Firm buys 14.1ha due to overwhelming response

Vast: Teh showing a model of the Garden Residence project.

Following the overwhelming response towards the freehold Garden Residence (GR) in Cyberjaya, Mah Sing Properties Sdn Bhd (MSPSB) has acquired another 14.1ha of prime freehold land adjacent to the GR township for the Clover@Cyberjaya project.

The Clover@Cyberjaya will be an extension to the 46.5ha Garden Residence and will have the same concept with gated and guarded living environment.

MSPSB chief operating officer Teh Heng Chong said the intention was to create an exclusive enclave on this new land.

“This is the company’s future development which will be launched sometime next year. Registration is now open for the Clover properties which are two- and three-storey semi-detached homes, said Teh.

He said the Garden Residence, which the company was focusing on now, comprised medium- to high-end residential homes of two and three-storey Super-link, semi-detached and three-storey bungalows within four precincts. They were conceptualised as a self-sustaining residential development.

To create a resort lifestyle environment, each precinct will have its own perimeter fencing and guard house to ensure an exclusive living environment and better security.

There are a total of 676 units in all four precincts combined. However the 69 units of the three-and-half-storey Blossom garden bungalow in Precinct 4 or known as the Blossom Precinct, is the most exclusive edition of the Garden Residence.

Priced at RM3.2 million, these premier luxury bungalows boasts a designer central park, a rooftop garden with jacuzzi, 9+1 bedrooms/nine bathrooms, private lift and a dedicated entertainment floor all within a spacious built-up of approximately 7,796 sq ft.

“Once completed, the residents of Garden Residence will have access to The Promenade, an integrated community clubhouse and retail amenities. It is a self-contained township so to speak, with lush landscape surrounding the entire development,’’ added Teh.

He said Mah Sing was conscious to nature thus green features have been cleverly integrated into these homes.

The units in Precinct 1 (Cassia), Precinct 2 (Evergreen) and Precinct 3 (Jacaranda), is currently 85% sold within six months of launch at the sub-sale level before they were completed. The Blossom Precinct is open for registration.

According to Teh, the homes have a potential of appreciating in value due to the demand in residential properties in this part of Kuala Lumpur.

Teh said, the homes come with green building features such as rain harvesting system, solar powered water heaters, surface run-off collection, ample natural lighting in each home with north-south orientation and light colour roof material for better heat and light deflection.

Prices for the resort homes in Precinct 1-3 ranges from RM858,800 to RM2.1 million with a built-up of approximately 2,845 sq ft to 4,514 sq ft.

Garden Residence is located within the Multimedia Super Corridor in Cyberjaya and is well connected to the Maju Expressway, North-South Expressway, Damansara-Puchong Expressway, North-South Central Link, South Klang Valley Expressway and the North Klang Valley Expressway.

“With such an extensive linkages, residents will be able to reach their destinations conveniently. The ERL station is just a stone throwaway and the KL Sentral or KLIA just takes less than 20 minutes,’’ said Teh.

Due to its strategic location, Teh added that apart from Cyberjaya, Garden Residence has the potential to enjoy a large market catchment from Putrajaya, Puchong, Subang Jaya, USJ, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Cheras, Seri Kembangan and Seremban.

By The Star

SP Setia on track to hit RM3b sales target

Property developer SP Setia Bhd declined to comment on speculation of a merger but stressed that it is on track to achieve RM3 billion sales target for 2011.

The Edge weekly magazine recently discussed the potential of a merger between SP Setia and Sime Darby Bhd's property unit.



Asked if SP Setia is keen on such a deal after a slew of tie-ups among big local property developers recently, president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin declined to comment except to say that the group will continue to grow and compete.

SP Setia's sales target for 2011 would be 40 per cent more than the RM2.31 billion it made last year.

"For the financial year 2011, we expect all our existing projects in the Klang Valley, Johor and Penang to continue doing well," Liew said at a media briefing in Shah Alam, Selangor yesterday.
"In addition, we will shortly be launching KL Eco City, our exciting new integrated green commercial development opposite Mid Valley City which should contribute strongly towards the targeted RM3 billion new sales," he added.

SP Setia plans to launch the RM6 billion "green" mixed-development by January or February next year, he said.

The project will be developed in three phases over at least 10 years and will be a joint venture with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), which owns the 9.7ha leasehold land in the Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum area.

SP Setia is also planning a real estate project with a gross development value of RM1.4 billion in Australia by March or April next year.

It will be on 0.4ha of land in Melbourne which SP Setia bought for RM92.4 million on March 29 this year.

The company expects to build about 800 apartment units and some retail shops there.

The developer has begun expanding overseas to markets such as Vietnam and China to tap Asia-Pacific's economic recovery.

Liew said it is keen to grow its landbank in Malaysia which stands at 1376ha of undeveloped land in various prime locations within the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor. This is expected to keep it busy for at least another decade.

