), Tower City (three to four-star hotel, office tower and shopping mall), Auto City and Lake City complexes, is one such development that boasts of location and pricing as its winning assets.

It is strategically located between the Old Klang Road and New Pantai Expressway (NPE) in the booming Bandar Sunway-Subang Jaya corridor. In fact, it is in one of the fastest growing locations in Petaling Jaya.

The developer, PJCC Development Sdn Bhd is building part of a slip road from the NPE to the development. When completed in eight years, PJCC can be seen from the NPE.

Vincent Tai Chu Shi with a model of the PJCC project

As for pricing, it is 30% to 40% cheaper than similar developments and that explains why 95% of the 34 units of the 3-storey shop offices in Phase 1 had been snapped up since its initial launch this March. There are also very limited units of the 5, 6 and 8-storey shop offices left.

Phase 2 comprising of more 3, 5 and 8-storey shop offices are now opened for sale. About 47% of the 34 units of 3-storey shop offices in Phase 2 have been sold.

The selling price of the Phase 2 strata title office units starts from RM199,900 while the price for the strata title ground floor shop lot with first floor office lots is RM660,900.

The individual title 3-storey, 22ft x 70ft shop offices are priced from RM868,900 while the individual title 5-storey shop office with lift is priced at RM2.5mil. The individual title 8-storey shop office with lift is priced at RM3.9mil. Both the 5 and 8-storey shop offices are limited corner lots with 40 ft wide frontages.

All shop offices will have wide back lanes of 40 to 50ft for easy loading and unloading of goods.

It has been noticed that when a location is “hot” and is in a prime area with a big population like in Subang Jaya and Bandar Sunway, there is no let up in the demand for more shop offices. The Taipan commercial centre in USJ is a good example where ready tenants usually move in soon after the ground floor shop lot has been vacated.

In PJCC's case, the developer has done the right thing in offering more than just shop offices. In fact, it has consulted extensively with landscape specialists and consultants to design an interactive lake in its Lake City featuring musical fountains, shallow wading pools, floating decks with retail kiosks and a stage for performances.

The interactive lake with surrounding greenery will have wide pedestrian styled promenades with extensive landscaping of imported and local trees and flowering plants. The lake will also feature cantilevered sitting areas leading down to the lake for relaxation.

Lake City in Phase 3, will have a bazaar with retail lots on the ground and first floor and a 3-level car park with about 500 bays.

PJCC Development Sdn Bhd sales & marketing manager Vincent Tai Chu Shi said PJCC would “mirror and parallel” the success of the Mid Valley City, about 10 minutes drive away.

“At PJCC, we have priced our commercial offerings at almost half of the current selling price of properties in Mid Valley City. Hence, the potential for high capital gains and rental returns for PJCC properties is very optimistic as PJCC believes in allowing its purchasers to enjoy a higher margin of capital appreciation,” he said.

Tai said the service suites called PJCC Avenue (550 sq ft to 850 sq ft) and PJCC Tower (1,200 sq ft to 1,800 sq ft) under Phase 2 were now opened for registration. Both would be priced around RM220 psf. The PJCC Avenue will have studio, 1, 2, and 3-bedroom layouts and SOHO (small office home office) units.

They will have facilities such as gymnasium, business centre, swimming pool and wading pool, 24-hour security, with guards and broadband and Astro ready.

He said the proposed 3-storey shopping mall in Tower City (Phase 3) would have about 267,000 sq ft of retail space.

“We are positioning PJCC which consists of four precincts, as a one-stop commercial city. It will be one of the biggest commercial developments in Petaling Jaya,” added Tai.

By The Star (by S.C. Cheah)