If the planned reverse takeover (RTO) of tile manufacturer Yi-Lai Bhd goes through, it would see the entry of one-up-and coming property developer from Penang, Aspen Vision Group and its co-founder Datuk M. Murly into the capital market.

Murly is becoming well known in property circles for his Aspen Group, which made the news two years ago when it inked a deal with IKEA franchisee Ikano Pte Ltd and the Penang Development Corp (PDC) to embark on a massive RM8bil property project in Batu Kawan, Penang called Aspen Vision City (AVC).

When contacted, Murly declined to comment, noting that the RTO negotiations with Yi-Lai were still ongoing.

The 30-year old Murly has been in the property market for more than 10 years.

He started his career with Ivory Properties Group Bhd at the age of 19 as a technical assistant. At the age of 25, he was promoted to be chief operating officer and executive director of Ivory.

He founded Aspen Group in 2013 with his partner Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff, who was formerly the deputy chairman and executive director of Ivory Properties.

On the AVC project, it is a 80:20 partnership between Aspen and Ikano on 245 acres of land in Batu Kawan, spanning over 10 years.

The property project will involve a 24-acre IKEA outlet, near the second Penang bridge, in the Seberang Prai side. The IKEA outlet is expected to be completed in 2018 and will be run and owned by Ikano.

Ikano is the owner and operator of the IKEA franchise holder in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

The AVC project is part of the enlarged 6,000 acres Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan’s township project under the Penang state government’s master plan.

There are other developers, such as Eco World Development Group Bhd, Belleview Group and Paramount Corp Bhd involved in the Batu Kawan development with PDC.

Aspen has other projects aside from the AVC. Earlier this year, the company launched RM1.4bil worth of property projects, namely the first phase of AVC project worth RM620mil, RM135mil mixed-development Beacon project in Sungai Pinang and the RM637mil HH Residence scheme in Tanjung Bungah.

Yet another project is the RM700mil Nouvelle Residence in Subang, which it plans to launch in 2017, made up of condominum units.

Prior listing plans in Singapore

Just months ago, Murly was quoted as saying that he was seeking to float Aspen on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Banking sources say that this plan did not materialise, which explains the move to reverse Aspen into Yi-Lai.

According to sources, one of the reasons why Aspen didn’t proceed with the listing in Singapore was related to a ruling there that discourages the use of listing proceeds outside Singapore.

Bankers say that Aspen was also looking to apply for an initial public offering on Bursa Malaysia but decided on the RTO route instead.

In February, Yi-Lai announced the RTO plan by Aspen, in a deal worth RM550mil. In return for Aspen’s business, Yi Lai will issue RM450mil of new Yi-Lai shares at an issue price of RM1 each and RM100mil cash.

The price of the new share issuance represents a premium of 22.3% over the 5-day volume-weighted average market price of Yi Lai shares up to Feb 23.

Notably, Yi-Lai said the proposed acquisition would enable existing shareholders to participate in a “new, viable and profitable core business in property development” through the Aspen group.

“The diversification of the core business of Yi-Lai into property development will be a synergistic downstream fit for Yi-Lai’s existing tile manufacturing business,” it says.

Yi-Lai had entered into a heads of agreement (HoA) with Aspen and Setia Batu Kawan Sdn Bhd for the proposed acquisition.

Shares in Yi-Lai were last traded at RM1.02 a share, giving it a market capitalisation of RM161.5mil with forward price-earnings ratio of 14.57 times.

The company has no borrowings and is sitting on a net cash position of RM48mil as of fourth quarter Dec 31, 2015.

Yi-Lai said it would fund the Aspen acquisition via internal funds and bank borrowings.

The Penang connection

Interestingly, about 31% of Yi-Lai is owned by Aaron Tan, who is the nephew of Datuk Seri Robert Tan Chung Meng of the IGB Corp Bhd.

The 31-year old Aaron emerged in Yi-Lai in May 2014 after his vehicle Hampton Capital Pte Ltd bought the stake in Yi-Lai from the founding family at RM1.30 a share.

Tan, along with Singaporean Wendy Kang, have substantial shareholdings in Hampton Capital and thus indirectly hold 31% in Yi-Lai.

Following to the purchase, Aaron was appointed as executive director of Yi-Lai in June.

According to Yi-Lai’s filings, it has 90 days from the announcement date of Feb 26 to come up with the definitive agreement between the parties for the RTO exercise.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Many have been asking whether is there any possibility of property price in mainland to be on par or better than in Penang Island? Vertu Resort at Batu Kawan is selling at the same price as One Foresta open market units at Sungai Ara.

So if you have a budget of RM400k, which one would you choose? Move-in condition Vertu Resort with IKEA furnishing and electrical appliances, or a bare condominium unit at Sungai Ara?

