Emkay: More office space in Cyberjaya

The property developer may start launching new projects from July this year to add 8.2 million sq ft of office space in Cyberjaya over the next five to seven years.

The Emkay Group, a property developer owned by Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar, is providing more office space at Cyberjaya, Selangor, to capture demand at the fast-growing township.

It is building an 11-storey office tower at its NeoCyber integrated development and two office buildings, known as block C and D, at MKN Embassy Techzone, an information technology park.

Techzone is being developed by MKN Embassy Development Sdn Bhd, a 60:40 venture between Emkay Group and Bangalore's Embassy Group.

The three new buildings will provide 826,000 sq ft of office space in Cyberjaya by early 2010.

"We are targeting for another five million sq ft of office space over the next five years," Mustapha Kamal said at the launch of block D by chief secretary to the government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Since it ventured into Cyberjaya in 2006, Emkay has completed block A and B at Techzone, and Bangunan Mustapha Kamal, providing 692,238 sq ft of office space.

Emkay may start launching new projects from July this year to add 8.2 million sq ft of office space in Cyberjaya over the next five to seven years.

The new projects could be worth a combined RM3.2 billion. They include the phase two of Techzone, which will have six purpose-built office blocks and the extension of NeoCyber.

Emkay's investment strategy in Cyberjaya is to lease the buildings first and then sell them.

Last year, it sold block A and B, and Bangunan Mustapha Kamal, to Amanah Raya Bhd, a public trustee company wholly-owned by the Minister of Finance Inc, for RM266 million.

Block A and B have been leased for 10 to 15 years to the Public Service Department and the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu).

Bangunan Mustapha Kamal has a long-term tenant in the Education Ministry.

Emkay is in the process of selling block C, which may be leased to Pejabat Pengarah Tanah dan Galian, and block D, where it is finalising a deal to lease it to a government agency.

Business Times learnt that Cyberview Sdn Bhd, a government-owned entity responsible for the development of Cyberjaya, may buy block C and D, which are worth around RM200 million in total.

By Business Times

I-Berhad: Mall tie-up with foreign firm is on

PROPERTY developer I-Berhad says its partnership with a foreign company to develop a shopping mall remains intact, even though the deal was expected to be announced early this year.

"I think the downturn has caused them (the foreign partner) to review certain things. It's still on. The question now is (only) the timing. In fact, earthworks have already begun," chairman Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said in Shah Alam yesterday.

Singapore's CapitaLand Ltd is widely speculated as the foreign partner. Although I-Berhad has not revealed the identity of the foreign party, CapitaLand on October 23 last year informed its stock exchange that it was in talks with I-Berhad.

I-Berhad did not want to reveal the cost of construction and the gross development value of the shopping mall. However, it said that the mall has one million sq ft of gross lettable area, which would be comparable to the Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur.

By Business Times

I-Berhad's data hub likely to get 2nd anchor tenant

I-Berhad, the developer of i-City in Shah Alam, is confident of signing up another data centre anchor tenant for its Data Centre Park by year-end.

The Data Centre Park, launched yesterday, will have four buildings with a combined floor space of 200,000 sq ft - one of the country's largest data space providers in a single location.

One of the buildings is completed and will have Kompakar Inc Bhd as its first anchor tenant.

I-Berhad is in talks with other data centre operators, both local and foreign, to occupy the other buildings upon completion. A data centre is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems.

"We are quite confident to sign up one more operator as anchor tenant this year. International companies are looking at Malaysia as a data centre location," I-Berhad chairman Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said after the launch by Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili in Shah Alam yesterday.

I-Berhad statistics show that data centre capacity is expected to grow 68 per cent by 2013 in Southeast Asia, and demand for data centre services in Malaysia is forecast to be worth more than US$150 million (RM543 million).

Each data centre building in the project will take about two years to complete and the developer expects to take another six years before the entire Data Centre Park is fully constructed.

In his speech, the minister said many of the facilities and services in i-City had surpassed criteria set by the Multimedia Development Corp.

"In fact, we are looking at how i-City can be the benchmark for future cyber centres in the country," he said.

i-City is a RM2 billion integrated commercial development on 29ha of freehold land along Federal Highway in Section 7, Shah Alam. The entire development is expected to be completed by 2015.

For the year ended December 2008, the company recorded a pre-tax profit of RM16 million, with more than RM120 million cash and zero borrowings.

For the year ended December 31 2008, I-Berhad will be paying a final dividend of 5 per cent less tax on May 15 2009.

By Business Times