Penang-based property player Ideal United Bintang Bhd (IUBB) plans to stick to affordable housing projects in the next two years, given the slowdown in the economy and property sector in the country.

IUBB’s executive chairman Datuk Alex Ooi Kee Liang said at present, the group will be concentrating on its maiden development, the I-Santorini located at Tanjung Pinang, Penang.

“The I-Santorini is an affordable housing development that consists of 2,155 residential units, as well as shop offices, with a price range of between RM300,000 to RM500,000 per unit. The total gross development value for the project is approximately RM900 million,” he told reporters, after the group’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) today.

Property development is not unchartered waters for Ooi. His private vehicle Ideal Property Group is a renowned developer in Penang, with properties such as the Imperial Residences and the Solaria Residences in Bayan Lepas under its belt.

Ooi took over the reigns of heavy machinery importer and exporter United Bintang Bhd in October 2013, and subsequently in April 2014, the group announced that United Bintang was diversifying into the property development business. The group then changed its name to Ideal United Bintang in May 2014.

“At present, the undeveloped landbank for the Ideal Property Group in total is 250 acres, which we intend to develop over the course of the next 10 years. We will also look into developing more affordable housing projects and injecting these projects into IUBB,” he said.

He added that while I-Santorini would be the focus of IUBB at this juncture, the group is also looking at more affordable developments in the Bayan Lepas and Green Lane areas in Penang.

“We intend to allocate 75 acres or 30% of our 250 acre undeveloped landbank for affordable housing projects. This includes the allocation for the I-Santorini project,” said Ooi.

Besides its affordable housing development, the group will also be working on the renovation of 22 floors of the 26-floor Menara LA (previously known as Menara Liang Court) located on Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Penang, and subsequently sell its floors by the first quarter of next year.

IUBB shareholders gave their approval for the group to acquire 10 floors of the building for RM15.04 million in November last year. At its EGM today, the group’s shareholders approved the acquisition of another 12 floors for RM19.5 million. The remaining floors of the building not owned or being acquired by IUBB are owned and occupied by AmMetLife Insurance Bhd.

“One of the interested buyers is a local, while the other is from Singapore. IUBB’s intention is to renovate the floors that we own and sell it. Two floors will be reserved for commercial use. The rest, we intend to convert into a hotel, somewhat like a three-four star express hotel concept, depending on the buyer’s specification.

“As for the selling price, that would again depend on the specification from the buyer [on the magnitude of renovations required],” he said.

IUBB shares closed unchanged at 92 sen today, for a market capitalisation of RM64.94 million.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets.com

There appears to be a new scam in town and it is targeting people who are looking to rent a place.

A nurse who wishes to be known only as Charmaine was almost conned by a “Mr Sim” and his wife “Madam Chew” after she contacted them about a room the couple was leasing out in Singapore.

They had advertised a one-bedroom apartment on a legitimate rental website for S$500 (RM1,513) monthly, cheaper than the average range of between S$900 (RM2,762) and S$1,500 (RM4,543) per month.

Charmaine, 22, was scheduled to start work at a private hospital in Singapore.

She and the couple communicated solely through e-mail and WhatsApp.

“Sim said he’s a reverend and a missionary in China while Chew is supposedly deaf,” she told a press conference at Wisma MCA here yesterday.

Charmaine did not suspect anything amiss until she was asked to help forward a payment from a previous tenant to Chew.

The previous tenant was said to be in Malaysia and owed them five months’ rental amounting to RM4,270.

“They said since I am taking over the room and I am depositing my money for the lease, I could also forward the former tenant’s money as Sim was out of the country and Chew could not communicate through phone.

“The former tenant, Nalini, banked in the amount to my account,” she said.

However, alarm bells rang for the nurse when she was told to transfer the money via MoneyGram Online to a man named Adeniyi Oluwasegun Adebajo in South Africa.

Scared that she was involved in a scam, Charmaine immediately closed her bank account and lodged a police report.

She also returned the money to Nalini, who turned out to be another victim of the couple.

“Nalini was told by them that I was Chew’s personal assistant,” Charmaine said.

