S P Setia plans second Aussie project with RM772m GDV

KUALA LUMPUR: S P Setia Bhd is expanding its landbank in Australia with an investment of RM81 million for its second property project in Melbourne with an estimated gross development value of RM772 million (AUD250 million).

It said on Friday, Sept 23 that its wholly owned subsidiary S P Setia International Ltd had entered into a contract of sale with Portbridge Pty Ltd to acquire the freehold land measuring 2.23 acres in the South Yarra suburb in Melbourne.

The company said the land was a prime corner development site on Australia’s premier boulevard – St Kilda Road.

The land was also linked to the Melbourne public transportation network, with the Moubray Street tram station located just opposite the site, it said.

S P Setia said South Yarra had seen a high influx of young professionals attracted by the suburb's close proximity to the Melbourne central business district.

On the rationale for the buy, the company said the acquisition followed its maiden Fulton Lane project, which it said had received tremendous support and interest particularly amongst its existing Malaysian customers.

“The strong interest registered for the first tower of the Fulton Lane project is a firm testament to the strength of the S P Setia brand-name.

“It also justifies management's belief that there are significant opportunities to monetise our vast customer data-base across national boundaries, particularly in cities where Malaysians have close economic, educational, familial and business ties with,” it said.

S P Setia said Fulton Lane’s success with its Malaysian customers also validated its firm conviction on the attractiveness of Melbourne as a choice investment destination for savvy property investors.

The company said it was still too preliminary to reveal details regarding the estimated total development cost or expected profits to be derived, but the land was expected to capitalise on the shortage of residential units in the area.

It said the land would be developed into an apartment project, with an estimated gross development value of AUD250 million, that should contribute positively to its future earnings.

By The EDGE Malaysia

New Ireka projects valued at RM700m

KUALA LUMPUR: Ireka Corp Bhd, which is expanding its property development portfolio, aims to launch three projects next year with a combined gross development value of RM700 million.

The three projects, wholly-owned by Ireka, are located in Nilai (Negri Sembilan) and Bangi (Selangor).

In Nilai, Ireka will launch mid-market homes comprising terraced houses, semi-detached homes and bungalows; while in Kajang, it will develop an industrial park as well as commercial centre-cum-housing project.

"Having developed quite a lot of high-end luxury houses, condominiums and malls, we are now looking at mid-range properties where there is still a lot of demand and where a majority of the economy is.

"We are optimistic of the prospects in the property sector. We see strong growth opportunities in industrial parks and the mid-market residential and commercial segments," said its group executive director, Lai Voon Hon.

Ireka is also launching a 42-storey block at Jalan Kia Peng, KL, featuring a 398-room boutique hotel and 200 units of serviced residences. The RM400 million project is a 30:70 joint venture with associate firm, Aseana Properties Ltd (APL).

Ireka currently generates up to 90 per cent of its revenue and net profit from construction activities. The rest come from property management fees via its dealings with APL, and from technology business.

For the year ended March 31, Ireka posted a net loss of RM11.03 million on revenues of RM444.50 million, mainly due to share of losses in APL, and a mark-to-market loss for share investment in Viet-nam-based Kinh Bac City Developments Shareholding Corp.

By Business Times

SP Setia optimistic about property sector prospects (update)

KUALA LUMPUR: SP Setia Bhd, which posted a higher profit for its third quarter ended July 31, remains optimistic about prospects of the property sector despite signs the world economy is set to slow.

President and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin was confident the group would meet its 2011 financial year target of RM3bil in sales and said in a statement that SP Setia was going ahead with plans to launch property projects on its newly acquired land in Cyberjaya, Johor Baru and Semenyih.

“Our sales have never been higher and our balance sheet has never been stronger. All our existing projects are performing well and very shortly we will have several new projects onstream to further strengthen our sales pipeline,” Liew said.

“Our strong branding, breadth and depth of product range as well as geographical reach in all the key economic regions of the Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang place the group in good stead to continue to capture the solid underlying demand for good properties in Malaysia,” he said.

The property giant posted a net profit of RM91.2mil for the quarter on RM583.5mil in sales. For the nine months of its current financial year ended July 31, the company's net profit totalled RM245.5mil with revenue hitting RM1.6bil.

Liew also said the group had not forgotten the starter home market, a space where it built its name on.

“We recently acquired a 1,011-acre parcel in Daerah Ulu Langat, Semenyih where we intend to start off by building affordable homes for first-time homeowners.

“We built our name on township development and it is a market segment that we love due to its strong counter-cyclical nature and the many opportunities for us to create value. We are excited about this project because it enables us to venture into a new and growing development corridor to capture fresh market share,” he said.

