Emkay plans property trust

The Emkay Group of companies, which is controlled by Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar, plans to set up a property trust.

Mustapha is the chairman and dominant stakeholder of MK Land Holdings Bhd, a publicly-traded property developer listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia.

He holds a 48.7 per cent stake in MK Land via privately-held MKN Holdings Sdn Bhd. MKN in turn is one of Emkay's many subsidiaries.

Emkay chief operating officer Peter Teh Heng Poh said that one of the properties that could feature in the real estate investment trust (REIT) is the RM100 million Bangunan Mustapha Kamal in Cyberjaya.

The property is due to receive its certificate of fitness this month.

"We are looking at at least six per cent growth and are in the midst of negotiations right now, working out details such as REIT value and appointing the arranging merchant bank.

"We also need to first welcome all our tenants before we launch the REIT," Teh told Business Times and Berita Harian at the company's headquarters in Selangor.

Bangunan Mustapha Kamal sits on 1.2ha freehold enterprise land and is purpose-built to be leased out to local and foreign information technology (IT) companies.

The four-storey office building has a built-up of 121,500 sq ft.

Teh said the REIT is part of Emkay's long-term strategy. The company also has more buildings in the pipeline.

Emkay is also in the midst of building the RM350 million MKN Embassy Techzone in Cyberjaya, the RM300 million NeoCyberjaya mixed development and the RM411 million NeoDamansara in Petaling Jaya.

By New Straits Times (by Zaidi Isham Ismail)