Luxury lakeside condominium

Cool sight: The LaCosta sandy beach pool.

Sunway City Berhad (SunCity) continues to strengthen its presence as a leading property developer in Malaysia with the much-anticipated LaCosta at Sunway South Quay which is located within the Sunway Integrated Resort City (SIRC).

LaCosta has a sandy beach pool that will be the perfect corner for families to gather and enjoy a splash together, as well as an Olympic-length pool.

Residents will be thrilled by the fact that they do not have to travel miles to enjoy a sandy beach pool as all they have to do is to take the elevator.

SunCity leveraged on its expertise in managing the Sunway Lagoon theme park which has the world’s largest man-made surf beach when developing the sandy beach pool for LaCosta.

In view of its unique sandy beach pool concept, the launch of LaCosta was recently held at the Surf Beach @ Sunway Lagoon where the public was invited for a fabulous beach party.

The response was overwhelming and it was indeed a unique way of launching a property as SunCity offered guests a first-hand beach experience which will be replicated in LaCosta in the future.

Guests were entertained by lively dance performances, magicians, clowns and a delicious barbeque dinner. They were also presented with the opportunity to build sand castles and view an exciting volcano show.

Standing tall on a land area spanning 5.39 acres, the four-tower condominium is nestled in the opulent Sunway South Quay.

The development will have 377 units with a built-up ranging from 1,302 sq. ft to 3,226 sq. ft. The gross development value (GDV) is approximately RM400 million.

The selling price ranges from RM880,000 onwards with attractive financing packages that includes developer interest bearing scheme during construction. Currently, there is a discount of 10% for a limited period of time.

“LaCosta is yet another unique property in Sunway South Quay as it allows residents to enjoy a metropolis lifestyle next to a 28acre lake. To date, BayRocks Garden Waterfront Villas and A’marine condominium in Sunway South Quay have both enjoyed overwhelming responses.

“As such, we are confident that LaCosta will be in high demand and its appeal is strengthened further as it is situated within a hub of award-winning and world-class shopping, theme park, hospitality, education and health­care facilities,” said Sunway City Berhad managing director (property development Malaysia) Ho Hon Sang.

One of the main unique selling points of LaCosta is that every unit enjoys a lakeside view. Apart from the unique sandy beach pool, residents can also enjoy lushly landscaped podiums, extra-wide balconies projecting a better view for each unit and most importantly, exclusive privacy with only four units per floor.

There will also be four uniquely themed sky gardens — Mediterranean, Tropical, Herb and Zen Gardens with facilities that include a games room, ballet studio, yoga zone and others.

The development also oversees a majestic view of the entire Kuala Lumpur skyline in the distant horizon and inspiring horizons of the Sunway South Quay lake.

By The Star

Commerce One – office suites for SMEs and start-up companies

Artist's impression of the completed Commerce One development.

Calling all SMEs and new start-up company owners …. a rare opportunity to own a new office suite in one of Kuala Lumpur’s prime and established locations awaits you at Commerce One.

Strategically located in the prized business hub of Jalan Klang Lama (5th mile), Commerce One, developed by GuocoLand Malaysia, offers small and medium sized companies a viable option of owning their office premises rather than the usual rental route.

The twenty one storey corporate office building offers 222 units of modern office suites (500 and 1,700sq ft), a retail and F&B floor, fiber optic broadband connectivity, dedicated entrance lobby, 24-hour security, ample cark park and landscaped terraces.

For added convenience and privacy, en-suite toilets and pantries are standard features in all office suites (from 1,138sq ft) facing Jalan Klang Lama.

Commerce One, located near the Pearl International Hotel and only 3km to Mid Valley City, is well served by a network of highways – New Pantai Expressway, KL-Putrajaya Highway, Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS) and Federal Highway – and good public transportation.

GuocoLand (Malaysia) Bhd Marketing and Sales Director Pam Loh said Commerce One would also make an excellent investment option given its attractive rental returns of about six per cent for prime office locations in Jalan Klang Lama.

“Perhaps the biggest appeal to the SMEs will be the ease of new hire for office support staff many of whom are increasingly very picky about the location of their workplaces. Retail, eating places and public transportation are also within easy reach in this thriving business area.”

“We are also giving top priority to security for added peace of mind. Access card and close circuit TV will be part of the total security system in addition to round-the-clock security,” she said.

About fourth per cent of office suites have been sold during the soft launch ahead of Commerce One’s launch at the Commerce One Sales Gallery (2-3, Lorong 2/137C, off Jalan Klang Lama. Tel: 016-3399 506) on 5 May 2011. The office suites are priced from RM430 per sq ft.

By The Star

Home prices, deals to accelerate: CIMB

Malaysia is likely to see a record year for property transactions and home price appreciation could accelerate, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd said in a report today.

The bank maintained its “overweight” rating on the industry and said Mah Sing Holdings Bhd was its top pick, it said.

Meanwhile, CIMB Research is bullish on the performance of the properties sector for 2011 after hitting a record transaction of RM107.44 billion last year.

It said the potential re-rating catalysts for the sector are newsflow on landbanking, strong sales from most developers and accelerating earning growth.

"We remain bullish on the property sector, especially the residential properties, as house prices are likely to trend higher and volumes should scale new highs," it said in a research note today.

