Sunway City launches A'Marine at Sunway South Quay

Luxurious: A'marine

Sunway City Berhad (SunCity) continues its successful track record with the public viewing of A’marine, a luxury lakeside condominium in Sunway South Quay, located within the Sunway Integrated Resort City (SIRC).

Themed ‘A Night of Carnival Excitement’, SunCity successfully sold close to 80% of its units. To date. A’marine has a gross development value of RM200 million and comprises 242 units. Sizes of units will range from 1,306sq ft to 2,836sq ft.

The guests were truly entertained by a string of performances by street magicians and an eye-catching fire eating act that lit up the whole atmosphere during the evening. Children were also delighted by several clowns that gave out free souvenirs throughout the night. Additionally, all guests were treated to a sumptuous assortment of local delicacies.

Sunway City Berhad Property Development, Malaysia, managing director Ho Hon Sang said, “We are pleased with the response to date and A’marine allows homebuyers to experience a lakeside metropolis lifestyle in Sunway South Quay. It is a masterpiece that was conceived through an architectural competition which attracted numerous renowned international and local architectural firms. It is a unique development concept where a 28-acre lake takes centre stage.”

Sunway South Quay's development strategy is Blue, The New Green where the lake takes centre stage. Residents will enjoy a "paradise" secluded from the hustle and bustle of the city but with plenty of world-class amenities at their doorsteps. Surrounding the lake is an impressive 1.5km promenade for recreational purposes where residents can walk, jog and relax comfortably. As a result, residents will have the unique opportunity to spend quality time with their family beside the lake.

There will also be a 77-foot luxury yacht called the South Quay Princess, anchored by the side of the lake. The luxurious yacht, which was specially transported to the site, can be rented by the residents of SSQ to host parties or business meetings.

Sunway South Quay will be a lifestyle paradise of its own with alfresco dining, designer cafes, international restaurants, lakeside boutiques as well as retail and shopping lots in future.

Ho added that the appeal of A’marine is strengthened further as it is located within the SIRC, which is a hub of award-winning and world-class shopping, leisure, entertainment, education, recreational and commercial facilities. All these components make SIRC one of the most comprehensive integrated developments in the country.

The success factors for this good response for Sunway South Quay are due to several key factors. All the world-class and award-winning amenities are already completed, namely education, which is Sunway University College, Monash University Sunway campus and Sunway International School; healthcare with Sunway Medical Centre; shopping with Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall; leisure with Sunway Lagoon and hospitality with the 5-star Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, which constitutes of the 4-star Pyramid Tower & Resort Suites (service apartments) and the exclusive Villas chalets.

Sunway South Quay enjoys good connectivity as residents of SSQ will enjoy free bus shuttle service to all the locations mentioned within the SRIC. Proposed future access includes an elevated highway linkage from the Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas) and New Pantai Expressway (NPE).

For further enquiries, kindly contact us at 03-56381000 or 03-56399000.

By The Star

SP Setia beats sales target

PETALING JAYA: Leading property developer SP Setia Bhd has exceeded its sales target for the financial year ending Nov 30, 2010 (FY2010), achieving RM2.1bil in the first 11 months.

President and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the property market had remained strong for most of the year.

“Many property developers,including SP Setia had recorded good sales,” he told StarBiz. Liew said the Government’s pump-priming activities and the anticipated Economic Transformation Programme augured well for the propertysector.

“We are definitely looking at doing better in the coming year as we plan to launch our Kuala Lumpur Eco City (KLEC) project in Abdullah Hukum,” he said.

Liew said the company had been actively marketing KLEC and the response had been very encouraging.

“We have received strong registered interest for our strata offices, en-bloc offices and serviced apartments,” he noted

On SP Setia’s properties showcased at the Star Property Fair, Liew said the company would be mainly showcasing its properties in the Klang Valley, which are Setia Sky Residences, Setia Eco Park, Setia Alam and SetiaWalk.

On the company’s marketing and promotional exercise, Liew said marketing and promotional activities had always been on-going.

“Brand building is important to us and we are constantly on our feet where this is concerned. Currently, our Invest in Setiahomes scheme is continuing until year-end,” he said.

He said the Setiahomes scheme involved a 5% down payment and up to 95% loan margin, depending on the banks.

Moreover, legal fees and stamp duty on sale and purchase agreement and loan documents would be absorbed by SP Setia.

“The interest during construction period up to vacant possession would also be absorbed by us,” he said.

AmResearch in a report on Oct 22, had maintain a “buy” rating on SP Setia and had raised its fair value from RM4.84 per share to RM6.50 per share pegged to a 5% discount to its upward revised net asset value (NAV) of RM6.82 per share.

The report had lifted SP Setia’s NAV from RM4.61 per share to RM6.82 per share to reflect more aggressive pricing and demand assumptions for KL Eco City, as it turns bullish on this massive RM6bil development following a company visit.

It said: “We have raised our earnings estimates 17% to RM233mil for FY10F, 14% to RM265mil for FY11F, and 15% to RM313mil for FY12F.

This put SP Setia three-year earnings per share compounded annual growth rate at 23% (compared with 1% for FY08-FY10), it said.

“In our opinion, the market may have underappreciated the deeply embedded value of Eco City, given the current bearish consensus view on condominium and office space due to oversupply concerns,” said in the report.

The report also said KL Eco City would be a testament to SP Setia’s slick execution and uncanny ability to strike deals.

