Property Malaysia

Land & General Bhd, who is currently undergoing a restructuring plan, has sold off a 1.02ha land along Jalan Kuching, for RM28 million cash via their subsidiary Syarikat Trimal Sdn Bhd.

The vacant commercial land, which is freehold, was sold to Profit View Sdn. Bhd. for RM28mil cash. The proposed disposal to be completed at the end of 2006.

According to the Edge,

The proceeds from the proposed disposal will be used to repay bank borrowings of the group and to meet L&G’s debt obligations under the composite debt restructuring scheme of the company.

According to another report by the Business Times,

Based on ST’s audited consolidated financial statements, the land’s net book value is RM14.9 million. This means the sale will generate a gross gain of about RM13 million for L&G.

Repaying its bank borrowings will help the firm save about RM583,000 on interest payments, based on an average interest rate of 5 per cent per year.

If you read any of the major newspapers today, you would have notice that there was an general offer REITs by UOA to the public at RM1.15 per share.

There was a write-up in the media, and the following are the key points:

• UOA is forecasting a net profit of RM17.98 million for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2006 on expectations of higher rental revenue. This is expected to increase to RM20.21 million in 2007 and RM22.78 million in 2008.

• To achieve this, company was looking at a 10% increase in rental rates, they were still below the market rate. They have also noted that the company would stay focussed on commercial office buildings.

• UOA Holdings has a landbank of 24ha in the Klang Valley. To date, it has developed RM1.5 billion worth of properties. One of it is, of course their flagship Wisma UOA on Jalan Pinang.

• The REIT’s initial investments are the majority parcels in three of the four signature buildings and constructed by UOA Holdings — Wisma UOA Centre, Wisma UOA II and Wisma UOA Damansara. According ti them, these buildings have a high occupancy rate of 86% to 99% that was attributable to its strong tenant-partnership and management.

• Under the listing exercise of the UOA REIT, the UOA Group hopes to raise RM89.7 million, assuming that the 78 million units offered are subscribed at RM1.15 each.

• Of the 78 million units, a total of 10 million units would be offered to the public at RM1.15 per unit and three million units to the eligible employees, directors and associates.

• Over the past five years, Khor added, rental revenue from the assets increased from RM18.4 million to RM24.3 million. Property income almost doubled to RM17.8 million from RM9.3 million.

• The remaining 65 million will be offered to selected investors at an institutional price to be determined by book-building. The final retail price will equal the low of RM1.14 and 97% of the institutional price.

• It is expected to list on the Main Board on Dec 30.

The Star featured abother write up about Puchong Prima recently. The article focused mainly on the new phase (2B) of the duplex units, which is an upgraded version of the earlier phase.

According to the developer, the upgrade incorporates features that were suggested by buyers of the earlier phase. We have already reviewed the 4-storey duplex units here in Property Malaysia:

Desa Impiana, Puchong Prima

In addition to that, there has also been a review of the condominium development in Desa Impiana here:

Desa Impiana Condominiums

In the report, the developers says that:

• All the 48 units of the earlier phase were sold within three months of the launch last December

• The developer is giving some freebies together with the units, such as frameless tempered glass shower screens for two bathrooms, wooden handrail for the staircase, porcelain tiles at the living, dining rooms, kitchen and plaster ceiling, including a dome at the dining area.

• The unit also includes clubhouse facilities, 24-hour security and two free parking bays per unit.

• The clubhouse’s facilities include two squash courts, half basketball court, swimming pool, playground, multi-purpose hall, retail shops, and gym.

• As for management fees, purchasers are just required to sign an agreement on payment of their service charge of RM150 per month. The group has achieved over 80% success rate in its service charge collection for its medium-cost apartments in Puchong Prima.

For our earlier reviews, you can check them out here (and the condominiums here).

Standard & Poor’s has announced that GuocoLand (Malaysia) Bhd’s earnings outlook will be uninspiring for the next two financial years, as reproted in the Edge recently.

The company, formerly known as Hong Leong Properties, has been rather quiet in the past year in terms of new developments. According to the report:

• The company is one of the largest Malaysian property developers in terms of land bank.

• It owns over 12,000 acres of land and it has also proposed a real estate investment trust (REIT) exercise to unlock value and lower debts.

• It’s major projects are in Rawang and Sepang.

• The company has been launching freehold landed properties with bigger built-up areas and at lower prices, compared with similar properties in more attractive locations.

For more reading, check out the report here.

