Retail project promises unique building design

Thinking green: Lava boasts three-levels of ground floor with a multi-purpose atrium area and naturally ventilated courtyard plazas.

The Tempo Properties Sdn Bhd unveiled Lava recently, a retail project that is part of The Atmosphere commercial development in Seri Kembangan.

It recently won the regional award at the Asia Pacific Property Awards for best-mix used development in 2011.

Lava features three levels of ground floor with a multi-purpose atrium area and naturally ventilated courtyard plazas.

Its modern architectural façade incorporates minimalist features using predominantly brick-and-mortar, glass and steel elements as well as a lush courtyard and garden space, which provides an innovative urban landscape.

The units are priced from RM783,000 onwards and are targeted to be completed by the third quarter of 2013.

Tempo Properties Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Khoo Boo Hian said the project was an integrated development comprising various commercial and retail spaces where the Lava was an essential layer.

“It complements our vision to build a commercial hub under-one-roof in the south Klang Valley that will cater to every lifestyle need through its varied retail mix. As this area currently lacks a one-stop commercial facility, we feel that Lava will fill the gap in the market for an integrated development of this nature,” he said.

The Lava is architecturally conceptualised and designed with the best “green” practices in mind, such as its lush, landscaped courtyard garden and energy-efficient features of the building’s roof canopy construction.

The roof canopy employs the use of high-grade moisture-resistant ceiling boards and polycarbonate sheets over roof openings to enhance natural ventilation.

“Our award-winning, environmentally-responsible development will promise high rental yields, as the building concept and design is unique to the Malaysian commercial property market,” said Khoo.

Formed in 1995 in Seremban, Tempo Properties’ portfolio encompasses projects like Taman Cengal Utama, Taman Prima Tropika, and Medan Suria.

For information on Tempo Properties Sdn Bhd, visit www.tempo.com.my

By The Star

Complete and ready to move in

Luxurious: The Urbana link bungalow units.

If exclusivity is what you are seeking, then check out Hap Seng Land Sdn Bhd’s (Hap Seng) latest offerings at its D’Alpinia in Puchong.

A selection of bungalow units and link-bungalow homes are available under the build-then-sell concept.

The project is located within the Puchong, Seri Kembangan and Putrajaya townships and has direct access to the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP).

The development features modern architecture, spacious areas and amenities that are essential to any modern urban home.

It also includes a perimeter jogging track, premium interior features and comprehensive security systems.

All homes will also be TM Unifi-ready. During a media preview of the development, Hap Seng chief executive (property division) said the build-and-sell concept allowed prospective owners to experience his or her property almost in its entirety before buying it.

“It also provides a potential home owner with invaluable peace of mind. One does not have to worry about unfinished developments by unscrupulous developers,” he added.

The project comprised 26 units of 2½-storey bungalow homes with a built-in area of 4,749 sq ft to 5,845 sq ft and 38 units of 2 and 2½-storey link bungalow homes with a built-in area of 3,489 sq ft to 4,168 sq ft.

The bungalow homes, which start from RM2.1mil feature large glass windows and generous garden exteriors.

The link bungalow homes, which start from RM1.5mil offer wide entranceways and generous balcony areas.

Some of the special features include built-in solar heater, water filtering system, alarm system and auto-gate, air-conditioning for living room, dining, family area and all bedrooms, bathroom accessories and shower screen as well as built-in kitchen cabinets with hood, hob and oven.

Each home also comes with anti-termite treatment that has a five-year warranty.

At the same time, residents can also enjoy its gardens with a dedicated children’s playground area with peace of mind.

Ng said that when they first introduced the first selection of homes in Phase 1A in 2009, the average price of a 22 x 75 sq ft two-storey terrace home was around RM440,000.

“Today the same home is fetching RM620,000. All in all, the development has seen a 20% appreciation on average,” he said.

For details, visit www.hapsengland.com or call 010-433 3038.

You can also email info@hapsenghomes.com.my

By The Star

Fortune award for SP Setia

Developer picked as winner in Top Companies for Leaders 2011 Study

PETALING JAYA: Property developer SP Setia Bhd was recently picked by human capital consultant Aon Hewitt as a winner in the Top Companies for Leaders 2011 Study due to the company's strong talent management and success in building a global brand.

