Bina Puri in talks on RM200m KK waterfront mall, condo project

Construction firm Bina Puri Holdings Bhd is eyeing a contract worth around RM200 million to construct a retail mall and condominium at the Kota Kinabalu City Waterfront (KKCW) in Sabah.

The four-storey mall will feature a waterfront lifestyle, with a "single-spine" concept incorporating high-end retailers, while the condominium will have designer suites.

Bina Puri Construction Sdn Bhd (BPCSB) managing director Datuk Henry Tee Hock Hin said it is negotiating the contract with the developer, Waterfront Urban Development (WUD) Sdn Bhd.

"Talks are still on-going. We are ironing out some details with WUD," Tee told Business Times in an interview in Kota Kinabalu.

The RM500 million KKCW project, with a promenade centred on the culture of al-fresco and fine-dining, is a mixed commercial development comprising the mall and condominium, and a five-star international hotel.

The whole development, which is a joint venture between WUD and the Kota Kinabalu City Hall, is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2011.

Tee said BPCSB has an existing contract with WUD worth RM30 million to lay the foundation for phase one of the development.

He added that the company is also eyeing another contract to build a mall for around RM100 million in Kuching, Sarawak.

Tee declined to elaborate on the project, but added that BPCSB has a contract worth around RM60 million from the client to lay the foundation for the mall.

Meanwhile, BPCSB is eyeing several projects in Sabah and Sarawak under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. These include hospital projects, roads, highways and private housing.

"For private housing, we are looking mainly at constructing high-end condos for developers. That is our niche area," Tee said.

BPCSB has several on-going projects in Sabah and Sarawak exceeding RM700 million.

It is constructing phases 1 and 2 of Universiti Malaysia Sabah for RM150 million, and low-cost houses for Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd worth around RM400 million.

BPCSB also recently completed the construction of the new State Assembly Hall in Kuching for RM300 million.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Over RM60mil in sales made

KUALA LUMPUR: More than RM60mil in sales were closed at the three-day The Star Property Fair 2009.

The 29 exhibitors, spreaded over 103 booths at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, attended to thousands of homebuyers who thronged the fair from Friday.

The roaring sales caught some property developers by surprise. They were under the impression that the fair, themed Stylish Living, would only create sales leads and promote awareness of their products.

“We noticed that the visitors came with a focus and an intention to buy,” said Sonny Tan of Ideal Concept Intelligence Sdn Bhd. “We managed to close seven deals in just one day.”

Tan said that holding a fair at such a venue seemed to draw a better crowd than those held in shopping malls.

“There, you get walk-ins who are just there to look and move on, unlike at a convention centre where people come with a clear intention to buy,” he added.

Sime Darby property sales consultant Muhd Khairul Nizam Abd Kader said the response was so good that some latecomers were disappointed that they could not get choice locations.

“The crowd was great,” he said. “It was easy to close and did not take much convincing. The response was so good we did not have time to eat.”

A Setia Sky Residences spokesman said the response to the fair was overwhelming. “They are mostly locals, which is a good surprise too,” he added.

Cahaya SPK sales executive Keane Kwong lauded Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre as a good location for the fair.

“We had a fantastic booth and the crowd was good. We will surely participate again.”

A Sunway City Bhd spokesman said the fair drew “high-end visitors who are our right kind of customers.”

Nusmetro Venture Sdn Bhd sales and marketing manager Shirley Cheong agreed, saying that her team would be able to draw upon the hundreds of registrations made at their booth over the three days.

“I have a good batch of data and I strongly believe we can convert them to sales,” she said.

The Star Property Fair 2009 was the first to be held here after eight successful fairs in Penang.

Besides finding good deals with the exhibitors, financial institutions, auctioneers and property agents, the housebuyers and investors were also treated to talks by experts in various fields pertaining to property.

These included How To Be A Property Millionaire author Capt Azizi Ali, fengshui masters Joey Yap and Danny Koh and renowned Balinese landscape artist Made Wijaya.

Visitors also had the chance to win prizes from Samsung that included a washing machine, refrigerator and air-conditioner.

