Monday 30 September 2013

Land Acquisition of D’sara Sentral (Sungai Buloh) Mah Sing

Land Acquisition of D’sara Sentral (Sungai Buloh) Mah Sing
According to Bursa Announcement, Intramewah Development Sdn Bhd (“Intramewah” or “Purchaser”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mah Sing, had on 3 April 2013, entered into a sale and purchase agreement (“Agreement”) with Pulangan Elit Sdn Bhd (“Pulangan Elit” or “Vendor”) for the proposed acquisition of all that piece of prime land measuring approximately 6.54878 acres net in Seksyen U19, Daerah Petaling as more particularly described in section 2.3 herein (“Land”) for cash consideration of RM85,000,000 or approximately RM297.97 per square foot (“Proposed Acquisition”).

The Land is located in Seksyen U19, Daerah Petaling at the junction of Jalan Welfare along the main thoroughfare of Jalan Sungai Buluh-Shah Alam. The Land is diagonally opposite the upcoming MRT station next to the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia (RRIM) land which is the first MRT station after the Sungai Buloh terminal. The proposed integrated development will be called D’sara Sentral.

Based on the preliminary plans, the Land is proposed for an integrated lifestyle commercial development with an estimated gross development value (“GDV”) of approximately RM800 million. D’sara Sentral will be a mixed development comprising SoVo (small office versatile office), retail space and service residences with proposed direct link to the MRT station via a pedestrian bridge.

Intramewah will be submitting the proposed development plans to the relevant authorities for approval. Subject to authorities’ approval, the development project is to be developed over a span of 3 to 5 years. Awareness programme and registration of interests for D’sara Sentral will commence within the second quarter of 2013 and preview is expected in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The Land is a strategic fit to the Group’s immediate-term plan to complement its existing portfolio with a range of products with mass market appeal to cater to the rising middle income group. Besides the scarcity of development land close to the catalytic MRT project, there is also a supply shortage of mass market products in property hotspots in the Klang Valley. The proposed development is also in line with the increasing trend and preference towards smaller sized residences within well planned integrated projects.

The success of the Group’s Star Avenue D’sara project just 6km away is testament to the potential of D’sara Sentral that is strategically located within the highly sought after northern growth corridor of the Greater Kuala Lumpur Strategic Development project. With the Proposed Acquisition, the Group now has 41 projects with combined remaining GDV and unbilled sales of approximately RM19.7 billion spread across Malaysia’s property.


The Land
The Land is held under title number H.S.(M) 11440, PT No. 4629, Pekan Baru Sungai Buluh, Daerah Petaling, Negeri Selangor with net land area measuring approximately 6.54878 acres (after deducting the area acquired by the relevant authority for the purpose of Mass Rapid Transit (“MRT”) measuring approximately 0.848 acres). The Vendor is the registered and beneficial owner of the Land.

The Land is a leasehold land subject to the category of land use “Perusahaan/Perindustrian”. The current category of land use zoning approved by Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam is “Commercial” with plot ratio of 3. The Vendor will submit an application to convert the category of land use from “Industry” to “Commercial”. The lease term is 60 years with expiry date on 16 October 2028. As set out in section 2.6.2 herein, it is the Vendor’s obligation to apply for a full 99 year lease. Presently, there is an unoccupied factory building with approximate built up area of 70,000 square feet and age of 13 years erected on the Land.

Save and except for the charge in favour of United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, the Land is to be acquired from the Vendor free from all encumbrances, caveats, charges, liens whatsoever, free from all squatters, tenants, occupants, invitees, licensees, structures, places of worship, burial grounds, encroachment and with vacant possession.

The Land is located in Seksyen U19, Daerah Petaling at the junction of Jalan Welfare along the main thoroughfare of Jalan Sungai Buluh-Shah Alam.The Land is diagonally opposite the upcoming MRT station next to the Research Institute of Malaysia (RRIM) land which is the first MRT station after the Sungai Buloh terminal.

As a well-established sub-urban centre of Kuala Lumpur, D’Sara Sentral enjoys a host of access routes including the North Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) Guthrie Corridor and North South Highway. It is only a 15 minutes’ drive to Kuala Lumpur via various convenient routes. For example, the nearby Sungai Buloh Interchange along the NKVE provides easy access to both Kepong and Kuala Lumpur.

