MGPA invests RM2b in real estate

BERMUDA-based real estate investment company MGPA will allocate RM2 billion to redevelop a mixed-use complex in Jalan Tun Razak here together with a new office tower.

This is the company’s first investment in Malaysian real estate market.

In 2007, MGPA through its investment fund, MGPA Fund II, acquired the 61-storey Empire Tower office building, the 28-storey Crown Princess Hotel, the six-level Plaza Ampang retail mall and the 11-storey City Square shopping centre for RM760 million.

MGPA Asia developments chief executive officer, Michael Wilkinson, said the company would transform these properties into a world-class, integrated mixed-use precinct, including a new environmentally sustainable office tower.
“The project to be known as The Intermark will redefine what occupants can expect from a working environment and will appeal to multinationals and the energy sector,” he said at a media briefing on the Intermark project here today.

The development will involved the complete refurbishment of a 62-storey office building to be called Vista Tower, a retail centre named Intermark Mall, Malaysia’s first DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and a new Integra Tower office complex of at least 30 storeys.

The refurbishment of Vista Tower is expected to be completed by end of this year and Integra Tower by end-2012 while Intermark Mall and the Doubletree hotel are scheduled to have their soft openings by the first quarter of 2010.

Wilkinson said the company believed that the outlook for commercial properties in Malaysia, particularly in Kuala Lumpur, was resilient despite the economic slowdown.

“The location (Jalan Tun Razak) is the perfect place for a mixed-use development as it offers high quality office space and strong occupancy rate,” he said, adding that demand for the retail and hotel sectors was also improving in line with the country’s positive growth.

According to him, MGPA is confident that the office space in Vista Tower will be fully taken up once it is completed by end of this year.

The company is currently in discussions with some multinational companies to use Vista Tower as their head offices.

Wilkinson also said that MGPA would continue to look for investment opportunities in Malaysia and expect to make further acquisition announcements in the near future.

Owned by Macquarie Group, MGPA is an independently management private equity real estate investment advisory company focusing on real estate investment in Europe and Asia.

It has more than 250 employees with offices in 13 cities and manages over US$11 billion in assets under management.

By Bernama