Elements model for Pudu project?

HONG KONG FLAVOUR: UDA Holdings keen on Everbright International’s mall proposal as it ensures long-term sustainability.

UDA Holdings may redevelop Pudu Jail into an integrated transport hub, a la Elements of Hong Kong, to attract domestic and foreign direct investments.

The plan could generate more than RM8 billion in gross development value, said UDA chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

Nur Jazlan said the company had hired consultants to study proposals from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Everbright International Construction Engineering Corp (EICEC), a China government-linked company.

“We will compare the two proposals to see which is more superior. The study, which will take another six to eight months, will be presented to the government and the final decision is theirs,” Nur Jazlan told Business Times in an
interview recently.

UDA is in favour of EICEC’s proposal, which moves along the lines of Elements, a large shopping mall with an ice rink and a 1,600-seat cinema that is located directly above the Kowloon
MTR station.

This is also despite the MOF having rejected the Chinese developer’s proposal in favour of splitting the 8ha plot into three parcels, mainly to be given to Bumiputera developers.

“We prefer the proposal by EICEC as we get to control the land and it will give us RM2.4 billion worth of investment properties, which in turn will provide us with long-term recurring income,” Nur Jazlan said.

“EICEC also said it would hand over the properties to us four to five years after construction commences. The key here is money, which we need for long-term sustainability,” he added.

Nur Jazlan reiterated that UDA’s survival and the fate of its 1,400 employees depended on the success of the Pudu Jail redevelopment project.

He said UDA had no choice but to be competitive as it was no longer receiving any direct assistance from the government.

UDA, with assets worth more than RM2 billion, is RM900 million in debt.

“If we find investors with risk appetite to take on the development, we will consider them. The project has big risk and we need more than RM1 billion up front to develop the infrastructure and build the properties.

“We want the development to be sustainable and, therefore, we need investors with deep pockets,” he said.

The Pudu Jail redevelopment is part of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) under the New Economic Model to turn the Klang Valley into the Greater Kuala Lumpur economic district and Malaysia into a highincome nation by 2020.

By Business Times

I-Bhd eyes 50pc profit from property devt

I-Bhd, the developer of the digital township i-City, expects property developments to contribute half of its net profit in the next few years with 40 per cent coming from its leisure business and the balance from its property investments.

After launching its serviced apartment project dubbed the i-Residence last month, the group is expected to start the construction of its 93,000 sq m CityMall shopping mall by year-end, Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Eu Hong Chew told reporters after the group's Annual General Meeting here today.

Asked how it is going to finance the mall's construction, he said the group is looking for joint-venture partners to implement the project with an expected development cost of around RM600 million, adding the group will manage the mall's parking bay.

He said I-Bhd hopes to sign a joint venture agreement by year-end.

Besides the mall, I-Bhd has some projects in the pipeline like the Small Office Home Office units to be launched in August and Small Office Versatile Office Units in November this year.

Next year the company plans to develop, subject to shareholders' approval, a high-rise residental project, the Grand i-Residence, on a 0.4 ha. piece of land in Changkat Kia Peng.

Eu said the group's leisure business has turned out to be very profitable. Since the launch of i-City's first leisure product, the "City of Digital Lights" in December 2009, the leisure business revenue has grown from RM2.8 million in 2010 to RM17 million in 2011, he said.

I-Bhd has invested RM30 million for the leisure business and will invest another RM25 million this year for a 9,300 sq m children's gymnasium and a 1.6 ha. water theme park, he said.

The gymnasium and water park will be opened to the public in August and November respectively, he said.

Eu said I-Bhd targets to invest RM100 million in the leisure business in five years, and all the theme park rides and attractions currently on land reserved for development will be relocated to the Shopping Mall which is expected to be ready by 2015.

This year, I-Bhd will also build a budget hotel as part of its hospitality programme as a long-term investment, he said.

"By the time i-City is completed in 10 years, apart from the development profits, I-Bhd will have three million sq ft of investment properties with gross development value of RM1.5 billion that will generate recurring rental income.

"At the same time, there will also be recurring income from the leisure business," he said.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011, I-Bhd recorded a revenue of RM27.2 million, up from RM9.9 million previously, while pre-tax profit was at RM1.8 million as against RM3.8 million a year before.

By Bernama

UEM Land plans Johor resort

UEM Land Holdings Bhd has bought nearly RM500 million worth of land to develop a high-end residential resort in Desaru, Johor.

It expects to rake in RM5.4 billion gross development value from the project, UEM Land said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

The company yesterday announced that it had bought 25 parcels of land measuring 271.48 hectares for RM485.3 million.

The proposed development entails residential components, comprising bungalows, semi-detached houses, link houses, townhouses and service apartments/condominiums as well as a beach club.

The development will be surrounded by two 27-hole and 18-hole golf courses.

The project, in collaboration with Desaru Development Holdings One Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Desaru Development Corp Sdn Bhd (DDC) is expected to start by 2013 with completion of the final phase within 20 years.

UEM Land said it was invited to participate in the Desaru development by DDC, the master planner of Desaru due to its expertise in high-end residential development, such as East Ledang and Horizon Hills, a golf residential development in Nusajaya, as well as high-rise developments in Mont Kiara, Klang Valley.

Desaru is expected to be earmarked as the leisure and tourism region for Johor, offering an integrated resort lifestyle experience with world-class leisure and tourism accommodation, entertainment and attraction.

Such development of Desaru as an international tourist destination will be spearheaded by Khazanah Nasional Bhd (via DDC).

UEM Land said the proposal is in line with the group's continuous effort in sourcing new landbank and property development opportunities to improve and sustain its long-term earnings growth.

The proposal will also allow it to diversify its development portfolio and due to the scale of the landbank, it will have the flexibility to conceptualise, design and develop a residential resort with wide-ranging features and amenities.

By Business Times