Chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Razeek Hussain said one of its key performance indicators for 2011 is to grow the company's revenue by 20 per cent to RM1.3 billion and achieve RM150 million in profit before tax (PBT).

For fiscal 2010, MRCB posted a PBT of RM97.6 million on revenues of RM1.1 billion.

Among the projects MRCB is bidding for are package A and B of the LRT extension project, worth some RM1 billion and RM600 million respectively.

"If we can get one of the two packages, we would have achieved 40 per cent of our target," he said yesterday after the company's shareholders meeting.
MRCB has secured two projects under the ETP – the development of the 6-star St Regis Hotel at Kuala Lumpur Sentral in Brickfields, and the River of Life project.

Razeek said MRCB is negotiating with the government on the scope of works for the project, where it holds the letter of intent with its joint-venture partner, Ekovest Bhd.

The project includes cleaning and beautifying the Klang and Gombak river, and planning some developments along it. He declined to reveal the project cost.

OSK Research estimates the project to be worth RM8 billion to RM10 billion.

Meanwhile, MRCB, which has RM4.2 billion worth of ongoing property projects, plan to launch three new developments valued at RM2.6 billion between May and December this year.

These include an office tower and residences at KL Sentral and a high-end condominium project at Jalan Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur.

MRCB is also aiming to launch Penang Sentral soon, Razeek said.

"We are looking at substantial growth this year, majority of that will be contributed by our existing projects," he said.

SOURCE: Business Times

Canary Terrace is located at Taman Bagan Lalang in Butterworth, Penang. The project comprises 30 units of 2-storey terrace linked house. Each standard unit has a built-up area of approximately 1,720 sq.ft. and land area of 1,300 sq.ft. Every unit comes with 3-bedrooms, 3-bathrooms and a guest room.

Property Project : Canary Terrace
Location : Bagan Lalang, Butterworth, Penang
Property Type : 2-Storey Terrace Linked
Tenure : Freehold
Total Units : 30
Developer : Boon Siew Development Sdn Bhd
Indicative Price : RM 428,000 onwards

THE Federal Government is willing to work with the Pe- nang Government to address the long-standing traffic congestion woes on the island.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Federal Go-vernment continued to place im-portance on the state although it was governed by a different political entity.

“If there are transport woes, I think we can work with the state government to resolve it,” Najib said during a dialogue with 100 of his Facebook friends at a hotel in Penang on Saturday.

His remarks drew wide applause among the eager audience pleased to have the chance to pose questions to the premier.

Najib fielded some questions and complemented his online pals on their suggestions and even reprimands.

On a question concerning affordable housing in Penang, Najib admitted that the property prices in the state were high.

In a jest, he said he had ideas on how to overcome the issue but unfortunately, Barisan Nasional was not the ruling government in Penang.

To a question about the 1Malay-sia concept, Najib said it must be understood in-depth and not taken on a superficial scale.

“It is a concept to build resilience for Malaysia to move forward as a united nation whose citizens share the same ideals and values.

“Since the concept is big, it will require time for all Malaysians to digest its meaning and significance to nation building,” he explained.

Najib was visibily taken by surprise when some of his online friends complained about elected representatives who are nowhere to be seen, especially during floods.

“I hope they are not from Barisan (Nasional). But yes! the voters of today are a discerning lot. They are highly educated and are aware of their rights.

“I am advocating that our leaders must not talk down to the people but instead treat them as equal partners in the country’s push for development.

“I must admit that our country has problems. We are not perfect but if we play our part,

“I am confident that the country will soon emerge on a stronger footing. We are doing this for the younger generation so they can inherit something to propel the country even higher,” he said.

Najib said the Government Transformation Plan was part of efforts to ensure that the country was on track towards becoming a high-income nation.

He, however, implored every Malaysian to apply innovation and creativity to generate new forms of wealth which would thus create higher paying jobs.

SOURCE: The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Abad Naluri Sdn Bhd is buying 126.04 acres of land in Batu Kawan, Penang from the Penang Development Corp (PDC) for RM16.75 million cash consideration.

Equine Capital Bhd said on Friday, April 1, that Abad Naluri would then nominate Penaga Pesona Sdn Bhd – a unit of Equine Capital – to accept the transfer of the land upon the acquisition.

Equine Capital said this had been agreed upon under a share sale and purchase agreement on Feb 12, 2007 where Equine Capital acquire Penaga Pesona for RM12 million from Abad Naluri.

Abad Naluri's investment in Penaga Pesona was RM250,000 and the latter was then the owner of 450 acres of land in Batu Kawan. In October 2008, Equine had disposed of its 25% stake in Abad Naluri.

Equine said the 126.04 acres of leasehold land which would be acquired from PDC had a tenure of 99 years. The site would be used for residential and commercial properties and the gross development value at RM293 million. The site is four km from the Second Penang Bridge on the mainland at Batu Kawan.

Penaga Pesona holds two parcels of land of 178.62 acres in Crescentia Park, Batu Kawan which is contiguous to the existing land.

Equine Capital said the purchase would be financed by its own funds and borrowings

SOURCE: The Edge Property

PETALING JAYA: Households applied for less money to buy houses in February with applications falling to RM10.26bil in February from RM12.56bil in January, but the amount applied for was 23% higher than in February 2010.

For the fourth consecutive month, ever since new loan-to-value (LTV) rules for the third or more house was enforced in November last year, households have applied for less money to buy residential property, data from Bank Negara’s monthly statistical bulletin showed.

Analysts have said that the decline in the first couple of months might be seasonal and believe data from March onwards would accurately display the effect from the LTV rule.

In a statement, Bank Negara said that interbank rates were stable in February.

In terms of retail rates, the average base lending rate (BLR) of commercial banks was unchanged at 6.27% as at the end of the month. Retail deposit rates were also stable.

It said broad money (M3) expanded at a more moderate annual rate of 7.9% in February.

“During the month, the expansionary effects of higher credit extension by the banking system to the private sector and net foreign inflows were offset by the fund raising activities of the Government,” it said in the statement.

Meanwhile, narrow money (M1) also expanded at a more moderate pace in February due to the return of currency to the banking system after the Chinese New Year festivities.

Net financing to the private sector increased by RM13.4bil in February on a month-on-month basis, driven by higher PDS issuances.

“PDS issuances rose due to several large issuances mainly for refinancing and working capital,” said the central bank.

“Loans outstanding and other major loan indicators, however, moderated compared with the previous month as there were fewer working days due to the Chinese New Year holidays.”

SOURCE: The Star