I-City's second phase draws foreign interest

INTELLIGENT CONCEPT: Artist's impression of part of the I-City Development

I-BERHAD, which is developing the I-City intelligent township in Shah Alam, Selangor, has received offers from interested foreign parties to buy office suites in the second phase of its project.

Targeted for completion in March next year, the second phase consists of 33 office suites. The total value of the project is RM2 billion.

"We received a lot of enquiries during the WCIT (World Congress on Information Technology) and we are in talks with a few parties right now," I-Berhad deputy chief executive officer Lim Boon Siong said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The first phase of the five-year project has been taken up and will be in operation by August.

I-City is being developed on a 22.8ha freehold site in Section 7.

The intelligent township will feature eight corporate towers, two luxury hotels, two blocks of 24-storey branded residences, three- to five-storey shop-offices and retail suites. It will also house a one million sq ft shopping mall and data and innovation centres.

I-City's technology partner is the Australia-based ServCorp Ltd.

ServCorp chief information officer Marcus Moufarrige said that complete mobility for the network offered at the site is possible through the 10Gps fibre-optic network linking all office network and world-class data centre facilities provided by both ServCorp and Cisco Systems.

"This makes I-City stand out more prominently as an intelligent township against others in the world," he said.

By New Straits Times (by Zurinna Raja Adam)

Boustead Weld Quay buying land for RM90m

BOUSTEAD Holdings Bhd’s wholly-owned unit Boustead Weld Quay Sdn Bhd is buying two pieces of land in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, for RM90 million from Azrahi Hotels Sdn Bhd.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, it said the acquisition is intended to increase its landbank.

The acquisition is expected to contribute to the long-term future earnings of the group.

Boustead said the acquisition will be financed by bank borrowing and internally generated funds. It is expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year.

By Bernama

Malaysia to scrap cement import curbs, price controls

The Malaysian government said it will scrap import curbs on cement and allow manufacturers to set their own prices after removing similar controls on steel.

"It didn't seem right that controls should be set at a level that is not reflective of costs and market price," Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

The trade ministry will announce the timing of the cement measures, he said.

The move comes about a week after the government lifted the ceiling price on steel bars and billets and eased import and export rules to curb a supply shortage. International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on May 8 Malaysia may ease restrictions on its cement and steel industries to bring down prices.

Removing the controls will help shrink the price disparity between domestic and overseas prices in Malaysia that resulted in steel hoarding and shortages for builders and property developers, Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd said in a note to clients on May 12.

By Bloomberg

Selangor secures RM5b investment

SELANGOR has locked in RM5 billion investment from a European company for its Science Park 2, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said.

"It is a 25.2-hectare development and construction of the (manufacturing plant) started last week,” he said at the last day of World Congress on Information Technology 2008 in Kuala Lumpur today.

He, however, declined to disclose the company’s name but said it was related to information and communications technology and manufacturing.

Last year, Science Park-2 received a total of RM6 billion investment from American, Japanese and European companies.

Besides the latest investment, he said, Selangor is confident of attracting more investors.

"In June, I will meet international investors to promote the benefits of investing in the state,” he said.

By Bernama