CIMB Research said the price direction was determined by major cycles and negative external events such as the Asian and global financial crisis.

It said the cycle was currently in the property sector's favour.

By Bernama

Jeffrey Ng says purchase of Putra Place proper

PETALING JAYA: Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd and OSK Trustees Bhd have followed the proper procedures in the acquisition of Putra Place at a public auction, said Sunway REIT Management chief executive officer Datuk Jeffrey Ng.


Datuk Jeffrey Ng says the trustee and the manager of Putra Place would vigorously defend all claims raised by Metroplex

“Sunway REIT has successfully bidded for Putra Place at a public auction conducted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court and which was held for the fourth time on March 30,” Ng told StarBiz yesterday.

He was commenting on the move by the previous owner Metroplex Bhd to block the sale of the property that comprise The Mall shopping complex, Legend Hotel and an office tower.

He said Metroplex's action was “completely without merit” and the trustee as well as the manager of Putra Place would vigorously defend all claims raised in the two legal proceedings.

Metroplex has served an originating summons and an affidavit to Commerce International Merchant Bankers Bhd, OSK Trustees, Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust, Sunway REIT Management and Ahmad Fairuz Mohd Puzi, a court officer who conducted the auction of Putra Place.

Sunway REIT, in a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, said the court summons dated April 25 were served on the defendants on Tuesday evening.

Metroplex had requested the High Court to set aside the sale of the property to OSK Trustees and/or Sunway REIT and/or Sunway REIT Management.

It had also requested that the property be remitted back to the Registrar of the High Court due to breaches of the National Land Code 1965, Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, and the Guidelines on Real Estate Investment Trusts issued by the Securities Commission.

Metroplex is seeking to get the High Court to declare the sale as null and void as it claimed the public auction had been turned into a private auction.

Sunway REIT, in a separate filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, said the High Court has dismissed the summon-in-chambers with costs pertaining to the injunction sought by two individuals Robert Ti and Indonesian Kornelis Kurniadi to restrain OSK Trustees and Sunway REIT from completing the sale of Putra Place land.

Sunway REIT said the High Court also dismissed the plaintiffs' oral application for an interim order that the trustee and Sunway REIT be restrained from selling or dealing with Putra Place pending the disposal of the originating summons.

The High Court has also fixed May 5 as case management for the originating summons.

By The Star

Firm helps M’sians invest in Australian properties

Renowed Australian property company, King Group, has set up a one-stop business centre in Malaysia to help potential local property buyers to invest in Down Under.

Known as OZ Property Sdn Bhd, the company opened its doors in Kuala Lumpur last month.

The objective behind setting up the local firm was to provide potential Malaysian investors a quicker access and information pertaining to quality Australian properties.

“The company offers a one-stop solution for potential local investors ranging from a panel of mortgage brokers, migration agencies, education agencies and solicitors in Malaysia,” said its chief executive officer Dr Edwen Yew.

King Group is a property development, project marketing and project management company that is involved in a wide range of developments in Australia.

“Our goal is to guide and assist potential investors in buying properties in Australia,” said Yew.

He said the company also provided property management, including managing services to those who have invested in Australian properties.

He said the firm would be organising property roadshows over the next few months to showcase the available Australian properties to interested investors.

“Aside from showcasing Australian properties, Oz Property will also sell United Kingdom properties to local investors in July.”

Yew said as part of the company’s long-term expansion strategy, there were plans to venture into property development in Malaysia within the next two years.

By The Star

Tesco plans to open 6 more hypermarkets

KEPONG: Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Tesco Malaysia) plans to open six new hypermarkets this year, with expected investment reaching at least RM480 million.

Its chief executive officer Tjeerd Jegen said it would continue to do this but the number would depend on the government's approvals.

"As far as we are concerned, we want to open up many stores, including in Sabah and Sarawak within the next 10 years, to make our stores accessible to customers," Jegen told reporters after launching Tesco's 10th year anniversary here yesterday.

Tesco now operates 39 stores and two distribution centres.

It is now focusing on expanding its business in the north.

So far this year, Tesco had opened three stores with investments worth some RM240 million. In the next six months, it will open another three.

"The three new stores will be located in Penang, Old Klang Road in Kuala Lumpur, and Sri Iskandar in Perak. Usually, we will invest between RM80 million and RM200 milllion for a store," he said.

Tesco Malaysia is a joint venture between Tesco plc, one of the world's largest international retailers, and Sime Darby Bhd. It started operations in May 2002, with the opening of its first hypermarket in Puchong, Selangor. It currently employs some 15,000 people.

Apart from new stores, Tesco Malaysia will also help upgrade 152 small retail shops under a government plan called Tukar.

Tukar, one of the Entry Point Projects under the Economic Transformation Programme, aims to modernise these shops to increase their competitiveness. To date, three major retail chains, namely Mydin, Carrefour and Tesco have signed up.

Tesco Malaysia has adopted two retail outlets, one in Shah Alam and the other one in Bukit Puchong under the project.

"We have contributed some RM80,000 in terms of shelving and equipment to a shop in Shah Alam and another RM60,000 to the shopowner in Bukit Puchong.

"They have since managed to increase their sales. For instance, the shopowner in Shah Alam managed to double her sales, while the other shop in Puchong managed to increase its workforce," he said.

By Business Times