This study was jointly conducted by Fortune magazine, Aon Hewitt and human resource specialist RBL Group, and was open to public, private and non-profit organisations from around the world. The results of the study and an accompanying story will be published in Fortune's Nov 21 issue.

SP Setia was one of three Malaysian companies that participated in the study, and among five from South-East Asia. SP Setia was declared a winner and ranked 13th in the Asia Pacific Top 20 list out of 154 companies from the region. A total of 476 companies from around the world took part in the study.


Liew: ‘Team Setia has truly done us proud yet again.’

SP Setia president-cum-chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said in an e-mail reply to StarBiz that one of the main reasons for the company's inclusion on the list was the level of commitment and engagement demonstrated by the staff at all levels.

He said this had enabled the company to achieve great results year after year in terms of sales, financial performance, awards and social responsibility.

“The Fortune article mentioned that you can't build a great business without nurturing great talent. I could not agree more and I'm truly delighted for SP Setia to be included in the company of global greats such as IBM, General Electric, Intel, McKinsey, China Vanke and Wipro, to name but a few.

“Team Setia has truly done us proud yet again and although we still have much to learn, this recognition will really spur us on to be even better than before,” Liew added.

He noted that although Malaysia had a brain drain problem, there was still talent waiting to be discovered. “We cannot try to hire ready-made talent all the time. We take the approach that if our people have the willingness and capacity to learn, we'll train and groom them to be the best they can be,” Liew said.

He said that since no one was perfect, it was also fortunate that everyone did not have the same strengths and weaknesses. “The key is to blend people with different abilities together so that one person's strength covers another's area of weakness and vice-versa. That way, as a team, we are much stronger than we are as individuals,” Liew explained.

Meanwhile, Aon Hewitt leadership consulting practice lead for South-East Asia, Hari Abburi, said the developer stood out for building a successful brand of Malaysian leaders that were global in outlook as well as having leadership focus at all levels, resulting in strong leadership pipeline for future growth.

He said the universal aspect of such companies was robust leadership development processes and practices across all levels of the organisation, with these practices being institutionalised over a long period of time.

“The Top Companies for Leaders are strong on business sustainability as an outcome of these leadership practices. These companies are seen to be strong brands because of the well-developed and institutionalised leadership practices,” Abburi added.

By The Star

Office suites with all the perks

New lifestyle: Ahamad (right) with company executive director Calvin KH Loh and director Chuah Swee Guan posing in front of the model.

Centro Shah Alam is set to offer a new dimension to the city’s business district once the project is completed by the end of 2013.

The project located at the heart of Shah Alam at Section 14 — not too far away from Wisma MBSA — is the first of its kind in Selangor’s capital city.

It comes with the first duplex-flexi office suites with recreational and business facilities.

SCP Property Services Sdn Bhd director Ahamad Latib said the company had came up with an unique concept and expected to attract young entrepreneurs.

Through the project, they wanted to place all the business community under one roof.

“We are providing a centralised venue to house the business people who are currently operating from shophouses in various parts of the city.

“Centro’s office suites with hotel-style ambience are the unique selling point,” he said in an interview recently.

He added that the office comes with an elevated level that could be used as an office for a superior or even a multi-purpose room.

Ahamad said the 20-storey project worth RM120mil was located in a strategic place surrounded by government offices, hotels and shopping malls.

He added that the project was also accessible via the KL-Klang Federal Highway, SPRINT and Lebuhraya Kemuning Shah Alam (LKSA).

Ahamad said 14 floors of the building would be filled with the duplex-flexi offices.

He said the built-up size of the offices were between 775 and 1,388sqft and the units were priced from RM375,000.

“We are offering affordable office spaces in a luxurious environment so entrepreneurs can operate their businesses in a classy and conducive place,’’ he said, adding there were a total of 245 office premises at the project.

Ahamad said a common business centre was available on the fifth floor where office or business meetings could be held.

He said a swimming pool and gymnasium would also be housed on the floor.

“There will be three levels of elevated parking facilities for the benefit of the office owners who are entitled to a designated free parking bay each,’’ he said, adding that visitors would not be provided access to these parking areas.

Ahamad said the first and the second floors would be housed with 15 retail premises comprising food outlets and financial institutions.

He said a carpark with 600 bays would be provided outside the building for visitors.

“Work on the project has started,’’ he said.