By The Star (by Lester Kong and Nurbaiti Hamdan)

Get out of ‘boxy’ look, says famous Indonesian designer

Sharing ideas: Wijaya showing Star Publications marketing services general manager Iris Tan (left) and Kenny Heights head of marketing Jennifer Chow the design concept of Kenny Heights.

KUALA LUMPUR: An advice to local developers and home decorators - get out of the cliched and outdated “boxy” look.

A prominent landscape designer urged Malaysian designers to put natural beauty and art back into its garden designs and return to her tropical forest roots.

Made Wijaya, a landscape designer, said local designers should look towards the rich local culture like those in Kelantan and Terengganu for inspiration.

“Hotels, the urban environment and now even houses have started to look more like microwave ovens,” he said at a talk during The Star Property Fair 2009 here yesterday.

Wijaya challenged the housing industry to break out of its decades-old fascination with landscape designs that “looked man-made and machine-made.” “Some Bali exports have become soulless,’’said Wijaya.

He said most external and some indoor designs tended to have the “new Asia zen garden design kit” comprising timber grills, Uspouts, leaking black walls and stepping Bali stones.

“Someone told me that by 2050, Asians may have to look to Europe for cultural architecture if things go on (like this),” he said in jest. He noted however that making gardens and patios more natural looking did not mean that it would lose the modern and contemporary touch either.

ID Benchmark Sdn Bhd art director Valerie Choi said one of the most important things in making a room appear larger was the choice in furnishing.

“Select furniture with an open concept such as wide-legged chairs and coffee tables,” Choi said. One should also be aware of the traffic flow in the room by placing the largest piece of furniture and arranging other smaller furniture around it.

These tips, she said, should be utilised by small space owners particularly city folks who live in high-rise buildings with confined space. She said owners should also stick to the principle of “less is more.” “Keep your apartment clean and simple. Clutter free is always stress free.” She also said the easiest trick of the trade in creating a larger space - by using mirrors.

By The Star

Feng shui masters make house buyers see the light

KUALA LUMPUR: When choosing a property, have a mountain at the back and water features in front, said Joey Yap.

All ears: Feng shui master Joey Yap speaking to an attentive audience during his talk at the Kenny Heights’ VIP Lounge at The Star Property Fair 2009 yesterday.

“Mountains govern matters related to human relationships and longevity while water affects one’s financial health and growth,” said the fengshui master.

He advised homebuyers to look for properties with these features to enjoy their benefits. Joey said importance should be placed on the environment, building and personal aspects when buying a property.

He said many mistook Chinese superstitions to be feng shui. “Good feng shui is understated, zen-like and clean,” he said at a talk during The Star Property Fair 2009 yesterday.

At a separate talk, jointly organised by The Star and Samsung, feng shui master David Koh urged housebuyers to avoid certain locations which were “unfriendly.”

Master at work: Koh presenting “How to choose a good property from a Feng Shui Perspective” at the property fair.

He said high tension wires were not just bad for feng shui, but bad for health, too.

“One should also avoid places at top of hills, that faces mountains and at lower parts of valleys,” he added.

Koh said the presence of water elements, such as rivers, provide a good pool of energy or chi. He pointed out as example Masjid Jamek, a thriving business area that attributed its vibrant development to its location — sitting above two symmetrical rivers.

By The Star

Investments in Iskandar set to gain steam

Despite the global economic crisis, Iskandar Malaysia has beaten its full-year target of RM3 billion, drawing some RM9 billion of new investments so far this year

Iskandar Malaysia in Johor, the first and possibly the most ambitious of the country's five economic corridors, has attracted some RM9 billion of new investments so far this year, exceeding its full-year target of RM3 billion, an official said.

"We were able to do this despite the global economic crisis as we had targeted long-term investors," said Harun Johari, the outgoing chief executive officer of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA).

IRDA is the body responsible for the direction, policies and strategies of Iskandar.

The bulk of the RM9 billion came from local investors and was invested in property, Harun said.
Iskandar, incepted in November 2006, has drawn RM50.5 billion in cumulative investments as at October this year. This is more than the RM44.76 billion it had targeted for the full year.

Out of the RM50.5 billion, 35 per cent has already been spent on actual work on the ground, Harun said.