Looks like the Subang Jaya condo market just got a little more competitive. First came projects like USJ1 Avenue, Tiaraville, SuriaMas (well, ok, that one is in Bandar Sunway), Jana Towers. Then there will be Westend Studios soon.

But for now, the Lion group has launched Saujana Residency in SS16, behind Subang Parade, just a little down the road from Tiaraville and Jana Towers. Since they share the same location as the two other projects, we won’t write too much about it, you can check out our reviews there. But in a nutshell, it is near the KTM Komuter, and all the facilities nearby are quite established like shopping (Carrefour, Subang Parade, Sunway Pyramid), commercial area (SS16, SS15), colleges (Inti, Metropolitan, Sunway, Monash), hospital (SJMC, SMC), golf (KGNS, Glenmarie), and the ilk. As for downside of the location, well, I suppose that the infamous Subang Jaya traffic issue is one of them, expecially coming in and out from the place.

(Location map will be uploaded soon, thanks for being patient. It’s basically right behid Subang Parade. Can’t miss it)

The first thing that struck us about Saujana Residency was that it was mid-rise, with only 20 levels or so in the 2 acre plus plot . Older buildings in the area like Wisma Consplant and Wisma Tractors have a maximum height limitation due to the proximity with Subang Airport, however, we’re not entirely sure if this ruling is the reason why they have chosen the building height.

There are two identical towers, named Suria and Bayu, with the common facilities in the middle and on the side.They have an Olympic-sized swimming pool, covered children’s playground, a fairly large gym, sauna, nursery, hot spa, security and convenience stores. I would say all in all, quite comprehensive, more than the competition.

Another thing we liked was that they took the effort to make the landscaping count, and the facilities have amply spaced, instead of everything cramped together.

Another feature for this place is the wide range of unit sizes. There are small studio units at 585sq.ft (single bedroom), up until 2,535sq.ft exclusive units with your private garden in the sky. There are even penthouses with 5000+sq.ft, but at the time we viewed it, they were already sold out. There is a maximum of 15 units per floor (per tower), but these are mainly on the lower floors.

Two features that stand out for this place is the lanai concept (for some units), quite popular these days. It’s like a balcony only that its enclosed with large windows. Another is the long bath extruding out of the unit, sort of like a balcony, too (and it’s enclosed, too,it is after all a bath). So you can have a soak while looking out at the scenery. We’re not used to long baths, seeing that we’re from the kampung…

Studio units seem pretty popular in new launches in this vicinity, probably targeting the investors. Then they have some 1+1 and 2 bedroom (740, 753 and 742sq.ft) units, shaped almost like a right-angled triangle (not our cup of tea, frankly). The larger units are more conventionally rectangle-ish, going up to 3+1+1 (the study can be converted into a guest).

We liked types G & H, which at 1,360sq.ft and 3+1, it is rightly sized (well, this is, of course, speaking in terms of layout only). Of course the larger units are luxuriously spaced, which mean bigger and more rooms and spaces.

Each unit comes with one parking bay, those above 1700sq.ft. come with twin bay. Please check with developer on parking arrangements.

So what did we like about here? The design of the overall building, with its symmetrical tapering towers. Low density, (due to the low height), above average facilities, good location for student and yuppie rental market. Dislikes? Like we said, traffic congestion and pricing a little steep, commercial title.

The Lion Group is very familiar with us, we have dealt with them extensively in the past. They were quite diversified in the mid 90’s but due to the Asian financial crisis, they have gone through some restructuring and streamlining of their core businesses. The leaner Lion group is now keen to move ahead in property, with their existing Bukit Mahkota, and another new launch in KL this weekend.

*** UPDATE OCTOBER 2006: A reader has sent in some photos of the site progress (including some of the nearby Subang Avenue) you can view them here.

Now this is interesting.

Axis REIT Managers Bhd, manager of the Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis-REIT), is planning to buy two commercial and industrial properties in the golden triangle area of Petaling Jaya.

This was announced recently, the two properties are Kompleks Kemajuan for RM29mil and Keyangan Depot for RM16.1mil, which would expand its current net lettable area of 981,147 sq ft by 37%.

The Star reports:

As at June 1, the average occupancy rate of Axis-REIT’s five properties was about 99%.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2005, the property fund recorded unaudited net profit of RM3.6mil on the back of RM5.3mil revenue.

You can view the story here.

