I&P to offer incentives to push sales

STATE-OWNED Island & Peninsular Bhd (I&P), one of Malaysia's largest property groups by landbank, will launch a stimulus package to push property sales as it grapples with a slowing economy and fragile consumer confidence.

Group managing director Datuk Jamaludin Osman said he hopes to achieve higher property sales this year.

In 2008, I&P, a wholly-owned unit of Permodalan Nasional Bhd, sold 544 houses for RM245 million collectively, in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

"We will offer incentives for our properties. The business needs to go on despite concerns of slower economic growth," Jamaludin told Business Times in an interview in Kuala Lumpur recently.

I&P will keep property prices competitive and offer, among others, a discount on stamp duty, and incentives such as zero per cent interest during construction.

Separately, despite the company's huge untouched landbank of 5,263ha, it will pace out its launches and release units in smaller quantities this year.

"We will not launch and have balance of stocks as it will lead to cash flow problems," Jamaludin said.

He said the focus this year will be to launch double-storey terraced houses and semi-detached homes within its four townships in Puchong, Klang, Shah Alam and Bangi, Selangor.

I&P is targeting to launch 400 houses, worth a combined RM250 million, by the end of July. It will launch 34 units of terraced houses, priced from RM416,000, and six units of semi-detached homes, worth about RM1.1 million each, in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, by end-April.

Around the same time, it will launch 76 units of terraced houses in Bayumas, Klang, priced from RM230,000.

Depending on take-up, it will launch 110 units of terraced houses in Bandar Kinrara in June, for RM60 million collectively.

In Alam Impian, Shah Alam, I&P will launch Nukilan 2, featuring 71 units of terraced houses, from RM500,000 each, and Chanting 2, comprising 103 super link-homes that will cost below RM500,000 each.

"We are ready to launch and are optimistic about the rate of sale, especially in Bandar Kinrara, as we have over 1,000 registrations. But we reckon it would be a little slow in Bayumas, although it has cheaper houses," Jamaludin said.

He said buyers are confident of the company's product offering as the properties have proven to have good capital appreciation value.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)