SP Setia would build new townships or integrated commercial developments on any new land.

"We love townships. They are able to generate big volumes for a long period of time," he said.

Liew expects 2011 to be exciting and busy for the group and also the property sector at large.

"Competition will be keen with more developers gaining confidence and launching new products which is a good sign of the health of the market as a whole," he said.

For the year to October 31 2010, SP Setia's net profit and revenue reached RM251.8 million and RM1.7 billion, rising 47 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.

Projects which contributed to the group's strong performance included Setia Alam and Setia Eco-Park at Shah Alam; SetiaWalk at Pusat Bandar Puchong; Setia Sky Residences at Jalan Tun Razak; Bukit Indah, Setia Indah, Setia Tropika and Setia Gardens in Johor Baru; and, Setia Pearl Island and Setia Vista in Penang.

By Business Times

Townships still a growth kicker for SP Setia

While township development will continue to be a major earnings catalyst for SP Setia Bhd, other bonus re-rating catalysts will be the successful launch of its RM6.0 billion KL EcoCity by January or February next year, says OSK Research.

In a research note today, OSK said the launch of Phase One of the six to 10-year development will likely comprise 12 blocks of boutique offices valued at some RM60 million each, which would be sold en bloc.

"As we understand that some small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are keen in acquiring these office blocks, the launch by first quarter of calender year 2011 looks likely to be well-received and will provide the necessary momentum to kick-start the entire development," said the research firm.

It said the next growth kicker will be the continuing progress at the RM5 billion Setia City, an integrated commercial city in the Setia Alam township.

According to OSK, Setia City Mall, with 60 per cent of the retail space now taken up, is expected to be completed by late next year and open by mid 2012 and give the whole commercial city added impetus.

Setia City will also have a medical centre, hotels, transportation hub as well as a convention centre.

Meanwhile, MIDF Research said performance in financial year 2011 is expected to continue to be underpinned by SP Setia's existing projects in the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, SP Setia reported a higher pre-tax profit of RM330.967 million for the year-ended Oct 31, 2010 from RM231.112 million in 2009.

The profit was achieved over a bigger revenue of RM1.745 billion against RM1.408 billion previously, with income principally derived from its property development activities.

MIDF said it was not expecting an upward revision in its earnings forecast for SP Setia in view of a general slowdown anticipated in the sales of residential units next year.

By Bernama

SP Setia Q4 net profit up 32% on higher sales

SHAH ALAM: SP Setia Bhd's net profit rose 32.2% year-on-year to RM75.2mil in the fourth quarter ended Oct 31 due to higher sales and gain from the disposal of Tesco Hypermarket in Bukit Indah, Johor.

Revenue for the quarter grew by 41.7% to RM558mil while earnings per share increased to 7.39 sen from 5.59 sen previously.

For the full financial year 2010 (FY10), the group achieved a net profit of RM251.8mil from revenue of RM1.7bil, which was 47% and 24% higher respectively from the previous financial year.


Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin ... ‘For financial year 2011, we targ et to achieve RM3bil in sales.’

President and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the positive results were mainly due to the group's innovative marketing campaigns, Best for the Best and Invest in SetiaHomes.

Speaking after the company's results briefing yesterday, Liew said SP Setia sales for the year stood at RM2.31bil, which was 40% higher than FY09.

For financial year 2011, we target to achieve RM3bil in sales as all our projects in Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang continue to do well.

We will soon launch our KL Eco City, an integrated green commercial development opposite Mid Valley City, he said.

Liew is also looking forward to SP Setia's 800-apartment project, which will be launched in Melbourne in March or April 2011.

To date, SP Setia has a land bank of 3,430 acres.


The KL Eco City project has a gross development value of RM6bil while the Melbourne project RM1.4bil.

For FY10, the board has proposed a final dividend of 14 sen per share less income tax of 25%.

This would add to the total dividend to 20 sen less income tax of 25% for FY10, representing a payout of about 60.6% of the group's net profit.

Meanwhile, RAM Ratings has reaffirmed its AA3 rating for SP Setia's RM500mil nominal value 2% redeemable serial bonds with 168,151,302 detachable warrants (2007/2012) with a stable outlook for long term.

The rating reflects SP Setia's strong business profile as a leading property developer in Malaysia, said RAM head of real estate and construction ratings, Shahina Azura Halip, in a statement yesterday.

With its strong branding and innovation, SP Setia is expected to continue churning impressive sales based on its track record of annual sales growth over the past decade irrespective of economic cycles.

On the flip side, the rating is moderated by the uncertainties of SP Setia's foreign ventures.

The company's debt is expected to increase from RM1.29bil (as at end-July) to about RM2.1bil, some RM400mil higher than an earlier projection.

SP Setia has, however, redeemed RM250mil of its bonds on Nov 23.



