The developer, via subsidiary Bandar Setia Alam Sdn Bhd, yesterday entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Lend Lease Asian Retail Investment Fund 2 Ltd (ARIF) to develop the mall. ARIF is part of Lend Lease Corp Ltd, a multinational property development group.
The joint-venture company, called Greenhill Resources Sdn Bhd, will acquire 30.5 acres of freehold land in Precinct 1 from Bandar Setia Alam for RM119.57mil.
The proposed mall has a gross floor area of about 1.23 million sq ft. Greenhill has also appointed US-based design architect The Jerde Partnership to create an iconic landmark.
SP Setia group managing director Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the project was expected to contribute to the group after its completion at end-2011.
Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin (left) explaining the retail mall concept to Selangor state executive councillor Teresa Kok.
“We expect to start building the mall within six months. We are currently waiting for approval from the Selangor government,” he said after the agreement signing yesterday.
To a question, Liew said the higher building material prices had already been factored in the gross development value of the mall.
“The mall will help us achieve our 20% target of building commercial products in the next two to three years from 2% currently,” Liew said, adding that the mall was expected to attract customers from the larger Klang Valley population as well as Setia Alam and Setia Eco Park townships.
He said there were about 350,000 households within 30-minute driving radius of the mall.
“We have also reserved land around the mall area should the Federal Government decide to extend the light rail transit system to that part of Selangor,” he said.
On its financial performance, Liew said the group was confident of achieving total sales of RM1.5bil for the current financial year ending Oct 31. He expected the group to post better fourth-quarter results following improved sales.
“We have been recording sales of RM100mil to RM120mil monthly,” Liew said, adding that the group registered RM50mil revenue over the weekend.
Commenting on SP Setia’s project in Vietnam, he said the group would continue with its launch plan despite the slowdown in the country’s economy. He said the launch would be held in October when its showhouses were ready.
“What is happening in Vietnam is similar to what we experienced in the 1997/98 financial crisis. Its interest rate is about 20% while ours now is about 6%.”
The project would benefit SP Setia in the long run, especially when Vietnam turned around, Liew said, adding that going forward, the group would be buying more land there.
By The Star
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