This is the latest in the many phases of units available in the massive Bandar Puteri development. We have reviewed most of the currently available phases recently. For our review of the whole Bandar development, you can check out this posting, where we touch on the location, accessibility, quality and corporation behind Bandar Puteri:

Development Review: Bandar Puteri by IOI Properties

The other phases reviewed here are as follows (click on the links to read the reviews):

Elyssa Villa
Nadia
Nadia 2
Eugenia
Lilac (22’ x 75’ linkhouses)
Aseana Puteri (condominiums)
Bayu Puteri (apartments)
Grande View (22’ x 70’ hilltop linkhouses)

This is a limited series of large semi-D units at one corner of Bandar Puteri, located on a slightly elevated plateau. It is actually just beside Aseana Puteri condo which is under contruction at the moment. The homes are laid out in 3 rows, generally facing east or west.

The hill isn’t as high as the one where the Grande View is located, but it is still quite exclusive in terms of number of units within the small enclave. Like other enclaves here, there is a security check entering the area for the safety of the residents (ok, relative safety…)

Bandar Puteri has a wide variety of units to cater for most types of buyers, and for Eugenia, they have opted for a semi-D with a large garden and big build up. The minimum land size is 45′ x 100‘, giving a large garden space, definitely much bigger than the usual 10′ arden found elsewhere. For the build-up, the facade is incrementally angled to give a ‘massive‘ look to the house, and inside, the space is evident everywhere.

For the facade, the contemporary look is the order of the day, and they have large window all round, and small semi-circle balconies instead of big ones. Because this is a luxury unit, developer is providing cornices, auto gate, clay brick walls, and higher quality finishes in tandem with the price.

There are 5+1 rooms, large kitchen and family area. Porch is big enough for 4 cars.

In conclusion, the finishes, large spaces, large garden, exclusivity, and prestige of a semi-D are impressive amd are all plus points for Eugenia. So the other deciding factor which remains is, of course the pricing. It’s slightly more than RM900k, and if you’re in the market for that price tag, and like the design, then its worth considering. Furthermore, its freehold, and all the facilities and amenities are pretty much in place in Bandar Puteri… (note our earlier development review)

Recently, there have been a few complaints of regarding quality of workmanship in Bandar Puteri homes, but as for Eugenia, it remains to be seen whether it will (or will not) be the same.

We’ve always liked IJM Properties. Backed by one of the country’s best and most profeesionally-run construction company, the property arm has been quite active in the past few years.

They have just launched the urban PJ8 in Petaling Jaya. Another strategy employed is through joint ventures with other developers to widen their landbank for launches.

Recently they aanounced their corporate figures, and:

• In the 15-month financial year ended March 31, IJM Properties contributed RM88mil, representing 31% of the group pre-tax profit.
  
• Unbilled property sales of some RM500mil would also contribute to group earnings in the next two years. IJM Properties is also making inroads offshore with property projects in India, the US and Australia.
  
• Out of the 14 ongoing developments in the Klang Valley and Seremban, 12 are joint ventures with other developers and corporations.
  
• It signed a 30-year lease with Tesco hypermarket for its built-for-lease building in MetroEast-Udini development in Penang to diversify their steady earnings.
  
• Under the design, build and sell concept, the company entered into an agreement with Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd to build the RM375mil Menara Commerce in Jalan Raja Laut for the financial services group. Located on 2.5 acres next to the UOB building, the purpose-built building with net floor area of 630,000 sq ft would be completed in the first quarter of 2008.
  
• The central region will be the hive of activity for IJM Properties with 10 major projects worth a total gross development value (GDV) of RM2.5bil under way that will keep it busy for the next 10 years. They include Ampersand, PJ 8, Bandar Mandarina, Riana Green East, Menara Commerce, Monte Bayu, Sierra Ukay, Saujana Puchong and Canal City (the last two obtain through Talam and Kumpulan Europlus)

To read more, check out this report in the Star.

Right now one the hottest names in property development in the city is Platinum Victory.

Any industry player worth his salt his have at least heard of this relatively small and new start-up, now in its third project. From what we gather, the management is young, aggressive and resourceful.

We have for many years wondered about this piece of empty land near Camp Wardieburn, with a beautiful lake in it. The hallmarks of an exemplary location were there - near to TAR College, JPJ, Tawakal, KLCC, existing schools, MRR2, the list goes on. Only thing is that traffic along Jalan Genting Klang is extremely heavy during peak hours. But there are, of course alternative routes.

