Petaling Tin plans RM1b luxury villas

PROPERTY developer Petaling Tin Bhd plans to spend some RM1 billion to build luxury villas and a boutique hotel on Karambunai Peninsular, 30km east of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah.

The company, controlled by Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong who also helms Karambunai Corp Bhd (KCB), owns 524ha in Karambunai, its single biggest asset which it acquired for around RM190 million in 1998 and is now ripe for development.

Chief executive officer Leong Choong Wah said Petaling Tin will launch the first phase of the development this year.

"The villas, with large built-ups, will be an international product and we are targeting foreign buyers. KCB is building Nexus Residences Karambunai within close proximity and it will certainly boost sales and prices of new products here," Leong said at its annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Leong expects Petaling Tin's performance this year to remain flat as launches earmarked for early this year will only take place in the second half of 2008.

However, its performance is expected to improve next year.

For fiscal year ended October 31 2007, it posted a net profit of RM16.6 million on revenue of RM21.2 million.

Petaling Tin is set to launch RM100 million worth of properties in Taman Desa Bukit Indah in Sungai Buloh, Selangor and the gated Taman Kelab Ukay in Bukit Antarabangsa, Ampang, where it holds 81ha and 11ha respectively.

The company, which has net tangible assets worth RM378 million, hopes to launch 126 units of terrace houses in Sungai Buloh worth RM26 million by the third quarter of this year.

In Taman Kelab Ukay, it plans to launch 15 units of three-storey superlink homes worth RM11.3 million by June this year.

"We will be launching RM66 million worth of new properties in Taman Kelab Ukay by year-end after getting the state government's approval," said Leong.

He added that the strategy is to unlock value for a profit margin to build a new corporate office on a 0.83ha site in Section 19, Petaling Jaya, which now houses a four-storey office block with an annexed single-storey warehouse.

Petaling Tin plans to redevelop this into a high-rise Grade-A commercial office tower with minimal retail lots for more than RM100 million, and lease half the units for investment purposes.

However, this plan is pending the local authorities' decision to re-zone Section 19 and new guidelines by the Selangor state government.

By New Straits Times (by Sharen Kaur)