iProperty.com acquires expo company

PETALING JAYA: iProperty.com Group, which owns the www.iproperty.com portal, has acquired Keagen Group Sdn Bhd, the owners and organisers of the International Home Buyer and Property Investor exhibitions in the region, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

Following the acquisition, the exhibition, which is one of Asia’s leading property event, will now be known as the iProperty.com EXPO while Keagen Group will hereafter be known as iProperty Events Sdn Bhd.

The acquisition of Keagen Group is valued at an initial RM1 million and is expected to rise to RM8 million over the next three years, said iProperty in a statement. The acquisition is part of iProperty Group’s aggressive expansion drive to firmly position itself as a leading property media and real estate services provider in South East Asia, said iProperty’s executive chairman Patrick Grove (pix).



iProperty has a presence in Singapore, Philippines and Hong Kong. On November last year, the company purchased Hong Kong’s leading property portals GoHome.com.hk and House18.com.

Grove said the acquisition represents a strategic move for the Group to gain a larger slice of property media space in the region. “The acquisition will enable us to carry out effective and efficient cross-promotional and cross-selling activities. It will also enable us to strengthen our relationship with property developers and investors throughout the region,” he said.

Grove added that the renaming of the exhibition to iProperty.com EXPO was in line with the Group’s efforts to unify its network of regional websites and related products under the iProperty.com brand.

He said it is also seeking to further strategically acquire leading property portals throughout regional markets and will soon acquire a leading online property portal in Thailand.

Meanwhile, Keagen Group’s managing director Antony Wong said that by leveraging on iProperty.com Group’s extensive network and large audience of property hunters, the exhibition series would be propelled to a significantly larger scale.

Established in 2005, the International Home Buyer and Property Investor exhibition has grown to be the leading mid- to high-end property related event, attracting over 80,000 people and
300 exhibitors including international developers, realtors and property related companies.

The 2008 edition of the exhibition ended in Hong Kong two weeks ago. In Malaysia, it will be held on July 25 to 27 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and in Singapore, on Nov 21 to 23 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

iProperty.com is Asia’s leading network of property portals, with over 750,000 users every month (audited by Comscore, Frost & Sullivan and Alexa.com). The Group operates consumer and business online property portals in the Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Philippines markets.

iProperty.com has an average of over 100,000 property listings available on its network daily, and is used by more than 4,000 real estate agents and 100 developers.

The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australian Stock Exchange-listed IPGA Limited, www.ipgalimited.com (ASX: IPP).

By theSun (by Tim Leonard)

LBS Bina shifts gear

SHAH ALAM: Local developer LBS Bina Group Bhd has slated four projects worth more than RM330 million for launch in the Klang Valley this year.

According to its managing director Datuk Lim Hock San, they will be focusing on building medium and medium-high cost properties.

At its flagship development of Bandar Saujana Putra in Selangor, LBS is expected to launch medium and medium-high end houses with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of more than RM179 million this year. “We are waiting for approval from the relevant authorities on these projects and will make an announcement in the coming months,” said Lim.

Among the projects slated for Bandar Saujana Putra are 78 units of 3- and 5-storey shop offices
with a GDV of RM71.5 million, 67 units of 2-storey linked houses with built-up area of 990 sq ft, and 74 units of 2-storey linked houses with built-up of 1,400 sq ft. The houses have an estimated GDV of RM37.8 million, priced from RM200,000 onwards.

“We will also be launching 15 industrial lots with an average acreage of 1.38 acres,” said Lim, after the company’s EGM recently. The industrial lots are expected to carry a GDV of RM78.7 million.

LBS is also launching 41 units of 2-storey houses, named Min Gardens, with an estimated GDV of RM 11.3 million. Lim said Min Gardens’ properties, each with built-ups of 1,400 sq ft, are expected to be priced from RM260,000 onwards.

The developer is currently offering 48 units of 2-storey terraced houses priced from RM250,000 onwards, with a built-up size of 1,200 sq ft each.

LBS has a 500-acre undeveloped land bank in Bandar Saujana Putra. It has to date, completed and sold 4,000 units of low and medium cost properties in the 820-acre, RM5 billion-township since its launch in 2003. When completed over the next three to four years, Bandar Saujana will have more than 12,000 units of mixed development properties.

In Taman Tasik Puchong also in Selangor, LBS is launching projects with a GDV of RM32.44 million comprising 90 units of 1,200 sq ft 2-storey link houses and 48 units of 1-storey cluster link houses. These units are also expected to be priced from RM200,000 onwards.

And in Taman Perindustrian Tasik Perdana in Selangor, LBS will launch projects worth RM90.4 million comprising 40 units of 1 1/2 –storey factory lots measuring 2,000 sq ft and priced from RM500,000 onwards, and 44 units of 1 1/2 –storey semidee factory units with 7,500 sq ft and priced from RM 1 million onwards. Another 16 industrial lots will also be sold in the vicinity with prices ranging from RM1.3 million onwards.

