PETALING JAYA: It is business as usual at IJM Land Bhd after a proposed merger between the company and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) fell through due to their failure to reach an agreement on the definitive terms and conditions of the plan.

IJM Land managing director Datuk Soam Heng Choon said the developer had a lot on its plate, including about 30 existing projects and a number of new developments in the pipeline.

“For financial year 2012, we will be kept busy with RM1.5bil worth of project launches, including two greenfield developments in the Klang Valley and Johor,” Soam told StarBizWeek.

With a land bank of about 5,000 acres, which has a total gross development value (GDV) of some RM18bil, there are good values in IJM Land’s assets.

The company launched RM1.3bil worth of projects in the first nine months of the current financial year ending March 31, 2011 (FY2011). Sales for the first six months ended Sept 30, 2010 amounted to RM700mil and analysts said the company was on track to achieve total sales of RM1.4bil for FY2011.

IJM Land turned in record sales of RM1.25bil in FY2010.

For FY2012, its new project portfolio will comprise the 2,000-acre Canal City in Selangor and the 1,188-acre Sebana Cove in Kota Tinggi, Johor. Soam said the Canal City was earmarked for launch in the second half of 2012. The massive township will have a GDV of RM6bil and will take 10 to 15 years to complete.

Located directly behind the mature Kota Kemuning township, the Canal City will turn IJM Land into one of the leading township developers in the Klang Valley. The company is now sorting out some land and project planning matters with the Selangor Government.

An earlier agreement with the previous state government involved a flood-mitigation project in the form of an 18km canal linking Sungai Klang and Sungai Langat. In return, the company will be awarded the land for development.

However, the new state government has decided that there was no need for the flood mitigation project. Therefore, in August last year, IJM Land signed a termination agreement for the canal privatisation project.

As for Sebana Cove, Soam said planning was in progress to develop the 1,188-acre land into an upmarket eco-friendly and health-cum-lifestyle themed residential and marina resort development. The 10-year project is expected to be launched later this year.

Soam said IJM Land also planned to launch its maiden 7-acre project in Vietnam in March or April.

The development comprising four blocks of high-rise residential apartments as well as retail and commercial properties is in Nhon Trach city centre in Dong Nai province.

In China, IJM Land plans to undertake a RM500mil upmarket residential and retail development in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province in the northeast of China.

Locally, the company is busy with its flagship waterfront development, The Light, featuring residential, entertainment, business and hospitality facilities in Penang. With a GDV of close to RM6bil, the 152-acre mixed residential and commercial development is the largest (in terms of development value) in IJM Land’s portfolio. It will take 12 to 15 years to complete.

Under The Light Collection III, new launches will comprise condominiums and water villas priced from RM1,252 per sq ft.

IJM Land also has new project launches in Shah Alam, Seremban, Malacca, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Kuching.

SOURCE: The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Kobay Technology Bhd bought freehold land along with a 9-storey hotel called Butterworth Travel Lodge in Butterworth, Penang from Woo Brothers Development Sdn Bhd for RM4.5 million, it announced on Thursday, Jan 6.

The group said the acquisition is part of its expansion and diversification plan, and will facilitate the group to venture into the hotel business. The location of the hotel is five minutes drive to ferry and bus terminals, and less than 20 minutes drive away from the Penang Bridge.

The hotel is located on 1, Lorong Bagan Luar Satu in Butterworth, and has a built-up area of 36,822 sq ft. The land area is 4,305 sq ft. There is net lettable space of about about 23,762 sq ft, made up of 45 rooms, a coffee house, four meeting rooms and a conference hall. The sale also included all the fittings and fixtures within the hotel.

Additionally, expected revenue generated from the hotel business is about RM60,000 per month, based on a 50% occupancy rate, the group said.

Kobay Tech is an investment holding company that engages in design, manufacture, and sale of machinery, equipment, moulds, tooling parts, precision machined parts, and components.


SOURCE: The Edge Property

Zan Pavillon compromises a 23-storey luxury condominium consists of 132 residences with 3 layout plans ranging from 1,990 sq ft to 2,390 sq ft. It takes pride in offering well-equipped with comprehensive condominium facilities with includes infinity pool, wading pool, coffee terrace, children’s playground, lounge area, bbq area, gym room, community area and sauna. Luxury condominium comes with excellent proportions resident environment and offers outstanding residence that exudes elegance and quality.