Iskandar has not been entirely spared the impact of the global crisis. Damac Group, the second biggest property developer in Dubai, a city hit hard by the financial crisis, in June pulled out of a deal with UEM Land Holdings Bhd to buy a piece of land in Nusajaya for RM396.4 million.

It was to have built a world-class integrated waterfront development. That marked the first time that a potential investor had withdrawn from a deal in Iskandar. Damac had pulled out after a property bubble burst in Dubai.

Harun, however, pointed out that Iskandar has since found a "replacement" for the amount of investment lost there in the form of a South Korean investor. He declined to give details on the new investor.

"The important thing is that Iskandar has achieved a lot. The momentum is there and will continue," he said.

He said IRDA's focus over the next two to three years would be to get projects on the ground and generally "make things happen". That is critical as the project has drawn criticism for not having shown speedier developments on the ground.

Harun takes the criticism in stride. "Criticism for a mega-project is normal," he said, adding that it was important for critics to come see for themselves the pace of developments there.

He is confident that his successor, Ismail Ibrahim, will do a good job of continuing the momentum at Iskandar.

Ismail, who takes over in January next year, is currently the director of the National Physical Planning Division under the Urban and Rural Planning Department.

The new role will not be an unfamiliar one as Ismail was previously involved in the inception of Iskandar.

By Business Times (by Adeline Paul Raj)

Malaysian construction firms in Dubai have minimum exposure

Malaysian construction companies are not likely to be hit by the debt crisis affecting Dubai

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian construction companies are not likely to be hit by the debt crisis affecting Dubai, said industry players. Dubai has been struggling to ease fears of a massive debt default after it moved to delay repayments at two flagship firms, which has shook confidence in the Middle East as a centre for investment.

Ng Kee Leen (right) ... ‘There aren’t many Malaysian construction firms left in Dubai.’

Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) president Ng Kee Leen said most of the Malaysian construction companies had either pulled out or were at the tail-end of completing their contruction projects there.

“There aren’t many local construction companies left in Dubai,” he told StarBiz yesterday.

Meanwhile IJM Corp Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Krishnan Tan said the company had already completed the bulk of its projects in Dubai.

“IJM is not affected. We don’t have much there (construction projects in Dubai). We’re almost done with the construction of Fortune Tower at Jumeirah Lake in Dubai,” he said, adding that currently there was no problem with payments.

A Gamuda Bhd top official said the company was not significantly exposed to the fallout in the construction sector in Dubai.

Interior fit-out (IFO) company LCL Corp Bhd founder and executive chairman Datuk Low Chin Meng said payments were generally slow in Dubai.

“We will shift our focus on interior fit-out (IFO) contracts in cash-rich Abu Dhabi, after the completion of projects in Dubai,” he said.

The company has projects such as Atlantis The Palm Hotel, Dubai Metro System, Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Hotel.

Concern over the level of debt held by the Government and its affiliated companies had sent jitters throughout the Gulf region and had affected investors confidence level.

Earlier in the year the Dubai’s stock market was down 60% and many residents believed that the property market was on the brink of collapse.

Dubai had borrowed billions to finance its infrastructure and construction companies such as Dubai World, and Emirates Airline.

A local property analyst said Dubai was likely to be on the road to recovery.

“The worst is likely over as the market has bottomed out. The economy was very bad at the start of the year. The housing market fell into a slump and property prices fell as much as 50% even in prime location and many expatriates left the place,” he said.

Early this year, WCT Bhd lost a US$1.3bil (RM4.6bil) contract to build a racetrack in Dubai it had won back in 2007 as the client alleged that WCT and its partner Arabtec Holding PSJC was behind schedule. However, WCT disputes the accusation and is presently fighting to reclaim RM300mil that includes advance payment of RM178mil and a performance bond.

It also seems that the Iskandar growth region in southern Johor will not be affected by the Dubai debt crisis. It was reported that Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said this was because only one company from Dubai had invested in a real estate sector in the growth region. He said the company, Damac Properties, was involved in a property project on an 8ha site in the Iskandar region. He added that most of the investors in the growth area are from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi and that the Dubai company had yet to start operation.

By The Star (by Danny Yap)