Mah Sing expands presence in IDR

Mah Sing Group Bhd has purchased prime freehold land in the southern tip of the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in Johor totalling about 60.21 acres for RM21 million from several vendors. The land is less than 2km from the group’s ongoing development Sri Pulai Perdana in Skudai.


A bungalow unit in Sri Pulai Perdana 1

The land will be developed into Sri Pulai Perdana 2, with gross development value of about RM157.8million. The group has two other on-going projects in Johor, namely Austin Perdana (Tebrau) and Sierra Perdana (Tebrau-Plentong).

Mah Sing’s group managing director Datuk Seri Leong Hoy Kum said in a statement yesterday, “Johor has the second largest property market in Malaysia with 12% of property transactions in 2006, and the second largest housing demand under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. Strong economic and population growth expected under the IDR should spur demand for housing in the area. We see a lot of upside not only because we can ride on our premium branding, unblemished track record and good locations, but also because the IDR and Singapore’s two integrated resorts will spur the economy further.”

Sri Pulai Perdana 2 will front the Johor Baru-Pontian main road. It is close to Pulai Springs Golf and Country Resort, 10 minutes from UTM Technovation Park, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Johor Technology Park. “Residents enjoy proximity to shopping centres and hypermarts. The development also enjoys a ready catchment population from nearby housing developments, including Taman Impian Emas, Taman Universiti and Mutiara Rini,” Leong said.

The development is served by a comprehensive network of major roads and expressways, including the Skudai Highway and North-South Expressway. The Sultan Ismail International Airport is only 20 minutes away while the Causeway to Singapore is 30 minutes away. “The upcoming interchange from the Second Link Expressway is close by. This is especially important with the development of two integrated resorts in Singapore, which will be a catalyst for economic growth and which will spur housing demand,” Leong added.

“At Sri Pulai Perdana 2, we will offer interesting concepts, excellent quality, grand entrances, extensive landscaping and gated and guarded community living within an accessible mid-range price bracket, which has proven to be successful in Johor,” he said.

Sri Pulai Perdana 2 will closely follow the tried and tested Garden Park Living theme of Sri Pulai Perdana. Following customer feedback from Sri Pulai Perdana, the new development will comprise bigger units, namely linked semi-detached homes and superlink homes as well as 2-storey shop offices.

Prior to this land purchase, the group’s projects in the Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang contributed 37%, 21% and 42% respectively to its revenue. The purchase has evened out the contribution to 35%, 25% and 40% respectively and the group aims to maintain a 50:30:20 ratio as these three locations are Malaysia’s property hot spots.

According to Leong, the group’s expansion strategy is to acquire choice landbank in multiple prime locations in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Baru for its commercial and residential (Legenda, Residence and Perdana) series, which target different segments of the medium to highend property market.

The group will continue to focus on the lifestyle medium to high-end residential market and
commercial segment which has given it very good results.

With this new project, the group now has 15 projects with GDV of RM3.199 billion — 10 in the Klang Valley, one in Penang island and four in Johor Baru. The group has unbilled sales of RM1.077 billion, representing a total GDV of RM4.276 billion, which will ensure earnings visibility for seven years.

By theSun