"I can confirm that we have submitted a bid by responding to the Penang government's request for proposal to develop the land and are now awaiting word from the state authorities," the company's deputy chairman and executive director Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff Mushir Ariff told Business Times after Ivory Properties' first annual shareholders' meeting.

Last Tuesday, Business Times reported that Ivory and SP Setia Bhd are in the race for a multi-billion ringgit development of some 40.47ha land at Bayan Mutiara.

Both companies have already established their presence as property players in the southwestern part of the island via existing developments.

The Bayan Mutiara tender is part of the state government's efforts to unlock the value of the land it owns in selected areas.

Sources had said that of the two companies, Ivory Properties had submitted the higher bid, for which the reserve price was reportedly set at RM200 per sq ft.

Nazir, however, declined to comment on this.

The state government had asked for a request for proposal (RFP) via Penang Development Corp to develop an initial 24.8ha, which is located south of the Pe-nang Bridge, overlooking Pulau Jerejak.

The RFP comes with the potential to develop an additional 14ha via a future re- clamation after the development of the initial 24.8ha land.

Meanwhile, Ivory Properties' operations director Murly Manokharan said luxury condominiums are set to be the group's next offering in Batu Ferringhi, where Ivory has already established its presence as a property developer.

Unlike its Moonlight Bay and Island Resort developments, which are sited on hillslopes commanding ocean views, the proposed The Bay development is set to be located on the beachfront.

Murly said the proposed development will comprise a single block of low-density condominiums, in compliance with environmental and developmental requirements set by the local authorities.

"We are hoping to offer units with large built-up areas ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 sq ft and they will likely be priced between RM600 and RM650 per sq ft," he said.

Ivory Meadows, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ivory Properties, entered into a conditional agreement last year with Lim Soon Hin and Lim Soon Vin to buy 0.49ha of freehold land in Batu Ferringhi for RM25 million.

The project is expected to be completed three years after construction begins.

Also on the cards for Ivory Properties is the proposed City Mall located in Tanjung Tokong, which is set to be a mixed development project of luxury condominiums perched above a shopping mall.

"We are awaiting approvals from the local authorities before proceeding with this project which we hope to launch by the fourth quarter of this year," Murly said.

The project, with RM433.3 million gross development value, is set to offer 300,000 sq ft of shopping space and is expected to cater to tourists in meeting their dining, rest, travel and information needs.

Murly said the resident component, meanwhile, is set to cover 120,000 sq ft.

Property watchers said the proposed development is set to boost the area's new positioning as Penang island's new lifestyle and commercial hub.

Fronting the Island Plaza shopping mall, Ivory's proposed mall is set to join the ranks of projects that include Eastern and Oriental Bhd's master-planned Seri Tanjung Pinang development, Boon Siew Property Group's Precint 10 food and beverage mall, and IOI Properties' upmarket Fettes Residences condominium project.

SOURCE: Business Times

THE Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme is set to get a push from the Penang Govern-ment.

State Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law said a committee would be formed to promote the programme, adding that the state was hoping to get more foreigners to come to Malaysia, especially Penang.

?Penang is now one of the best places to live. We can see Japanese, Australians and Europeans enjoying their long stays here.

?When they like living here long-term, they will buy property in Penang,? he told a press conference in Komtar yesterday.

Law said they wanted to gather travel agents, developers, tourist guides and parties who were keen to promote the programme.

?There are already guidelines in the MM2H programme but they keeps changing.

?The committee will look into it and come out with a standard brochure.?

He added that the biggest tourist arrivals at the Penang International Airport last year came from Indonesia, followed by Singapore, China, Japan, the United States and Taiwan.

?Foreigners who come and buy property here can generate an economic spin-off, for example, on food, education and medical tourism,? he said.

?Developers, travel agents and hotel representatives are among those who will participate in the China (Guangdong) International Tourism Industry Expo 2011 in Guangzhou from Sept 1 to Sept 4 and they can promote MM2H and tourism in Penang.

?The population in Guangzhou is more than 10 million and Penang is an ideal place for them to come for education, investments and tourism,? he said.

Those who are interested to join the committee can contact Law?s office at 04-6505136/2619012.

He will chair a meeting with parties related to the MM2H programme today at his office in Komtar at 3pm.

SOURCE: The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the affordable quality housing programme for urban centres that was launched under a public-private partnership initiative, previously limited to the Klang Valley, would now be extended to the entire country.