By The Star

Temasek, Khazanah said to be seeking S$5b property loans

SINGAPORE Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd and Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the state-owned investment companies of Singapore and Malaysia, hired banks to arrange S$5 billion (RM12.2 billion) of property development loans, according to two people familiar with the matter.

At least nine lenders will contribute to the five-year bullet facility, which will pay a so-called all-in fee of 100 basis points over benchmark rates, one of the people said on Wednesday

Khazanah and Temasek said in June they would jointly develop US$9.8 billion of projects in southern Malaysia and Singapore. Some S$11 billion of Singapore developments will include hotels, apartments, offices and shops in 501,020 square meters of space in two main areas of the city's downtown. The RM3 billion of projects in Malaysia's Iskandar region will have homes, retail space and "wellness-related offerings," the companies said.

"The outlook for Singapore right now is looking a little soft because it's an open economy and exposed to what's going on in Europe," Euben Paracuelles, a Singapore-based economist at Nomura Holdings Inc, said in a phone interview on Wednesday. "A deeper relationship with Malaysia could result in a few extra percentage points of growth over the next five years."

Serena Khoo, a spokeswoman for Temasek, declined to comment. Mohd Asuki Abas, a Khazanah spokesman, declined to comment.

The property agreement between Khazanah and Temasek earlier this year came as Malaysia agreed to move its railway station in the city-state's central business district to a northern Singapore site close to a bridge that connects the two countries, ending a decade-old dispute over land usage.

The joint venture for the Singapore developments, M+S Pte, will be 60 per cent owned by Khazanah and 40 per cent by Temasek.

The Malaysian project will be run through a 50-50 venture.

Banks arranging the Khazanah and Temasek loans include DBS Group Holdings Ltd, HSBC Holdings plc, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Malayan Banking Bhd, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, Standard Chartered plc, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank Ltd, one of the people said. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd is also joining the group, a person familiar with its plans said yesterday.

Syndicated loans in Singapore this year are the highest on record with S$33.9 billion of facilities signed since December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Loans totalled S$20.9 billion for the whole of 2010, according to the figures, which go back to 1999. DBS has arranged the most loans this year, followed by OCBC and HSBC.

By Business Times

BRDB denies rumours it has called off disposal of prime assets

PETALING JAYA: Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB) is still deliberating the sale of its prime assets and denied that it had called off the deal, the company said in an emailed reply to StarBiz.

BRDB was asked by StarBiz to comment on rumours that it was going to call off the sale. “The matter is still being deliberated by our board of directors. We will make an appropriate announcement once details have been confirmed,” a company official said in the email.

Industry players have also said that no appointment had been made yet by BRDB of any independent international property valuation firm to manage the tender for the sale, something that the company said it would do. BRDB didn't reply to a previous question on this issue.

BRDB had first said in September that it had accepted an offer (subject to shareholders' approval) by major shareholder Ambang Sehati Sdn Bhd to buy its main assets, comprising the Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC), Menara BRDB, CapSquare Retail Centre and Permas Jusco Mall for RM914mil.

Following the proposed disposal, the board had intended to pay a special dividend of 80 sen net per share, or RM390mil. The deal would have seen BRDB netting RM430mil in cash and the repayment of RM430mil in borrowings and dividends from BR Property to BRDB.

Ambang Sehati, which owns 18.8% in BRDB, is a private vehicle of Datuk Mohamed Moiz Jabir Mohamed Ali Moiz, who is chairman of the property firm.

However, since then, there had been calls for BRDB to dispose of the assets via a tender to get a better price and appease disgruntled shareholders, to which the property firm had agreed.

The Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group has commented that the open tender and appointment of an independent international property valuation firm would “allow time and independence as well as professionalism to this exercise, which is positive in terms of governance.”

An analyst said it would bode well for BRDB if it were to call off the sale as its assets had growth potential.

“The Bangsar Shopping Centre has stood the test of time and continues to generate stable recurring income. It is also situated in a strategic location and is popular among expatriates and discerning shoppers,” he said.

AmResearch, in its report after the announcement of the sale, estimated the four properties will contribute between 20% and 25% to BRDB's earnings before interest and tax in 2012 and 2013.

On a separate note, an industry source said BRDB is bidding for the proposed development of 20 acres of prime land in Bangsar that used to house Lever Brothers' soap and margarine manufacturing plant.

The land had been left unoccupied since Unilever Malaysia moved out in 2003.

By The Star