By early next year, LBS will launch 22 units of semidees in Carnation Park, Cameron Highlands with an estimated GDV of RM12.6 million. The houses will have built-ups of 2,700 to 2,900 sq ft. Prices have yet to be determined.

By theSun (by Tim Leonard)

Danga City Mall to open in Johor in July

ONE of the biggest shopping complexes in Johor Baru - Danga City Mall - will open in July with Metrojaya as its anchor tenant.

The tenancy agreement will be signed on Friday between the complex owners, Danga City Mall Sdn Bhd (DCM) and Metrojaya Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, MJ Department Stores Sdn Bhd.

DCM director Gary Lee Seaton said the mall is scheduled to open in July as soon as Metrojaya completes its renovations and fittings.

News of the opening has spurred a great deal of interest in Johor Baru with strong enquiries from Malaysian and Singapore-based retailers and traders for take-up of the 500-odd shop lots in the complex.

By Bernama


Click on the map to enlarge

SP Setia eyes RM520m profit

INVEST MALAYSIA 2008 CONFERENCE

SP Setia Bhd, Malaysia's most valuable property company, aims to double its net profit in four years, helped by new product offerings and overseas expansion.

The company expects overseas businesses to contribute equally to its net profit and revenue by 2012, said group managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin.

SP Setia, which has a market value of some RM5 billion, made a net profit of RM260 million for the 12 months ended October 31 last year.
Its revenue was flat at RM1.15 billion.

"We are looking at launching new projects in nearby neighbouring countries, which we can effectively manage.

"There is huge potential in Southeast Asia. Besides maintaining a steady growth in Malaysia, we will launch projects in new markets," Liew told reporters at Invest Malaysia 2008 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The firm has 1,937.12ha in Penang, Johor, the Klang Valley and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, with 16 ongoing projects worth RM30 billion.

This year, it will launch four projects in Malaysia and one in Vietnam, worth RM5 billion collectively.

Earmarked for next year is a mixed development project at a 8.1ha site opposite the Mid Valley Megamall development, in a joint venture with City Hall.

The project will comprise mainly commercial components such as shopping, retail and offices, and also apartments and condominiums.

In Sabah, SP Setia plans to launch several tourism-based developments, after unveiling plans for its first venture in the state, a RM1 billion mixed development project in Tanjung Aru - dubbed Aeropod.

Aeropod is a major bet on the economy of Sabah, which is set to benefit from an 18-year development plan, estimated to attract investments of more than RM100 billion.

Liew said the group is keen to build eco-friendly developments in Sabah, which is in line with its aim to diversify its geographical concentration to other high-growth states and international markets.

By New Straits Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Naim Cendera sets revenue target

NAIM Cendera Holdings Bhd is targeting an annual compounded growth rate of 30 per cent in revenue for the next three years.

The construction and property group expects to achieve this through a combination of increased sales in the property division and by replenishing its construction order book by between RM0.5 billion and RM1 billion yearly.

The group made a net profit of RM82.7 million against RM652 million in revenue for the financial year ended December 31 2007.

Managing director Datuk Hasmi Hasnan said the group plans to treble its property sales from RM230 million currently, in the next three to five years.

Naim Cendera's net outstanding order book stands at RM2.6 billion, which will last the group between two and three years.

By New Straits Times

SunCity projects unchanged sales next year

SUNWAY City Bhd, a Malaysian developer and hotelier, said it’s “concerned” about slowing global economic growth as it forecast unchanged sales next year.

Revenue in the year ending June 2008 will be RM1.4 billion (US$439 million) and little changed in the following 12 months, Ngian Siew Siong, Sunway’s managing director of property development, said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The company may list a real estate investment trust of its properties in Malaysia or Singapore in the second half of the year, chief financial officer Koong Wai Seng told reporters.

Sunway will also start a RM1.5 billion property project in India in April, a venture with Opus Pte, Koong said.

By Bloomberg

Penang mulls subway system instead of monorail

PENANG is mulling the idea of building a subway system as a long-term solution for its traffic and flooding problem, instead of the elevated monorail project mooted by the federal government.

"The final say on this matter, however, rests with the federal government, since the monorail is a project which is to be financed by the federal authorities," Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said.

He was speaking to reporters after chairing his second state executive council meeting in George Town yesterday.

Lim said he realises that an underground transportation system will cost at least three times more than the monorail system.

The chief minister, who received a courtesy call on Tuesday from Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) officials, said he was briefed on the monorail project.

"The parties involved in the monorail project said that they are unable to secure financing for a subway system," Lim said.

MRCB, together with Penang Port Sdn Bhd and Scomi Engineering Bhd's subsidiary, Scomi Rail Bhd, have jointly bid for a monorail project on the island.

In January, Syarikat Prasarana Negara (SPNB) issued a letter of intent to the consortium for the monorail job. The monorail is said to comprise two lines measuring 25km.

The first route proposed is between the Penang International Airport and George Town, while the second line will be from George Town to Tanjung Bungah.

By New Straits Times (by Marina Emmanuel)