MCA Public Service and Complaints Department chief Datuk Seri Michael Chong said although the complainant did not suffer any losses due to her quick-thinking, the same could not be said for other victims.

“There are many scammers out there preying on gullible people. It used to be ‘love scams’ where they make you fall in love with them and part with your money but now scammers have a new modus operandi.

“It appears here that the scammers would collect deposit money from victims without them even seeing the room,” he said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

After numerous delays, Tambun Indah Land Bhd (Tambun Indah) finally received its Advertising Permit and Developer Licence (APDL) last week from the urban wellbeing, housing and local government ministry to launch its new projects.

Recall, due to the long-awaited process to obtain the APDL, Tambun Indah had not been able to roll out any new projects this year, except for Raintree Park 1, launched in January.

This has negatively affected the company’s property sales this year, with nine-month sales achieving only RM193 million, versus full-year RM429 million in 2014.

As the delay has dampened new sales this year, we expect it to grow significantly stronger next year to around RM350 million to RM400 million.

Both projects, Avenue Garden and Raintree Park 2, have a combined gross development value of RM300 million, and we gather that the average booking rate has already hit 50% to 60%.

We are confident that these projects can sell well, as the recently opened GEMS International School provides good visibility on the growth prospects of the township, and some commercial shops would also be handed over soon.

We reiterate that, unlike elsewhere in Malaysia, where demand for properties is sluggish coupled with moderate oversupply issue,Penang mainland market remains healthy.

We continue to like Tambun Indah as it is a good proxy for Penang mainland growth story. — RHB Research

Source: TheEdgeProperty.com.my

The state has no problems making public the concessionaire and land reclamation agreements, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“A state executive council meeting will be held on Wednesday to declassify the agreements which were made by the previous state government.

“The reclaimed land will be used to fund the RM27bil Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP). We will choose the contractors and suppliers once the PTMP has been evaluated by the Project Delivery Partner, SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd,” he said.

Lim was speaking at a session attended by about 100 people about the proposed implementation of the PTMP at the council’s town hall here yesterday.

SRS Consortium has proposed that a 1,375ha reclamation project take place in the southern coast of Penang island. The plan is to have the land be used as an asset for the state to raise funds to deliver the PTMP in a timely and sustainable manner.

The two man-made islands, located near Permatang Damar Laut, spanning 930ha and 445ha, will be known as the South Reclamation Scheme.

SRS Consortium also proposed that a modern port be built for fishermen who are expected to be affected by the land reclamation.

Penang Citizens Awareness Chant Group (Chant) adviser Yan Lee questioned if areas such as Youth Park and Botanic Gardens would be affected by the PTMP.

SRS Consortium project director Szeto Wai Loong answered that they would opt to build over these green parks rather than across them.

Meanwhile, at a press conference held at a charity food fair in Jalan Utama, Penang Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh assured the people that the reclamation projects would be done according to rules and regulations that have been set.

“The methodology of the re-clamation have to be monitored and enforced. I will also personally inspect every detail of the Environmental Impact Assess-ment report.

“If this is not properly done, even Putrajaya will not approve it,” he said.

Phee also said the reclamation projects could solve the congestion problem and offset the cost of the PTMP.

“We are not taking up a loan for the PTMP as we do not want to burden future generations. This is why the state is asking the private sector to do it.

“The state is committed to solving the congestion problem by bringing out more green fields,” he said, adding that the plan was to have a second tourist belt on the reclamation areas.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Those who attended yesterday’s open session on the RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan were generally welcoming of the ambitious project.

They were, however, also concerned about the impact it could have on the homes and the environment.

The bulk of the questions raised were about the proposed master plan, which featured the construction of a light rail transit and monorail network and highways; and their alignments.

But some expressed fears that the solution to the state’s traffic woes could come at the price of the environment, including the beaches and the village homes, because the plan involved the reclamation of the sea off Permatang Damar Laut south of Penang island.

Thousands of acres will be reclaimed to build two or three islands, which some fear will cost them their homes and the livelihoods of the local fishing community.