By The Star

EPF: RM1.9b invested in property sector

The amount invested in the property sector constituted 0.44 per cent of the EPF's total investment of RM420 billion.

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has invested RM1.89 billion in the property sector which in return contributed RM67.29 million to its revenue in the third quarter of this year.



Chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said the amount invested in the property sector constituted 0.44 per cent of the EPF's total investment of RM420 billion.

"As a pension fund which aims at providing a comfortable life for retirees, EPF's investments were made through a due diligent process to benefit the contributors in the long run," he said at the opening of the EPF Kuantan building in Bandar Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, yesterday.

Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang officially opened the RM12.8 million building which was completed in March 2006. Present was the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Samsudin said the EPF had also invested in other sectors and subscribed to the government's securities, bonds and equities and each decision was made after a thorough study to minimise risk.

The approach has allowed the EPF to give competitive dividends every year, which was the main objective for the establishment of the retirement fund.

As for Pahang, he said there were 168,000 active contributors in the state with a total savings of RM5.27 billion. Some 94,388 of them are in Kuantan with their savings totalling RM3.08 billion. Samsudin said there were 9,194 employers in Kuantan who contributed about RM42 million monthly to the EPF.

By The Star

Rehda Penang: High cost of land the reason

The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) of Penang is claiming that the high cost of land is the main reason for houses being sold at high prices in the state.

Its chairman, Datuk Jerry Chan Fook Sing, said the high cost of land was also the reason for developers' inclination towards building upmarket homes in the state.

The limited land in Penang Island has caused landowners to sell their land at very high prices and this directly impacts the price of houses, he said.

"When the land is bought for a high price, developers are forced to sell the houses at a high price as well.

"Therefore it is not fair when only the developers are blamed in this matter," he told reporters in George Town yesterday.

To ensure affordable housing prices for all levels of society in the state, the government would have to find a suitable mechanism to overcome the problem, he said.

A recent report quoted Senior Fellow at the Social, Economic and Environment Institute (Seri) Dr Michael Lim Mah Hui as saying that the average price of a house in Penang was RM540,000 last year.

The report also said the price of house in the state exceeded that of the average house price in Kuala Lumpur at RM390,000.

By Bernama

China's property bubble getting worse

BEIJING: A Chinese government think tank has warned the country's real estate bubble is getting worse, with property prices in major cities overvalued by as much as 70 per cent, state media reported Thursday.

Of the 35 major cities surveyed, property prices in eleven including Beijing and Shanghai were between 30 and 50 per cent above their market value, the China Daily said, citing the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Prices in Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern province of Fujian, had the worst property bubble with average house prices more than 70 per cent higher than their market value, according to the survey conducted in September.

The average price in the 35 cities surveyed was nearly 30 per cent above the market value, the report said.

Property prices have remained stubbornly high despite the government adopting a slew of measures since April including hiking minimum downpayments to at least 30 per cent and ordering banks not to provide loans for third home purchases.

Prices in 70 major cities were up 0.2 percent in October from the previous month and 8.6 percent higher than a year ago, official data showed.

The increase came after prices gained 0.5 per cent month on month in September, which was the first increase since May.

Massive stimulus measures taken since 2008 to fend off the financial crisis injected huge amounts of liquidity in the market and have been blamed for fuelling real estate prices.

"The government target is not clear and policy is incoherent," CASS senior research Ni Pengfei was quoted saying.

By AFP

Stratified property issues need attention

KUALA LUMPUR: Developers of stratified properties should be more transparent with buyers about the buildings' overall maintenance cost.

International Real Estate Federation (Fiabci) Malaysia president Yeow Thit Sang said there had been a lot of unresolved problems, especially on the collection of maintenance fees, in such properties.

Yeow said there were two million strata-titled residential units and the problem was growing but the resolution had not been fast enough.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 5th Property Management Seminar here yesterday, he said even before the purchase of such properties, buyers must be informed of the maintenance fees and processes involved.

He said the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) should also act more forcefully and speedily to overcome the problem as it had the authority to deal with houseowners who did not pay maintenance fees.

The COB must send a message because they have the power to attach the property of the defaulting condominium owners, he said.

On grey areas involving stratified properties such as fees for car parks in a mixed complex, Yeow said there was a need to find a correct formula on how to handle and share the fees which had different users.

By Bernama

i-City plans second data centre worth RM300mil

SHAH ALAM: i-City, a subsidiary of listed I-Bhd, plans to build a second data centre with two towers worth RM300mil.

The company would form a strategic alliance with HDC Data Centre to develop the centre and the first tower was expected to be completed in three years, I-Bhd chief executive officer Eu Hong Chew said yesterday.

i-City's existing data centre was fully tenanted, he told reporters after signing a pact with HDC for the development of a green data centre here.