Muhyiddin said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak gave the nod to extend the programme to enable the younger generation of Malaysians to own a house.

Muhyiddin said the Government had set out to identify suitable areas for this social development programme.

The Government, through the My First Home Scheme, would provide sites for the construction of houses priced at RM220,000 and below by the private sector based on industrial building standards.

Under the scheme launched by the Prime Minister on March 8, citizens aged 35 and below with a monthly salary below RM3,000 qualify to purchase a house that is priced at no higher than RM220,000 with 100% financing.

Najib said the scheme was formulated following comments made on hisFacebook page as well as in newspapers regarding the difficulties faced by the younger generation to own a house within the price range, especially in the Klang Valley.

Muhyiddin added that the affordable houses were for people in the middle-income group who did not own a house.

In line with the aspirations of the Low-Income House­holds National Key Results Area (NKRA) of the Government Transformation Programme(GTP), the affordable quality housing programme has been designed to prevent people from falling into the low-income bracket due to the increasing cost of living.

Anson Cube, a new commercial development by AZEA Property Investment (API), a Singapore-based company, and its local partner Dot Greenland Sdn Bhd. It is strategically located along Jalan Anson within UNESCO World Heritage Site in George Town. This project comprises 1 block of 5-storey retail lots and offices.

* This project is currently abandoned. Please let us know if you have any update *

Property Project : Anson Cube
Location : Jalan Anson, Georgetown, Penang
Property Type : 5-Storey Complex
Built-up Area: 400 sq.ft to 4,809 sq.ft
Indicative Price: from RM234k to RM2.8m
Land Tenure: Freehold
Developer : Tri Mega Venture

Location Map:

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of SP Setia Bhd, the largest property stock on Bursa Malaysia, rose 5 sen to RM4.15 after meeting earnings expectation for the half way mark of its financial year with analysts confident the company would be able to meet its full year sales target of RM3bil.

Sales for the second quarter and the first half had surpassed previous highs, and revenue for the seven months of its financial year ending October 2011 was already higher than any other full year except for its 2010 financial year.

“Current unbilled sales have touched a record RM3.2bil following strong year-to-date (7 months) pre-sales of RM1.66bil. Setia is very much on track to meet its sales target of RM3bil,” said AmResearch in a note yesterday.

CIMB Investment Bank in a report said some 57% of the sales came from the Klang Valley.

“The four townships in Johor contributed huge sales of RM510mil or 36% of the total while Penang chipped in 7%. The Johor sales were very commendable, being an unprecedented RM1bil on an annualised basis compared with past sales of RM400mil to RM500mil per annum,” it said.

“SP Setia’s second half sales should exceed first half sales comfortably as sales from KL EcoCity should be considerable.”

Expected to drive sales this year will be the company’s KL Eco-City project. HwangDBS Vickers Research in its note said KL Eco-City’s RM1.8bil worth of bookings from boutique and strata offices and recent condo tower launch at an average selling price of RM1,200psf, which was a 40% premium to adjacent properties, should be converted soon, following the signing of S&P agreements from mid-June onwards with the completion of DBKL’s land privatisation exercise.

It pointed out that other launches to watch were V Residences and Brook Residences (with a gross development value of RM233mil), Fulton Lane@Melbourne with a projected GDV of RM1.4bil and Aeropod@ Kota Kinabalu (projected GDV of RM1bil but is awaiting approvals).

“SP Setia will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the mass rapid transit with 25% of RNAV exposed to potential interchanges ie KL Eco-City and Jalan Bangsar (near KL Sentral),” said Hwang DBS.

It said SP Setia could be involved with more landbanking deals. Hwang DBS said SP Setia has been the most aggressive developer with four acquisitions year-to-date with a GDV of RM15bil.

AmResearch expects land acquisitions to be the primary valuation driver. “Based on its township track record, SP Setia would be the leading candidate to co-develop a parcel of the prime residential land in Sg Buloh with EPF-owned Kwasa Land, leveraging on its successful Eco Park brand,” it said.

“We are expecting stronger newsflow on this front in the next few months. It is also bidding for the 100-acre seafront land in Bayan Mutiara, Penang – believed to be valued at over RM900mil including reclamation cost, and a potential GDV of over RM5bil,” said the report.

SOURCE: The Star