Established neighbourhoods within a 5km radius of D’Sara Sentral includes Sierramas, Valencia, Damansara Damai, Saujana Damansara, Bandar Sri Damansara, Kota Damansara, Bukit Rahman Putra, Taman Perindustrian KIP, Taman Industry Sungai Buloh, Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh, and Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh itself. Other affluent neighbourhoods within a 10km radius of the project include Kepong, TTDI, Damansara Utama and Selayang.

There are currently 4 major secondary schools in the area, namely Sekolah Sri Bestari, SMK Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh, SMK Bukit Gading and SMK Bukit Rahman Putra as well as numerous primary schools including SJK(C) Sungai Buloh. The elc International School in nearby Sierramas provides both primary and secondary education.

Other than the upcoming MRT station, there is also a KTM Komuter station in the middle of Sungai Buloh that connects to the Rawang - Seremban line. The Bukit Rahman Putra Golf Course is just a short drive away. The Sungai Buluh Hospital which has been identified as a center of excellence for various disciplines including emergency and trauma, neurosurgery and orthopaedics is also close by.


Basis of purchase
The purchase price of RM85,000,000 was arrived at between the parties on a “willing-buyer willing-seller” basis after taking into consideration the following:

·         the scarcity of strategic development land along the Sungai Buloh and Kajang MRT Line

·         the Group’s familiarity with marketability and development potential of land within the vicinity following the overwhelming success of the Group’s Star Avenue D’sara project 6km away; and

·         strategic fit of the Land to the Group’s fast turnaround development model with ready infrastructure connectivity and amenities.

·         Based on Mah Sing’s internal assessment of the Land, the purchase price is within range of acceptable land cost given the potential GDV to be generated. No valuation was carried out on the Land.

Sunday 29 September 2013

More than 2,500 people at Mah Sing’s Southville City@KL South launch

SERI KEMBANGAN: Property-based Mah Sing Group Bhd (Mah Sing) has launched its Southville City@KL South sales gallery last Saturday.

Following the launch, a private balloting for registrants of Savanna executive suites, phase one of Southville City@KL South was held, which saw 1,068 units of Savanna executive suites worth RM351mil pre-booked in eight hours of the balloting event.



More than 2,500 guests turned up for the event. Present to launch the event was Mah Sing chairman, Gen (R) Tan Sri Yaacob Mat Zain, executive director Datuk Lim Kiu Hock and chief operating officer for marketing and sales, township residential James Bruyns. Mah Sing, in a press statement, said the the first phase of its largest township so far, Savanna executive suites, offers freehold three-bedroom suites with built-up from 956 sq ft and indicatively priced from RM280,000.

The units have upgraded features of two carpark bays, four units of air conditioners, two water heaters and two shower screens. Phase 1B comprising 766 units in Tower B1 and B2, was 90% booked and due to the overwhelming response, Phase 1A, which also has 766 units in Tower A1 and A2, was opened later in the day. This phase was 50% booked within the same day. In view of the keen interest, Mah Sing intended to open two more towers and the Lifestyle Retail Lots @ Savanna with an indicative price from RM1.3mil which would also be available for pre-selection next week.
 
“Savanna Executive Suites is the first phase of Mah Sing’s Southville City @ KL South. One of our largest township projects, Southville City@KL South meets market demands for affordable housing for the middle-income group yet offers that special touch of class and distinction in each component of the township,” said Yaacob.

“The keen interest shown in our property signifies the trust and support the public has on Mah Sing Group and its products,” he added.

The 428-acre Southville City@KL South with the estimated gross development value of RM5.15bil is accessible with the proposed direct interchange from the North-South Highway and only 30-minute drive from the KL city centre. Yaacob noted, “The development concept of Southville@KL South is ‘connectivity’, which forms the framework for an exciting communal living environment.

“We are making this integrated township ‘walk-friendly’ with a 13km pedestrian footpath-cum-bicycle track that connects the entire neighbourhood. There will be a riverside walk, nature trail and even a nine acres urban park.”

Upon completion, Southville City@KL South will be home to 17,500 people and provide seamless and rounded lifestyles for different family sizes. Upcoming phases will have properties for the upgrader market like linked semi-D, semi-detached and bungalows.

