GAIM seeks to invest more in Iskandar

Berinda Group chief executive officer and Tanjung Bintang group managing director Frank Goon Swee Kheong (right) briefing Johor Baru mayor Jaafar Awang (centre) and Charlie Taka on the Molek Pine 3 Tower.

The Macau firm has just acquired two condo blocks there for RM200mil

JOHOR BARU: Global Asia Investment (Macau) Ltd (GAIM) is looking to invest in more property projects in Iskandar Malaysia following its initial foray into Johor Baru market.

Chief executive officer Charlie Taka said the prospects in Iskandar Malaysia were good and the company wanted to benefit from long-term growth of Malaysia's first economic growth corridor.

Headquartered in Macau, GAIM is an asset-building consulting company with 10,000 members. It assists its clients, who are mostly Japanese, in investing overseas.

“Iskandar's close proximity to Singapore and its strategic location in the region is the major selling point to attract investors from all over the world,'' Taka told StarBiz at the ground-breaking ceremony of Molek Pine Tower 3 project here recently.

He said like Chinas' Shenzhen, which benefitted from the economic spillover of Hong Kong and Macau, Iskandar would benefit from Singapore's position as an international trade and financial centre.

He expects Iskandar to be fully developed in 10 years although Iskandar Regional Development Authority, under its Comprehensive Development Plan, has set a target for the economic corridor to become an international metropolis in 2025.

Meanwhile, GAIM has purchased the two condominium blocks at Molek Pine Tower 3 from Tanjung Bintang Sdn Bhd for RM200mil. The blocks would be used for its “Malaysia My Second Home” programme for its Japanese clients.

The project comprises a 28-storey tower block with 212 units and a six-storey block with 36 units on a 2.42ha site in Taman Molek.

The units will have built-up areas of 1,300 to 2,300 sq ft. The condo, with selling price from RM500,000, is expected to be completed in two years.

It is being developed by Tanjung Bintang, a unit of the Berinda Group, which in turn is a property development arm of the Kuok Group. Taman Molek was launched in 1990 and now has about 5,000 residential and commercial units.

“With European and the US economies still have a long way to recover and Japan's economy not in a good shape either, we are focusing on China and Asean countries for investments,'' said Taka.

He said GAIM would look at several options when investing in Iskandar including joint ventures with local partners, buying properties en bloc and acquiring stakes in companies.

Taka said apart from Iskandar, the company also had property investments in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

GAIM, which has a revolving fund of RM500mil, has similar investments in Canada, China, Cambodia, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Thailand, the United States and the Philippines.

By The Star

Challenging times ahead for Iskandar

JOHOR BARU: Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) chief executive officer Ismail Ibrahim says attracting new investments to Iskandar Malaysia is going to get tougher and more challenging.

He said although the country's first economic growth corridor was making significant progress and moving in the right direction, albeit uncertainties in the global economy, Iskandar could not afford to rest on its laurel.

“The intensity of the competition is becoming greater and we have to prove our sceptics wrong that Iskandar is indeed taking shape as planned,'' Ismail said in an interview with StarBiz.

He said the challenge was not only in attracting new investments to Iskandar, but also receiving financial support from the Government for infrastructure development projects.


Ismail Ibrahim … ‘We have to prove our sceptics wrong, that Iskandar is indeed taking shape as planned.’

Under the Comprehensive Development Plan 20062025, Iskandar is set to transform into a metropolis of international standing.

Iskandar, launched on Nov 4, 2006, is located in the southern most part of Johor and spans over 2,217 sq km. It is three times bigger than Singapore and has five flagship development zones JB City Centre, Nusajaya, Eastern Gate Development, Western Gate Development and Senai-Skudai.

The corridor has attracted investments totalling RM67.68bil up to November last year. A total of RM39.42bil, or 58%, of the total investment was from domestic investors and the balance from foreign investors.

Of the overall investment received, RM6.28bil was from the public sector; RM14.45bil went to tourism, utilities and others; RM20.25bil for properties; and RM26.38bil for the manufacturing sector.

During the same period, RM27.61bil or 40.8% of the total committed investments have been spent on development projects in the region.

Ismail said Irda would continue to work closely with government agencies like Malaysian Industrial Development Authority and Malaysia External Trade Development as well as foreign missions to promote Iskandar.

He said Irda also had a good working relationship with the Johor State Investment Centre (JSIC) although Irda's coverage was limited to Iskandar only, while JSIC covered the entire state.

Irda is the regulatory body mandated to plan, promote and facilitate the development of Iskandar. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman are the co-chairmen.

“We are mindful of the growing Asia-Pacific region and we are coming out with programes to attract more investments from China, India, Indonesia and Singapore,'' Ismail said.

He said besides these countries, Irda would continue to woo investors from Europe, the United States and the Middle East, and would likely to extend its reach to Brazil, Russia and South Africa.

