Malaysia Pacific in talks to sell Wisma MPL stake

MALAYSIA Pacific Corp Bhd (MPC), a property developer, expects to conclude talks with at least two investors for the part sale of its RM250 million Wisma MPL in Kuala Lumpur early next year.

Its chief executive officer Datuk Bill C.P Ch'ng said the company still wants to own part of the building rather than sell it outright.



"Even with the current financial crisis, there are still people talking to us," he told reporters after the company's annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He declined to disclose the two parties but said one is a local and the other a foreign investor.
Wisma MPL is MPC's commercial property in Jalan Raja Chulan, in the Golden Triangle commercial district of Kuala Lumpur.

The slowing economy is also a good time to speed up a project to build a trading and exhibition centre in Johor to spur business among Asian nations, Ch'ng said.

The Asia Pacific Trade and Exhibition Centre (APTEC) in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, forms part of MPC's LakeHill Resort City project.

"Asian countries should use APTEC to source and distribute their products to Asian markets," he said.

MPC also plans to launch the first phase of the project, Taman Nusa Damai, which comprises mostly residential units, by February next year.

"We should complete this first phase project within the next two years," he said.

In its 2008 annual report, MPC said the new partners in LakeHill Development Sdn Bhd, LakeHill Resort's developer, plan to list the company in three to four years.

Amanah Raya Bhd had bought 22 per cent of LakeHill Development. The rest is held by MPC.

By Business Times (by Kamarul Yunus)