More residential units in store for Nusajaya

PETALING JAYA: UEM Land Holdings Bhd has lined up a wide range of residential units this year in Nusajaya, Johor as it expects Iskandar Malaysia to continue attracting investors despite the generally cautious property market in the country.

Managing director and chief executive director Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim said UEM Land would develop new phases at its existing projects in Nusajaya.


Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim

“These include 450 bungalows and semi-detached (houses) in East Ledang, 300 mid-market housing units in Nusa Idaman and Horizon Hills. We also expect to launch high-end condominiums near East Ledang, commercial units in Nusajaya Industrial Park Phase 2, and the commercial and canal homes units in Puteri Harbour,” he said in an interview.

Wan Abdullah said despite the current economic situation, he expected the company to record reasonable sales.

He said the group was looking to acquire more land in well-established areas such as the Klang Valley and Penang.

In December, UEM Land had proposed to acquire 98.04 acres in Sepang, Selangor for RM102.5mil from Cyberview Sdn Bhd and Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd.

The proposed acquisition would be funded entirely by internal funds,

“We have close to 10,000 acres in Nusajaya and this gives us the flexibility to adapt as demand changes. Because of our strategic location, we (our development) can cater to both regional and local markets,” said Wan Abdullah.

Wan Abdullah said UEM Land, being the master developer of Nusajaya, could reach out to many different target segments, including strategic partners and property investors. “The strategic partners can add value and excitement to the development,” he said.

Nusajaya also benefited from excellent infrastructure while the company had strong balance sheet with low leverage, he added.

UEM Land had also undertaken a corporate exercise to raise RM1.25bil and this was expected to be completed by March.

Wan Abdullah said the RM1.25bil would be used to develop the 688-acre Puteri Harbour and Phase 2 of the 1,300-acre Southern Industrial and Logistics Clusters.

“We are not facing any difficulty (in financing) yet due to our low gearing ratio and being part of UEM Group Bhd,” he said.

Nusajaya spans over 23,875 acres and has been identified by the Government as one of the five zones of Iskandar Malaysia. Upon its completion in 2030, Nusajaya would comprise a range of high quality development including Federal and State Government offices, residential, industrial park, medical park and resort.

By The Star (by K.C.Law)

TH Properties to build 4-star hotel in Bandar Enstek

KUALA LUMPUR: TH Properties Sdn Bhd is building a new RM50mil four-star hotel in Bandar Enstek to benefit from the proposed low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Labu, Negri Sembilan.

Chief executive officer Zaharuddin Saidon said the hotel, near the KL International Airport (KLIA), would cater for foreigners and transit passengers that come through KLIA and the new LCCT at Labu.

“The hotel will be an ideal destination for them as a pit-stop as it only takes about a few minutes from the hotel to the airports,” he said yesterday at the signing of two memoranda of understanding (MOU) and a joint venture (JV) agreement between the company, the developer of Bandar Enstek in Nilai and Seri Pajam Development Sdn Bhd.

The MOUs were for building the new hotel and and for the implementation of the industrialised building system (IBS) for the construction of future buildings at Bandar Enstek. The IBS is a construction process that involves pre-fabricated and on-site installations.

“The construction of the 400-room four-star hotel will commence around August and will take about 16 months for completion,” Zaharuddin said.

The signing of the JV was for the development of the second phase of Bandar Warisan Puteri near Seremban.

“The construction works of Vila Suria (at Bandar Warisan Puteri) using the IBS (in the first phase) has enabled us to complete the project in 12 months and ensure the delivery of high-quality finished products,” said Seri Pajam managing director Lai Suit Choong.

He said the second phase of Bandar Warisan Puteri had a gross development value of RM160mil and would see the development of some 1,000 residential units of various types, over a period of five years.

By The Star

TH Properties to build hotel at Bandar Enstek

TH Properties Sdn Bhd is to build a four-star, 400-hundred room hotel at Bandar Enstek in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

The property developer today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Seri Pajam Development Sdn Bhd for the project.

TH Properties chief executive officer Zaharuddin Saidon said the hotel was a RM50 million investment.

He said the first phase of construction would commence in August this year and is expected to be competed in early 2011.
“With its close proximity to the KL International Airport and the present LCCT or Low Cost Carrier Terminal, we expect the hotel to be well received,” he told reporters after the signing ceremony.

He added that with the proposed construction of the new LCCT at Labu, Negeri Sembilan, the company expects the traffic towards Bandar Enstek to increase significantly.

TH Properties is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Haji and is the developer of Bandar Enstek, a joint venture effort with the Negeri Sembilan Development Corporation via TH-NSTC Sdn Bhd.

At the event, TH Properties also signed another MoU with Seri Pajam Development to implement the industrialised building systems (IBS) in the construction of buildings at Bandar Enstek.

Apart from the MoUs, TH Properties also entered into another joint venture agreement with Seri Pajam Development for the second phase of development of Bandar Warisan Puteri, Negeri Sembilan.

By Bernama

Financials lift S'pore, property boosts Thailand

BANGKOK: Most Southeast Asian stock markets gained on Jan 16, with financials such as DBS Group and UOB pushing Singapore higher and Thai property firms like Land & Houses and Asian Property getting a boost from tax break hopes.

A rise in Wall Street stock futures after Washington pumped US$20 billion (RM72 billion) into Bank of America buoyed Asian sentiment and encouraged investors to put money into equities, even though dismal economic data has made market players wary again.

"The equity market's risk/return profile has improved because it is already reflecting an exceptionally dismal scenario," Swiss Clariden Leu bank said in a strategy report for January.

Singapore's Straits Times index gained 1.6%, recovering from a 3.4% fall on Jan 15, with DBS Group rising 3.4%, and United-Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking both up 3.1%.

Data on Jan 16 showed Singapore's exports fell sharply in December, hammered by recession in the United States and Europe, but UBS said in a report on Singapore's banks that their share prices could rebound significantly once a GDP trough was reached.

That is not in sight: the broker expected the first quarter to record a 6% contraction in the economy.

In Bangkok, the index climbed 2.1% to close at its highest level of the day in thin turnover of US$204 million, with property outperforming. Top housing firm Land & Houses surged 4.4% and Asian Property jumped 7.1%.

Investors were hopeful that the Thai Cabinet would approve more property tax measures next Tuesday, including a tax deduction for home mortgage payments, analysts said.

"Part of the buying was from punters who looked for sectors with a good future," said Chaiyaporn Nompitakcharoen, head of research of Bualuang Securities. "Property is a good play, with more tax incentives and falling interest rates."

In Kuala Lumpur, the index slid 0.11%, extending losses into a fourth day ahead of a key by-election at the weekend. Market heavyweight Tenaga Nasional fell 1.6% ahead of its first-quarter results on Monday.

In Jakarta, shares climbed 1.5%, recouping part of a 3.1% loss on Jan 15, with advancers led by Bumi Resources, which rose 20.0%, and Telkom Indonesia, which gained 1.6%.

By Reuters