“I am from Gertak Sanggul and it is a harmonious, over a century old settlement by the sea. I am worried that a development like this will ruin the old villages and force the people out,” said a woman, who identified herself as Miss Lim.

Another, who said his name was Ong, raised concerns about fisheries. “When they reclaimed land in Singapore, the reclamation killed the fish in the sea,” he said.

Local government, traffic management and flood mitigation exco Chow Kon Yeow said effort would be made to execute the plan with minimal impact on residences and the environment.

He said some homes would be affected by the alignments of the highways and rail system but promised that the state government would make the necessary arrangements if there were residents to be relocated.

“The natural beaches will be preserved and there will be new manmade beaches too,” he said during the session at the council town hall.

He said the preliminary plan for the reclaimed islands also included environmentally-friendly, public areas for the people, such as 5km of beach, a 25km coastal park, bike trails and 700 acres of green space.

Project manager and Gamuda executive director Szeto Wai Loong, who represented the masterplan’s project delivery partner, SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd, said local residents and fishermen would be engaged to speak their thoughts and concerns on the master plan next.

He said reclamation had proved technically viable and the next step was to conduct a detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA).

“There will be studies on maritime, current and social impact. We will be going around talking to the people in the area to hear their views and concerns to see how we can accommodate them,” he said.

Penang Island City Councillor Dr Lim Mah Hui pointed out a discrepancy in the 030 population growth forecast.

He said Halcrow Consultants, one of the firms that prepared the masterplan, projected the Penang population to reach 2.5 million by then, but the Statistics Department had projected only 2 million.

He said the projected demand for transport should be carefully calculated and the project scaled down if the figure is found to be lower.

Mah Hui also told the state government that it should not look at the sea bed as a “bottomless pit”, as land reclamation came with serious and irreversible consequences.

This, he said, was seen in the Seri Tanjung Pinang I (STP1) reclamation project in Tanjung Tokong, which was now blamed for siltation on the nearby Gurney Drive coast.

“If we reclaim, then we must do it responsibly,” he said.

Mah Hui said he would also be cautious about building more roads in Penang, as that would increase the demand for private vehicles.

He said while promoting public transport, the state must also actively discourage people from using their own vehicles.

“We must have a policy that makes it expensive to use cars. If people want to drive in comfort, they should have to pay.

“If they want the Pan Island highway, it should not be given free. Users should be paying toll. I am sure people are not against toll, just cronyism.

“If the people have to pay toll to use the road, then perhaps we won’t need so much land (to finance the project),” he said, referring to the land swap arrangement wherein the proposed manmade islands would be auctioned off to pay for the projects in the masterplan.

Yan Lee of civil group Penang Awareness Chant Group asked for more details about the Pan Island Expressway, which would be running through hills to connect Tanjung Tokong in the north and the Penang International Airport in the south.

He also asked whether there were still plans reclaim land from a natural seagrass bed called the Middle Bank, off the coast of Jelutong, for a rail link between the island and the mainland.

Szeto said the Pan Island link alignment was not final as surveys were still being done, but the expressway connection would be integrated.

He also assured the people that the proposed road would cut across the Penang Municipal Park (Youth Park) via a flyover and would not affect the green lung.

On the Middle Bank, he said after checking with Penang Port, it was decided that the location was not suitable for reclamation because the sea there was busy with ships.

“As a result, we had to look further south of the island,” he said.

A blogger named Eric, who goes by the moniker Fire Dog online, said he supported the masterplan, adding that Penang should have introduced the LRT in the 1970s when it was becoming an industrialised state.

But he said he was concerned about where the sand for the reclamation would come from.

Szeto said the main source of sand was the sea between Penang and Perak, and not the hills of Penang.

At the end of the session, Chow assured the people that the projects would not take off without the approval of the federal authorities.

“If there is no approval, then it is no-go for the masterplan and also no payment for the project delivery partner.

“That will make this just an academic exercise in how to draw up a transport masterplan,” he said.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the application had already been submitted to the federal authorities for their consideration.

He said even though it was early days yet, the state government wished to keep the people informed and find out what they think.

Source: TheEdgeProperty.com.my