	Vertu Resort	One Foresta
Developer	Aspen Group	Ideal Property Group
Location	Batu Kawan	Sungai Ara
Standard unit size	1,030 sq.ft. – 1,800 sq.ft.	900 sq.ft.
Price psf.	RM386 onward	RM442
No. of carpark	2	2
Selling Price	RM398,000 onward	RM398,000
Development land size	7.2 acres	11 acres
Land tenure	Freehold	Freehold
Total units	1,282	2,334
Expected completion	2019	2019
Highest floor	36	40
5 nearest schools	Upcoming KDU Univerity College (1km) Upcoming University of Hull (4km) SK Batu Kawan (5km) SRJK(C) Keng Koon (6km) SRJK(C) Boon Beng (12km)	Upcoming SJKC Shih Chung (0km) Straits International School (3km) SK Bayan Lepas (1km) SMK Bayan Lepas (2km) SK Mutiara Perdana (2km)
5 nearest malls	Upcoming Penang Design Village (1km) Upcoming IKEA Penang (0.5km) Tesco Alma (13.5km) Aeon Jusco Bukit Mertajam (13.5km) Pearl City Business Park (11km)	Queensbay Mall (10km) Sunshine Square (6km) BJ Complex (8km) Giant (5.5km) Tesco (13km)
Web popularity (Since 5/Jan/16)	10,000 pageviews	13,000 pageviews
Travelling to (off peak) Penang Bridge 2nd Bridge Airport Komtar FTZ	22km (18 minutes) 4km (4 minutes) 28km (26 minutes) 38km (35 minutes) 24km (20 minutes)	11km (16 minutes) 8km (14 minutes) 3km (6 minutes) 18km (22 minutes) 7km (14 minutes)
Key highlights (by developer)	10 mins walking distance to IKEA Penang Move-in condition with furniture and electrical appliances More than 200,000 sqft facilities spaces Seamless accessibility and connectivity IKEA cash voucher worth RM5,000 Attractive REBATES Guaranteed Upgrading Scheme	(No feedback from developer)
	More about Vertu Resort	More about One Foresta

The Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) has urged the state government to speed up the implementation of Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

PCCC president Datuk Seri Choot Ewe Seng said it was needed to help alleviate traffic congestion in the state.

He said tourists started flocking to the city after George Town was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008.

“The traffic has increased tremendously and this problem requires an immediate solution from the government.

“Penang’s infrastructure urgently needs to be enhanced and upgraded or our economy will be adversely affected,” he said during a press conference at PCCC building in Light Street yesterday.

Choot said the RM27bil PTMP would encompass the light rail transit, undersea tunnel, Pan Island Link Highway and South Reclamation Scheme.

He said the mammoth project showed the foresight of the state government and was a grand vision worthy of support.

He, however, said the state should look into the feedback from non-governmental organisations.

Choot also lauded the efforts by the state government in conducting public briefings on PTMP.

“Having such briefings shows that the state government is transparent.

“We urge the relevant organisations to view the PTMP with an open mind and come up with something positive and constructive for the project,” he said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Another mixed development proposed by WHH Land at Sungai Ara. Located on a 5 acres land along Jalan Tun Dr. Awang, adjacent to Asia Green’s The Clovers development scheme.

This development comprises a 34 building with two residential towers, offering 168 condominium units. The commercial component will offers a mix of 2 and 3-storey retail shop lots.

More details to be available upon project launch.

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Sungai Ara, Penang
Property Type : Mixed development
Total Units: 168 (condo), 13 (shop lots)
Land Tenure: Freehold
Indicative Price : (to be confirmed)
Developer : WHH Land

Location Map:

Ikano Private Limited, owner of the IKEA franchise in Malaysia, confirmed today its ambition to open a store in Penang during the third quarter of 2018.

Ikano and the Aspen Group teamed up in September 2014 to purchase 245 acres of land from Penang Development Corporation. The joint-venture company is working to transform the vast swath of land in Batu Kawan into a new metropolis where people can live, work and play. A shopping centre anchored by IKEA is a key component of the development plan for Aspen Vision City.

“The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people,” said Ikano’s Managing Director, Christian Rojkjaer. “We expect to do that by bringing our affordable range of functional home furnishings to the people of Northern Malaysia in 2018, along with hundreds of solid jobs and spin-off opportunities for the local community.”

The planned IKEA store is to be wholly owned by Ikano. Mr. Rojkjaer said his team has applied for a building permit and earthworks are now underway to prepare a 24-acre plot for the development. The shopping centre is to be developed by the joint venture company and managed by Ikano.

The long-term development plan for Aspen Vision City includes condominiums, office towers, an international school, a Columbia Asia Hospital and a 24-acre park. Piling works are in full swing for the first phase – a gated and guarded commercial precinct called Vervéa. Plans for a high-rise condo called Vertu Resort received a warm response when it was recently introduced to the public. With a gross development value of RM8 billion, the entire Aspen Vision City development is slated for completion in 10 years’ time.