Mah Sing plans to build close to 70% of the residential component at below RM1mil per unit to meet the strong market demand for bread and butter properties.

The STAR, 30 Sept 2013

Friday 20 September 2013

IJM Land and FCW Holdings Bhd in tie-up

PETALING JAYA: IJM Land Bhd has entered into a shareholders’ agreement with FCW Holdings Bhd and its 50:50 joint-venture company (JV Co) 368 Segambut Sdn Bhd to regulate their relationship in relation to a mixed development on four parcels of land in Kuala Lumpur.

A Bursa Malaysia announcement said it would entail the JV Co entering into two conditional sale and purchase agreements with the FCW units – FCW Industries Sdn Bhd and Federal Telecommunications Sdn Bhd – to acquire the said freehold land.

20 Sept 2013, The Star

New home sales in Singapore rise 54% in August

Developers moved more new private homes last month than expected. But sales were still relatively subdued, due to the number of launches put on hold for the Hungry Ghost Festival.
The sales lift looks impressive at first glance, with 742 units, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), sold last month – a rise of 54 per cent over July. But July’s numbers were in the basement after new cooling measures and tougher curbs on lending hammered the market. Only 481 new homes were sold then, 73 per cent lower than June’s 1,806 units.

The slowing sales momentum can be seen more clearly by going back 12 months: Transactions of new private apartments in August last year hit 1,427 – 48 per cent more than last month.
Consultants said that despite the improvement from July to last month, Monday’s figures still signal a cooling market. The introduction of a total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework that caps a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio will “haunt the market for a longer period, beyond the Ghost Month”, said CBRE Research associate director Desmond Sim.

Jones Lang LaSalle Singapore research director Ong Teck Hui added: “The days of mega-launches with quick sell-outs may be over unless projects are ‘priced to sell’.”
If ECs are included, last month’s sales came in at 1,468 units – a testament to the popularity of two project launches. The 512-unit Ecopolitan EC in Punggol sold 335 units while the 380-unit Lush Acres EC in Sengkang sold 311 units – making them the top two sellers last month.

The Tembusu in Kovan, which launched in mid-August, was the top-selling private development, with 218 homes shifted at the 337-unit project at a median $1,547 per sq ft (psf), according to Urban Redevelopment Authority data out on Monday. Next was the 141-unit Kensington Square, a mixed freehold development at the junction of Upper Paya Lebar Road and Jalan Lokam that launched last month. It moved 61 out of the 112 units launched at a median $1,511 psf.

Other launches last month included the 248-unit RV Residences in River Valley, a 999-year leasehold project. Its selling price was initially said to be $2,100 psf to $2,300 psf but that dropped to an average of $2,000 psf after early bird discounts. It sold 39 out of 83 units launched at a median $2,043 psf. Consultants tip sales to pick up this month due to more launches, including the 726-unit The Glades in Tanah Merah and the 420-unit The Skywoods in the Dairy Farm area, both on 99-year leaseholds. CapitaLand may also release Sky Vue, a 99-year leasehold project next to its Sky Habitat condo, later this month. Previews began last weekend and prices for the first phase range from $1,380 psf to $1,550 psf. That makes it cheaper than its next-door neighbour Sky Habitat, where 172 units have been sold at an average price of $1,589 psf.

Colliers International research director Chia Siew Chuin said that since “tried and tested” incentives such as vouchers and rental guarantees were probably less effective after the TDSR, developers may change their sales strategies and lower prices. She expects new private home sales to be around 1,000 units this month. Knight Frank research head Alice Tan said sales could also improve as banks gradually become more efficient at processing home loan applications.She reckons new private home sales will be between 700 and 800 units this month, and could come in at 14,500 to 16,000 units for the full year – around 30 per cent lower than the record 22,197 new private homes sold last year.
Religare Institutional Research said on Monday that it expects new home sales to be around 17,000 units this year. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network, 20 September 2013

UEM Iskandar homes: Singapore buyers make up 74% of non-Malaysian purchasers

 