So enter Platinum Victory, fresh of the brisk launch of their earlier Taman Melati condo launch. You can’t miss that, yellow apartments next to the MRR2, fronted by the shoplots, on the way to Batu Caves (very near to the LRT station). They managed to get hold of this land, and this Lake City is the first of few launches planned in the 160 acre land. Already there will be a commercial area with shoplots and a street mall, a supermarket will be built soon nearby. There are plans for a market and other amenities soon. The developer is planning to upgrade some of the existing roads surrounding the area.

On first looks, the Lake City doesn’t look too impressive, with the huge parking podium and 4 towers. But one closer inspection, there are some interesting points. One thing we liked was that every unit was a stand alone unit, without sharing any walls with another unit. We have not come across another development with this feature, for this price range. There are 3 basic units, and with the slight variations, giving you 6 layouts altogether.

The biggest unit at 1,272sq.ft. comes with 4 rooms, and its quite unconventional is design. The master bedroom shares a bath with another room, while there is another room far separated from all of the baths. No complaints, but interesting. The smaller units come in 3 bedrooms, between 1,100 to 1,200sq.ft.

As for facilities, there are the usual - swimming and wading pools, gym, covered carpark, shops, housekeeping services, etc. But if you take into account the facilities they have in the development as a whole, there are more facilities and attractions to consider. The developer is planning to beautify the lake with some spiffy landscaping.

Prices are from RM150k to RM190k. If you book unit now, a free parking bay is given, after official launch you have to pay a sum on top of unit price for parking (please check with developer for details).

So in a nutshell? Affordable, good location for already those in the Setapak area, wide range of amenities planned. Near LRT & TARC. Downside - leasehold, high density (800 units).

UPDATE MARCH ‘07: For latest site progress photos, please click here.

For those not bothered to sift through this long review, we’ll just say it up front. This piece of development is hot. The sales is hot, we think its hot. There are a few drawbacks, but of the many projects we’ve seen recently, this place really impressed us.

When we first saw the location map, we thought it was going to be in a densely developed old neighbourhood, what with the proximity to Wangsa Maju Section 4. We’re quite familiar with the other areas of Wangsa Maju, and we usually think of it as affordable, old flats, and established commercial areas.

But when we drove to this place, we were pleasantly surprised. This project is part of the KLSC Phase 1 - Kuala Lumpur Suburban Centre, which is a large integrated development with Desa Putra condominiums, a proposed Sri Rampai LRT station (next to the condo) a large upmarket commercial area (with such tenants like Victoria Station and Burger Kings lining up), more hilltop condo projects (proposed JV with IJM), a stylish foodcourt and park area, and a town park which is set on top of a hill / forest reserve. There is also an existing hypermarket (Carrefour) nearby.

There are future KLSC II (being launched at the moment) and KLSC III, which will add colour and splash to the area, but Desa Putra by itself justifies a good look.

Set next to a green hill (the aforementioned town park), it’s biggest selling point is the proximity to the proposed LRT station. It is also well connected to all the other sections of Wangsa Maju, and very near to the Middle Ring Road II (MRR2). Most people familiar with this area will also know that a large portion of the surrounding areas are still green lungs (for now) and the mountains are within sight. On the northern side there is a tract of government reserve land.

The project itself consists of 3 almost similar towers: Carcosa, Datai and Andaman, with a carpark podium and common facilities in the middle. There are 8 units per floor, and it is set out in such a way that every unit has only one neighbour, so its a bit like the ’semi-D condo’ developers like to use. There are basically 3 types of units available, they are within the 1,246 to 1,340sq.ft. range. Looking at the units, there are two concepts, the orthogonal concept (Type A2, A3 and A3A) and the angled (A1). The orthogonal ones are the conventional squarish units, the other has some rooms at 45 degrees from the rest of the unit. Some choice for buyers.

All units have well-thought out designs, with 3+1 rooms. They have a balcony (they call it ‘lanai’) and we like it (we usually don’t fancy balconies). Type A3 has a small kitchen and yard, but bigger master bedroom. The finishing provided are slightly above average, considering the price.

In terms of facilities like swimming and wading pools, gym, playground, games & reading room, halls, and shops and covered parking. But actually with proximity to the commercial centre, it is very convenient to get anything. Then there is that LRT thing. Very useful.

The price is about RM200-225psf. The shop offices mentioned above are also for sale at the moment (Shop Offices@The Link)

This project a JV between Landmarks Land & Properties (subsidiary of Landmarks Bhd) and MCL Land (which in turn, is a member of the Jardine Cycle & Carriage Group).