Property Project : Zan Pavillon
Location : Sungai Ara, Penang
Property Type : Condominium
Tenure : Freehold
No. of Blocks : 1
No. of Storeys : 23
Total Units : 132
Built-up Area : approx. 2,000 sq.ft.
Developer : Zantalite Enterprise (M) Sdn Bhd

* This project has already been CANCELLED *

Icon Residence on Pykett Avenue is located close to Penang’s most famous street, Gurney Drive. Individual homes, water features and lush gardens are intricately arranged to form a truly unique cascade of nature and modern luxury living.

This development comprises of two residential towers with rooftop garden, featuring breathtaking views of the heritage city and the sea.

Property Project : Icon Residence
Location : Pykett Avenue, Georgetown, Penang
Property Type : Luxury Condominium
Tenure : Freehold
Developer : Klassik Tropika Development Sdn Bhd (Mah Sing Group)

Location Map:

Different outlooks for different pockets of sector.

LAST year was quite an eventful one for the local housing market with strong demand and record prices registered in key property hot spots that included the Klang Valley and Penang.

Concerns over potential overheating had culminated in Bank Negara’s imposition in early November of a maximum loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 70% for third home mortgages.

Buyers of landed properties in sought-after locations have benefited from good capital appreciation, with prices appreciating by between 20% and 30% year-on-year.

Most of the home-buying activities were fuelled by cheap cost of funding and huge liquidity in the banking system.

So, what is in store for 2011? Will home sales and prices continue to strengthen or will they sustain at current levels or start to head south?

CB Richard Ellis Sdn Bhd executive chairman Christopher Boyd believes the prices of landed properties in the Klang Valley and Penang will continue to rise, supported by a strong economy, which will be spurred by heavy expenditure on infrastructure and other projects, and high commodity prices. However, the effect in Johor will be more muted because demand has not been so strong.

“I believe the root cause of the strong growth in landed property prices in the Klang Valley and Penang in 2010 was a reduction in supply which followed the global economic crisis. Developers simply turned off the tap for a while until the future became clearer, and this is supported by data from the National Property Information Centre.

“The economy and confidence soon bounced back and so the result was a temporary supply squeeze which of course will ease this year as developers increase supply,” Boyd says.

As finance is still cheap and confidence remains high, he expects landed property prices to continue to rise in value, albeit at a slower rate. However, luxury high-rise residences in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Mon’t Kiara localities will continue to face a challenging market in view of ample supply and weak rental demand.

“Well-located medium-cost high-rise dwellings will remain in strong demand from younger middle-class buyers and we will see a continuation of the trend towards building small affordable units close to the central business district.” Boyd does not see any material impact from the 70% LVR ruling on third mortgages but says it is nevertheless a very timely message “that one has to be careful not to over-commit because prices may level off, making it more difficult to exit.”

He says the redevelopment of the Rubber Research Institute land in Sg Buloh and the Sg Besi airport has the potential to be phenomenal success and will benchmark Malaysia’s skill in producing large-scale developments of a very high quality.

According to ECM Libra research head Bernard Ching, property sales and price appreciation are expected to moderate in 2011.

He expects slower speculative demand due to the central bank’s LVR cap. Furthermore, the intense competition among banks in the mortgage market is not sustainable as net interest margins (NIMs) have compressed to very low levels.

He believes that banks may have to raise rates and/or cease offering zero-moving cost mortgages to alleviate further pressure on NIMs. This will result in higher financing costs to housebuyers. On the outlook for the commercial property sector, Boyd says there will be further upsides in the office market, especially if the country’s economic recovery is sustainable.

“I believe that with the right planning, the office market can be easily well balanced in terms of supply and demand. The Klang Valley office space market will remain quite resilient this year in the face of only moderate new supply and quite buoyant take up.”

Boyd estimates a further 3.5 million sq ft of office space would be completed in Kuala Lumpur this year.

He says it is more of a seller’s market right now as there is not enough investible buildings around to meet demand. Given the lower entry cost, demand is getting stronger especially for office buildings that are well managed and located, have high occupancy and good yields.

“Similarly, the retail property sector is likely to strengthen slightly in 2011 with only moderate new supply and strong demographic of a young and growing workforce,” he adds.

On the interest for commercial property, Boyd says that in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, while commercial rentals fell, the capital value of commercial property held up well.

“The reason for this is that investors had become severely disillusioned with stock markets and were still prepared to pay competitive prices for income-yielding commercial property, so in fact yield expectations dropped.

“This is a phenomenon that was seen all around the globe,” he says.

SOURCE: The Star