I-Berhad upbeat on new revenue

I-BERHAD, developer of the RM2 billion i-City project in Shah Alam, Selangor, will have a new income stream starting next year that will improve its revenue and net profit, a top official said.

Already the company is expecting revenue to improve this year, mainly because it has, in the past six months, leased 300,000 sq ft of office space in i-City, an MSC Malaysia Cybercentre.

By December, I-Berhad will complete and lease an additional 200,000 sq ft of office space, its director Eu Hong Chew said.

In the past, I-Berhad's income was mainly from property sales. It posted a net profit of RM15.3 million on revenue of RM95.8 million last year.

Chairman Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said I-Berhad, in partnership with Australia's Servcorp, will offer its managed office system, a digital technology solution that has been the tackling point for i-City, to developers involved in commercial projects.

Initially, I-Berhad and Servcorp, through i-Office 2 Sdn Bhd, their 35:65 joint-venture firm, will offer the technology to developers in Malaysia. It may branch out to Southeast Asia in a few years and target high-end residential developments, too.

Hamad added that i-Office will invest RM100 million over the next 10 years in information technology infrastructure, equipment and services in i-City for the roll-out plan.

"We will roll out the services beginning the first quarter of 2009. When fully operational, I-Berhad will have another revenue stream to complement the one from property development," he said at the launch in Shah Alam yesterday by Housing and Local government Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha.

Under the plan, i-Office will deploy an IP-based open network platform in i-City that allows building technologies such as heating ventilation and air-conditioning and CCTVs, among others, to be integrated with traditional IP-based communications systems on a common network platform.

"When tenants relocate to i-City, they would be offered a range of built-in facilities and services, enabling them to lower their operational costs by 33 per cent. The same goes to tenants in other developments, which have applied our technology," said Hamad, who is also the president and chief executive officer of state-owned investment fund Permodalan Nasional Bhd.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)