SP Setia will be showcasing its range of properties to prospective buyers at the three big economic centres of the country. Called the Setia 4U Showcase, the exhibition kicked off in Gurney Plaza Penang yesterday and will go on until Sept 25. It then moves to PWTC Kuala Lumpur from Sept 30 until Oct 2 and City Square Johor Baru between Oct 7 and Oct 9.

On Friday Bernama reported that the global economic uncertainty, which has dampened property buyers' sentiment, might be the stumbling block for SP Setia Bhd to achieve its target sales of RM3 billion this year.

In a note Friday, ECM Libra Investment Research said the property developer would face a slowdown on property sales should external uncertainties derail economic growth.

"However, estimated current unbilled sales of RM2.7 billion should underpin near-term earnings visibility," it said.

Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said apart from the slowdown in sales, escalation in construction and raw material costs as well as delay in launches were among other risks faced by the company.

"The 10-month sales clocked in at RM2.3 billion, or RM2.8 billion on an annualised basis, suggest that SP Setia could fall slightly short of its stated RM3 billion sales target for financial year 2011," it said in a note.

ECM Libra and Hong Leong Investment had maintained "hold" calls on the company.

Hong Leong Investment maintained its target price (TP) of RM4.12 but ECM Libra lowered its TP to RM3.20 from RM4 previously.

By The Star

Harrods hotel in Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR: World famous department store Harrods is opening a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, the city mayor said.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail said that a consortium of three developers are proposing to build the Harrods hotel.

Ahmad Fuad, however, said that a submission for the Harrods project is yet to be made.

In October last year, it was reported that a "Harrods Hotel" was being considered for the rooftop of the store in Knightsbridge.

According to Ahmad Fuad, this hotel will be located at Jalan Conlay, near the Restaurant Seri Melayu.

The restaurant, belonging to Amcorp Group Bhd, is actually leased from Lembaga Kraftangan Malaysia.

Amcorp has in fact requested for a first right of refusal should the government decide to develop the land. However, it is understood that it is yet to receive such a reply.

The Lembaga Kraftangan comes under the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture, and acts as the custodian for the Federal Lands Commissioner.

While it is unclear whether the development of the new hotel will be on this very land, it is understood that the government had put out a tender for the sale of the said land.

Interestingly, Tradewinds Corp Bhd, which holds the franchise for Harrods retail stores, had in its 2008 Annual Report said:

"The acquisition will allow the group to capitalise on Harrods' internationally-renowned reputation for luxury and exclusivity, raise our corporate profile, and be a stepping stone for the group to explore possible business collaboration and opportunities with Harrods Limited for its future residential, commercial and hotel projects, especially in Kuala Lumpur."

Tradewinds' participation in this project is unclear following the sale of the Harrods department store by Mohammed Al Fayed to the Qatari Royal family's investment firm Qatar Holdings, which is the investment arm of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

It is not known whether QIA will participate in the Harrods project in Malaysia, should this project materialise.

QIA in Malaysia has interests in the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur on Jalan Bukit Bintang.

This mall is owned by Urusharta Cemerlang Sdn Bhd, which is 51 per cent-owned by Urus-harta Cemerlang Development Sdn Bhd and 49 per cent by QIA.

By Business Times

Hotel Istana to come down

Kuala Lumpur: Tradewinds Corp Bhd may demolish yet another building in the city centre.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail said that TCB has been granted a development order for the 20-year-old Hotel Istana, located at the corner of Jalan Raja Chulan and Jalan Sultan Ismail.

Ahmad Fuad said the order was granted this year to make way for another project.

The 30-year-old Hotel Istana sits on a freehold land measuring 11,803 sq m. The 25-storey hotel has a room inventory of 516 rooms.

TCB, controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, had last year been granted an order that would allow it to bring down the 39-year-old Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel and the 32-year-old Kompleks Antarabangsa.

These two assets, located along Jalan Sultan Ismail will be demolished to make way for a "multi-billion-ringgit" mixed commercial development.

The project, dubbed the "Tradewinds Centre", is said to involve a total gross area of 3.17 million sq m.

"Crowne Plaza will be demolished and there will be a new one (new accommodation) and Hotel Istana will be demolished to have a new one," Ahmad Fuad said after the ground-breaking ceremony for the Holiday Villa Kuala Lumpur City Centre yesterday.

Given that the Mutiara Beach Resort in Penang had been closed for several years now and TCB has the Tradewinds Centre project in hand, plans for redevelopment of the Hotel Istana site could take some years.

It is understood that over the years, the hotel had been attracting many buyers. In 2007, TCB had even weighed the option of setting up a real estate investment trust that would comprise its hotels.

By Business Times