The first 50,000 sq ft data centre was completed a year ago and HDC occupies half the space.

It was envisaged that i-City would focus on building aspect of the development while HDC would be responsible for the equipment and facilities, Eu said.

By Bernama

Bolton selling Campbell Complex owner for RM50mil

PETALING JAYA: Bolton Bhd plans to sell its unit that owns Campbell Complex in Kuala Lumpur for RM50mil.

This is part of the group's plan to dispose of its non-core assets and investments that do not yield reasonable returns.

Bolton told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Shapadu Resources Sdn Bhd for the disposal of its entire stake in Lim Thiam Leong Realty Sdn Bhd, which owns the 20-storey complex.

The disposal will raise cash, which will be used to meet the working capital requirements and/or to repay borrowings of Bolton, it added.

Bolton said it would record a gain of RM3.16mil from the disposal, resulting in an increase in its consolidated earnings per share of 11.27 sen based on the present number of ordinary shares in issue for the financial year ended March 31.

By The Star

Bolton agrees to sell Campbell Complex

BOLTON Bhd has agreed to sell its 20-storey commercial complex known as Campbell Complex to Shapadu Resources Sdn Bhd for RM50 million.

The deal means selling its 100 per cent stake in Lim Thiam Leong Realty Sdn Bhd which owns the complex in Kuala Lumpur.

The sale is in line with its plan to sell non-core assets and investments that do not yield reasonable returns.

It will use the RM3.16 million gain from the sale to to repay bank borrowings and as working capital.

By Business Times

Starproperty.my d2.TV online portal brings new dimension to property hunt

PETALING JAYA: Need information on decor and design, or on the dos and don’ts on improving your dream home?

Look no further than StarProperty.my’s new online portal d2.TV featuring celebrities, real estate experts and rising stars of the realty and property market.

A first in Malaysia, d2.TV will take viewers through heaps of information and entertaining topics about the property and home decor lifestyle.

Celebrities like Xandria Ooi, Yuri Wong, Eric Leong and Jojo Struys will introduce viewers to beautifully designed homes and properties.

Videos will be uploaded weekly with each episode lasting not more than 10 minutes, said head of StarProperty.my Martin Chow.

“Viewers can choose episodes from the series in which they are interested in and watch them as they please,” Chow said during the launch of the portal by Star Publications (M) Bhd group managing director and chief executive officer Datin Linda Ngiam at Cartrade, The Curve yesterday.

Chow said d2.TV is aimed at working adults looking for a fun and informative way to learn about buying and selling properties and quality interior design.

“It brings a fresh twist to searching for property and learning about interior design.”

Chow added d2.TV was also aimed at grooming up-and-coming realty millionaires. Ngiam said the portal had taken property search engines to a “whole new level”.

“When we launched StarProperty.my a year ago, we promised the portal will be more than a search engine,” Ngiam said.

“This is a testament to The Star’s passion and commitment to providing great content.

“And this is just the beginning.”

By The Star

Qatar MRT project on Gamuda's radar

GAMUDA Bhd said it is eyeing opportunities in the massive US$45 billion (RM141 billion) mass rapid transit (MRT) project Qatar is planning to build next year.

Qatar is building the new infrastructure as it prepares to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup finals.



Gamuda group managing director Datuk Lin Yun Ling said the MRT system will be part capital city Doha's key transport infrastructure.

"The Qatari government needs the entire system to host the event and tender is expected to be announced next year, and when that happens, Gamuda will be ready to submit its tender," Lin told reporters after its shareholders' meeting in Shah Alam, Selangor, yesterday.
Lin said Gamuda has a good track record and is well-positioned to take part in construction projects in the Middle East, especially in Qatar as it is involved in the ongoing construction of the New Doha International Airport.

Gamuda's other on-going projects in the Middle East include the Dukhan highway in Qatar and the Sitra causeway bridges in Bahrain which are due to be completed by year-end.

On its property development projects, Lin said the company expects to rake in a record RM1 billion worth of sales this year and another RM800 million in unbilled sales.

Gamuda is anticipating total sales of RM5 billion in the next two years, of which RM2 billion will be from local sales while the remaining RM3 billion from its Gamuda City project in Hanoi.

"The property market is hot at the moment due to low interest rates, and banks have a lot of loan provisions on this sector and people do not want to sit on cash and lose its value preferring to get involved in assets.

"Our landbank is ample and our priority is also to sell low-yielding landbank and develop innovative developments for other strategic landbanks." Lin added.

On the greater KL MRT project, Lin said the Cabinet has yet to approve its joint proposal with MMC Corp Bhd.

He said the government, Prasarana (Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd) and Spad (Land Public Transport Commission) will decide on the location of train stations, railway alignment, railway network and get feedback from the public and other stakeholders before Gamuda and MMC take up the offer to deliver the RM45 billion project.

By Business Times