Engine of growth for UEM Land

Under Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim's stewardship, UEM Land has seen major developments taking place in Nusajaya as well as in Cyberjaya

UEM Land Holdings Bhd, a 77.1% unit of UEM Group Bhd, is leveraging on its vast land bank in Nusajaya as its engine of growth and sustainable income over the mid- to long-term.

The company has about 8,300 acres left in Nusajaya, of which about 2,700 acres are currently being developed. It also has 98 acres in Cyberjaya which is currently been developed into a high-end gated and guarded community, Symphony Hills.

From just two projects in Nusajaya – Kota Iskandar Phase 1 and Nusa Idaman – with a total GDV of RM1.2bil in 2006, the company has steadily increased its project offerings in the past four years.

It now has eight major projects in Nusajaya with a total GDV of close to RM13bil. This comprise a broad spectrum of offerings, from various types of residential units in Nusa Idaman, Horizon Hills, East Ledang and Nusa Bayu catering for all market segments; to industrial land in Southern Industrial & Logistics Clusters (SiLC) and Nusajaya Industrial Park; and commercial land in Puteri Harbour and Afiat Healthpark and government offices in Kota Iskandar.

In August this year, it started to expand beyond Nusajaya with the launch of Symphony Hills in Cyberjaya.

The company's expansion can be attributed to the leadership of managing director cum chief executive officer Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim. His vision is to propel UEM Land to become a global community builder.

Wan Abdullah, who joined UEM Land on Jan 1, 2006, is described as a caring employer who shares his dream and vision with his employees and motivates his subordinates to put in their best efforts to achieve the company's goals.

Under his stewardship, UEM Land has successfully seen major developments taking place in Nusajaya as well as in Cyberjaya.

The company has several ongoing projects in Nusajaya, and they comprise catalyst development projects such as Kota Iskandar, the new Johor state administrative centre; Puteri Harbour, an integrated urban waterfront development; Southern Industrial & Logistics Clusters – a managed industrial park which includes Bio-XCell, a new biotech ecosystem being developed under a joint venture with Malaysian Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd; Afiat Healthpark, a centre for modern medicine, traditional & complementary medicine and other wellness themed developments.

The residential projects consist of East Ledang, Horizon Hills, being developed under a joint venture with Gamuda Bhd; Nusa Idaman, Ledang Heights and Nusa Bayu.

Other smaller developments include Fortune Point comprising mainly shop houses which serve as the commercial area within the Nusajaya Industrial Park 2 as well as the Symphony Hills project in Cyberjaya.

Several projects in the pipeline include Northern Estuary (a new eco-themed upmarket residential precinct adjacent to Puteri Harbour), Nusajaya West and Regional Commercial Centre.

"The response and take-up rates for our projects have been quite strong. For the various residential projects that have been launched in Nusajaya, the average take-up rate is 77% while at Symphony Hills, which was launched in early August, it has achieved sales of slightly above 50%.

"Sales for industrial land in Southern Industrial and Logistic Cluster (SiLC) phase 1 and 2A (with a total saleable area of 275 acres) have almost been sold out. It is now starting on phase 2B which brings to market an additional 260 acres of light/medium industrial lands," Wan Abdullah says.

Its top contributors had traditionally been Puteri Harbour and SiLC but for the last two years, Nusa Idaman has also started to contribute strongly to sales.

Moving forward, the company expects East Ledang and Symphony Hills to turn in higher contribution as they reach their maturity.

"The positive market sentiments have helped boost sales, particularly for Nusa Idaman and Ujana Apartments in East Ledang. Overall, our sales has been steadily picking up since the start of the year. Our total sales for the first quarter was about RM83mil, increasing to about RM117mil in quarter two and about RM124mil in the third quarter," Wan Abdullah adds.

On plans to expand internationally, he says it is one of the key rationales behind the proposed Sunrise acquisition to create a stronger, more capable entity that will be able to undertake more projects not only in Malaysia but also overseas.

By The Star