“Given SP Setia’s design niche, first mover advantages and market reach, Eco City may usher in a new era for SP Setia propelling its annual pre-sales to a record high of RM3bil starting from FY11F (FY10F: RM2bil),” it noted.

A local analyst said SP Setia had a net gearing of only 0.29 times and can comfortably raise gearing to 0.5 times or a maximum of 0.75 times.

“The current low gearing of SP Setia allows the property developer to borrow up to RM1bil for landbanking purposes,” he said.

The analyst said it was very likely that SP Setia would be participating in land privatisations by the Government.

He said SP Setia was trading at a 25% discount to the fully diluted net asset value of RM6.80 – which is unjustified given its solid track record and also one of the most liquid property stocks in the market.

By The Star

Are mega projects necessary?

Despite some misgivings from certain quarters, many would view the government's launching of mega projects as an attestation of its commitment towards transforming the economy.

LAST month, the government fired the first salvo by launching seven mega projects under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). These projects are part of the 131 entry point projects identified under the government's ambitious roadmap to be carried out over the next 10 years.

Despite some misgivings from certain quarters, many would view the government's launching of mega projects as an attestation of its commitment towards transforming the economy.

Malaysia's economic performance will be affected by many factors including its economic and monetary policies as well as external and domestic demands.

In the past, most Asian countries prospered by adopting explicit industrial policies that focus on building its manufacturing prowess.

Apparently, the contours of the new industrial policy seem quite different today. There are four key policy parameters that the government needs to consider when designing new economic strategies - establishing sound industrial policies that cater to global demands; enhancing its human resource and capital development; adopting aggressive economic policies to strengthen its economic performance; and improvising the nation's physical and social infrastructure.

The goal of the government's economic strategies is simple - create jobs and increase its per capita income by accelerating the economy.

The Asian experience tells us that no country can accelerate its economic growth unless it is willing to invest in major infrastructure projects.

The major allocation to better roads, power supply, transportation and physical infrastructure is part of the government's grand strategy designed to stimulate the economy and restore both the private and public sector's confidence.

The multiplying effect will lead to more jobs being created as a result of the huge investments.

Indeed, investment spending in construction projects have a strong correlation to the rate of economic growth and future prospects.

Economists will agree that demand for construction projects reflects a healthy economy while declining growth implies an economy that is declining.

The construction of tall skyscrapers across many major cities such as South Korea's world tallest twin towers due for completion by 2014, Shanghai with its 121-floor skyscraper, and Mumbai with the 125-storey India Tower and 117-floor World One is a testimony of the importance of the construction sector as a measurement of a vibrant economy.

Since construction is often financed by borrowings that comprise short-term bank credit and long-term bond markets, the aggressive transactions within the capital market will rejuvenate market activities and ultimately lead to opportunities for reforms in the financial system, including improvement of corporate governance, reinforcement of regulatory and supervisory arrangements.

There will also be several visible effects on the economy. The government's active participation in the physical development of the nation directly implies the government's commitment towards improving the country's standard of living. The investments will also stabilise the investment climate while signifying a message of economic vibrancy to foreign investors.

The government has also not lost sight on other factors that contribute to economic growth. Economic growth can only occur when a country has sufficient human capital.

In today's industrial era, accumulation of a nation's wealth is no longer created by machines but human labour, thus the need for the economy to be knowledge-driven.

The knowledge to complement the government's economic agenda combined with the depth of technology embedded in the nation's human capital will decide on the success or failure of the economy. To instil a knowledge-driven economy is no mean feat because it involves major reforms that pervade at every facade of the economy - its social, educational and economic policies.

The ultimate mission is to create a "learning economy" where new technologies are applied and innovation remains the primary goal.

No efforts should be spared to ensure that the country's vision to foster life long learning is rigorously enforced at every level of our society.

The construction sector is seen as the first "battleground" for the government to instil its knowledge-driven economy agenda because of the massive manpower that will be utilised during the projects.

Already more than RM100 billion has been allocated for construction development that comes hand-in-hand with an additional RM1.5 billion on researches and development.

The government has also directly fostered competition among local construction firms by increasing the size of the construction sector while bringing pressure for organisations to innovate because technologies are needed in the wake of fierce competition among local companies.

Firms that aspire to win government-initiated projects will be forced to acquire and utilise advance technological know-how to compete locally, which in turn will mould local firms to be more internationally competitive in addition to generating higher returns and greater growth potential.

Competition will also breed innovation while technological knowledge will spread quickly across many firms to innovate.

In economic terms, the focus on construction development is seen as an attempt by the government to avoid "market mismatch" when supplies cannot fulfil the demand, as the economy becomes more vibrant.

In anticipation of future needs, the onus will be on the government to provide better quality residences to cater to the growing population of city dwellers that is expected to exceed more than 10 million over the next 10 years. There will be more demands for new commercial and retail properties, including better amenities, comprehensive civic facilities and an efficient transportation system.

There is a clear consensus that Malaysia needs an explicit industrial strategy to pursue its economic agenda and the government has identified 12 new key economic areas that need encouragement including the construction sector. The development of the city's physical infrastructure through investments in mega projects has been identified as the first thrust, a process that will revitalise the construction sector, spur the growth of SMEs, offer massive employment opportunities, increase net capital stock, improve labour efficiency and enhance the robustness of the capital market. Are these not enough reasons to justify the need for mega projects?

The writer is an associate professor with the Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

By Business Times