Homes and clubhouse at East Ledang, one of the developments in Nusajaya in Iskandar Malaysia in the southern Johor state. Singaporean buyers make up 74 per cent of non-Malaysians who have purchased properties in Iskandar Malaysia developed by UEM Sunrise. Photo: The Straits Times/Nuria Ling
Singaporeans are streets ahead of any other group of foreigners snapping up property developed by UEM Sunrise at Iskandar Malaysia. They accounted for 74 per cent of purchases made at the various developments by non-Malaysians. Most Singaporean buyers are people who go to Johor frequently for business and those wanting a weekend home, said UEM Sunrise chief executive Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim on Thursday. “They buy more of the upmarket products, as foreigners can only buy units that are above RM500,000  (US$158,881), and they have been buying both landed homes and strata developments,” he added at a progress update of the Iskandar projects.

UEM Sunrise is the master developer of Iskandar’s Nusajaya area. Its developments include East Ledang, a 111-hectare project with bungalows and villas and several condominiums at Puteri Harbour, Iskandar’s answer to Singapore’s Keppel Harbour. UEM data shows that Singaporean buyers usually outnumber all other foreigners combined. At the Imperia project, Singaporeans made up 39.1 per cent of buyers, eclipsing even Malaysians at 24.3 per cent. Foreigners of other nationalities made up 36.6 per cent. At neighbouring condo Teega @ Puteri Harbour, 36.5 per cent were Singaporeans, 51.8 per cent were Malaysians and 11.7 per cent were of other nationalities.

A substantial proportion of non-Singaporeans who bought units in Iskandar have strong links to Singapore, Wan Abdullah noted. Many are Malaysians who live and work in Singapore, while others are expatriates or foreigners who visit often. “These are people who travel to Singapore regularly for various reasons, like health care, education for their children, business and commerce or for lifestyle.” The high number of investors flocking to Iskandar has pushed prices up considerably, he added. Prices of bungalows at UEM’s East Ledang development have surged 44 per cent on average in the resale market since 2011. Even so, prices in Iskandar are still much cheaper than in Singapore, Wan Abdullah noted. A 1,500 sq ft three-bedroom unit at the upcoming Marina One condominium in Singapore is likely to be “in the region of US$11 million (RM3.5 million)”, he said. “For RM11 million you can buy two swimming pool villas in East Ledang. These are villas of 5,500 square feet… sitting on land of about 10,000 square feet.

“You could buy two and still have some change left over for a penthouse at our Teega condominium in Puteri Harbour and still have enough change for a tour around the world with your family.”
UEM Sunrise is partnering Mapletree Investments to manage Marina One, which is being developed by M+S, the joint-venture vehicle between Khazanah Nasional and Temasek Holdings.

— 20 Sept 2013, The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Sime Darby, UEM Sunrise to start work on Radia in Q4

KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Bhd and UEM Sunrise Bhd expect to kick-start the RM1.6 billion integrated development, called Radia, in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, in the fourth quarter of the year.


Radia is the result of a landmark 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Sime Darby Property and Sunrise Bhd, a unit of UEM Sunrise. The development will be managed by Sime Darby Sunrise Development Sdn Bhd.

The joint venture was signed in April 2010.

According to UEM Sunrise managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim, the project will cover a gross floor area of 2.7 million sq ft and will be developed in five phases.

"The construction is expected to be completed in 2018," he said.
Speaking at a press conference here last week, Wan Abdullah said the company expects strong take-ups for the property.

He, however, did not reveal the price range of the properties within the development.

Also present was Sime Darby Property managing director Datuk Abd Wahab Maskan.

Designed by French architecture firm J+H Boiffils and inspired by a fusion of Mediterranean and Asian themes, Radia comprises 640 units of serviced apartments, 238 units of office space (400,000 sq ft) and 182 units of retail space (880,000 sq ft).

Upon completion, it is expected to host 25,000 residents and workers.

Access to major urban centres such as Shah Alam, Klang and Kuala Lumpur will be through highways like the New Klang Valley Expressway, Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Federal Highway and the North-South Expressway Central.

Radia will provide shopping convenience and easy access to services for more than 100,000 residents as well as the working population in Bukit Jelutong.

Meanwhile, Abd Wahab said the development will leverage on Sime Darby and Sunrise's expertise to bring further strategic value to their business owners, customers and investors.

Business Times, 17 Sept 2013