Ismail said although the economies of Europe and the United States were still in the doldrums, Irda believed that they still offered good investment opportunities for Iskandar as not everyone there was affected by the downturn.

He said Iskandar was now in the second phase of its road map which focused mainly on attracting new investments and the completion of phase-one projects.

Ismail said Irda would have more outreach programmes this year with the private sector, which would not be limited to meeting them as groups in seminars or conferences, but would be on one-to-one basis.

“We want to engage them better and intensively so as to share our plans for the private sector in Iskandar and vice versa,'' he said.

Ismail said the private sector stakeholders included property developers, investors, chambers of commerce, small and medium-scale enterprises and land owners.

On why the Government decided to allocate an additional RM600mil for Iskandar in November from the RM339mil announced by Najib in Budget 2011, he said the Government must have its own reasons for that.

Ismail said the bulk of the allocation would be spent this year on ongoing projects like the New Coastal Highway, Iskandar Malaysia public housing project and river cleaning works.

“We believe (the extra allocation) has got to do with our timely delivery of our infrastructure projects and the commitment shown by us and the new projects already in the pipeline,'' he said.

By The Star

SP Setia to expand Johor landbank

KUALA LUMPUR: SP Setia Bhd, which has established a strong foothold in Johor, continues to expand its landbank in the state by acquiring a land from Kenyalang Property Development Sdn Bhd for RM125.8 mil.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, SP Setia said its subsidiary, Setia Indah Sdn Bhd, had entered into an agreement with Kenyalang for the acquisition, which is expected to conclude during the financial year ending Oct 31, 2011. It plans to develop a mixed residential development located in the Tebrau corridor.

By Bernama

Setia Indah to acquire 106ha in Johor Baru

SP SETIA Bhd’s wholly-owned unit Setia Indah Sdn Bhd has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Kenyalang Property Development Sdn Bhd to buy 106ha in Johor Baru, Johor, for RM125.8 million.

It told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it intends to develop a mixed residential development project on the land.

By Business Times

Land re-pricing to boost UEM Land, Tebrau

UEM Land Bhd, Tebrau Teguh Bhd and Mulpha International Bhd are among Malaysian property companies that will benefit from a “re-pricing” of the land and property values in the southern Johor state, according to RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd.

“The re-rating of the Johor property play started following the negotiation of the land swap deal between Singapore and Malaysia,” RHB said.

“The re-rating process was further accelerated by the introduction of the Government’s economic transformation program.”

By Bloomberg

Sunway City buys land in Johor

PETALING JAYA: Sunway City Bhd is acquiring 64.63 acres near Johor Baru from Bukit Lenang Development Sdn Bhd for RM134.52mil.

The company said in an announcement that a shareholders' agreement was also signed for a proposed joint venture via Asli Budimas Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of Sunway City), for the development of the land.

By The Star

Nusajaya to develop RM670m project

PETALING JAYA: Nusajaya Consolidated Sdn Bhd (NCSB), a 50:50 joint venture between UEM Land Bhd and United Malayan Land Bhd (UMLand), will develop 6.7 acres in Nusajaya, Johor, into a mixed development project with a gross development value of RM670mil.

UMLand said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia that NCSB yesterday signed an agreement with Bandar Nusajaya Development Sdn Bhd to acquire the freehold land in Nusajaya for RM49.6mil in cash.

The proposed development, to comprise commercial, residential and retail components, will be developed over four years and is expected to yield a gross profit of RM160mil.

It is located in Puteri Harbour, an integrated waterfront and marina development spanning 278.42ha within Nusajaya and Iskandar Malaysia.

At present, NCSB is developing boutique waterfront apartments in Puteri Harbour scheduled for launch next year.

Following the purchase of 0.89ha in November 2009, NCSB has now exercised its option to buy the second parcel.

UMLand said the land and development costs would be financed through internally generated funds and/or bank borrowings.

By The Star

UEM Land in deal with Nusajaya

UEM Land Bhd, the master developer of Nusajaya, signed a sale and purchase agreement valued at RM49.6 million with Nusajaya Consolidated Sdn Bhd, as the latter has exercised its option to buy a second parcel, measuring 2.71ha in Puteri Harbour.

Nusajaya Consolidated, a 50:50 joint venture company of UEM Land and United Malayan Land Bhd, was formed in October 2008 to develop waterfront properties in Puteri Harbour.

It purchased a 0.89ha land in November last year, with the option to purchase a second parcel.

Nusajaya Consolidated is currently developing boutique waterfront apartments, scheduled to be launched in 2011.

By Business Times

UM Land gains on Johor property plan

United Malayan Land Bhd (UM land), a property developer, gained 1.2 per cent to RM1.76, set for its highest close since November 24.

The company said its joint venture, Nusajaya Consolidated Sdn Bhd, has exercised an option to buy a 6.7-acre land in Puteri Harbour in Johor state for RM49.6 million.

The joint venture plans an office, residential and retail project on the land worth RM670 million in gross development value, according to a company statement.

By Bloomberg