Seacera to kick-start 500-acre project with GDV of RM2bil

PETALING JAYA: Seacera Group Bhd will this year kick-start a 500-acre mixed development project in Ulu Langat, Selangor with a gross development value of at least RM2bil that will span over 10 to 15 years, its managing director Zulkarnin Ariffin said.

"We'll probably start on 50 acres first," he told StarBiz via the phone yesterday.

Of the 500 acres, Seacera owns 113 acres, which it bought from land owner Duta Skyline Sdn Bhd for about RM27mil or RM5.50 per sq foot. The remaining land is currently owned on a 78:22 joint-venture basis with Duta Skyline, with the larger portion by Seacera.

Zulkarnin said Seacera had the right of first refusal (which basically means the right to buy something before the offer is made to other parties) to buy the remaining land it currently co-owns with Duta Skyline but no decision on this had been made yet.

As at Sept 30 last year, Seacera had RM6.6mil in cash and cash equivalents. Zulkarnin said the company, which is essentially a tile maker moving into the property segment, would realise this year a gain of RM30mil from the disposal of a factory building in Selayang.

He said although Seacera had signed the agreement with Duta Skyline a few years ago, the delay in kick-starting the development was due to some issues faced by Duta Skyline in relation to its earlier loans it took to buy the said land.

"The issues are near to being resolved," he said.

Meanwhile, recent filings to Bursa Malaysia show that Zulkarnin had from the period of Dec 20 to Dec 22 bought a total of 1.8 million shares at 54 sen a piece bringing his stake to 19% in Seacera.

"I see value in the company," he said.

Last Friday, some 4 million shares were also crossed to unidentified buyers, suggesting that there could be some new major shareholders coming into the company.

It is learnt that corporate personality Datuk Samsudin Abu Hassan who was one of the major shareholders of the company has exited the company completely.

Shares in Seacera have put on 26% over the past two trading days ending at 65.5 sen at yesterday's close. For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011, the company made a net profit of RM981,000 on sales of RM24mil.

By The Star