Bolton signs JV for RM480m GDV Sabah development

Written by Ho Ching Ling of theedgemalaysia.com on 21 November 2012

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 21): Bolton Bhd has entered into a joint venture agreement with Mobuild Sdn Bhd for a residential development project in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah worth an estimated gross development (GDV) value of RM480 million.

The project — which represents Bolton’s maiden project in East Malaysia — will consist of 500 units of luxury condominiums and 50 units of landed villas on a 10.33 acre land at Signal Hill and is slated to be launched in the first half of 2013.
 
"As you know, we have primarily been a Klang Valley developer but we view Kota Kinabalu as a very good market,” said group executive chairman Tan Sri Azman Yahya at the double signing ceremony today.

According to Azman, the partnership will be a 50:50 collaboration in which Mobuild will provide the land while Bolton will be responsible for the working capital and development of the units.

Azman added the group will be announcing more joint venture collaborations in the near future specifically one development in Penang and another in Kota Bahru, the latter which will be announced by end of this year.

“Bolton is currently being sought after as a desirable joint-venture partner due to our flexibility and adaptability when dealing with our partners and the type of attractive development concepts we bring,” he said.

The group also signed a RM370 million financing facility with Affin Investment Bank today consisting of RM230 million Islamic medium term notes programme and a RM140 million revolving credit line, which Azman said will be largely utilised to finance land acquisitions and project financing.

“The facility also gives us the funds to undertake further land and development acquisitions to move us closer to our RM1 billion annual sales target we set to achieve in a couple of years,” Azman added.

The property developer currently has a land bank size of 1,300 acres with the largest plot being the 625-acre land in Sungai Long.

“We expect to launch the first phase of this township comprising 160 acres within the next two years with a target GDV in excess of RM1 billion whereas the remaining phases will be developed over the next 10 years and could further generate GDV in excess of RM2 billion,” he said. 

Source:  http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/225381-bolton-signs-jv-for-rm480m-gdv-sabah-development-.html

KK’s Blu Summer Suites offers SOVO 

Published 21st October, 2012 by New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU: The Blu Summer Suites project located in the Golden Triangle of Kota Kinabalu is offering small office versatile office (SOVO) suitable for young entrepreneurs who aspire to set up business in Sabah.

“It comprises two towers with 420 SOVO units of various sizes from 401sqft to 581sqft and 400 units of hotel suites.

“The gross development value of these two towers is about RM450 million,” said Kenny Lim, the director of Blu Waterfront Development Sdn Bhd at the opening of Blu Summer Suites property gallery at KK Times Square here yesterday.

The event was graced by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai. Also present was Malaysia Chinese Chamber of Commerce president Datuk Lau Kok Seng.

This modern development comes with the best-in-house facilities in town such as swimming pool, gym room facilities, Sauna, spa, jacuzzi and a rooftop barbecue area as well as an exclusive and boutique design retail mall at the ground and first floor of the building.

“Our concept is to create a convenient and stylish life style for owners so that they can work, play and enjoy their lifestyle within the vicinity,” Kenny said.

For the hotel suites, he said: “We are in the midst of arranging a well-known hotel operator from Singapore to run the operation. This will be an added value to the SOVO units,” he said.

Currently, the company has a project at Lahad Datu town – First Palm City Centre – which is a mixed development on a 58-acre plot of land.

“It consists of consists of shop offices, hotel, shoplex, a hypermarket and a bus terminal,” he said adding that Phase 1 and 2 had been fully sold out while Phase 3 was now open for sale.

Kenny also said they were going to launch a gated and guarded residential project which consisted of bungalows, terrace houses and condominium with club house facilities at Bukit Padang in the second quarter of 2013.

“In order to penetrate and expand local market, we have engaged Big House Management Sdn Bhd to be the exclusive marketing consultant to market the project for us,” he revealed.

Meanwhile Dr Yee the launching of the project showed that the company has confidence in Sabah.

“We welcome you to Sabah to develop this project right at the heart of the city,” he said.

The hotel suites, he said would help to meet the increasing demand of tourists.

Source:  http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/63101

Water theme park and region's largest duty free shop planned

Published on: Saturday, September 15, 2012 by Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: A water theme park with a floating stage for orchestral performances in the middle, the largest duty-free shop in South East Asia and an adventure park are among future projects to be developed at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP).

They would be built in the vicinity of the Karambunai resort area where there are lots of sea sports activities.

KKIP Land and Business Development Senior Manager Lawrence Kimkuan said the industrial zones within KKIP have all been fully developed and are ready to be taken up by investors.

So far, KKIP has managed to develop all of its 800 acres allocated for industrial purposes. It has also successfully developed other zones of the park into commercial and residential areas.

"Now, we are going to move into leisure and tourism aspect of the park.

Unfortunately, the State Government has yet to approve our application to develop this zone. But it is coming," said Kimkuan.

The zone in question has actually been gazetted for tourism.

However, KKIP still needs to gain approval from the State Government.

"We assure business owners that we are not going to compete with the existing businesses there with these future projects," said Kimkuan.

Meanwhile, KKIP Deputy Chief Executive Officer Melvin Disimond said KKIP is identifying niche industries that can be further developed.

"For example, from studies conducted recently, Sabah's food industry is the fastest growing in the State. The largest dairy farm in the country is in Sabah.

"Our niche may be in snack food. For instance, there is this snack food called Hari Hari which had already penetrated the market in West Malaysia," said Disimond.

The company that produced the snack recently bought a lot within KKIP since its factory in Kolombong could no longer cater to the space and production demands. "I found that Sabahan entrepreneurs like to be jack-of-all-trades. They want to do everything: agricultural, import-export, trading, contracting.

"But what they need to do is to sustain themselves into one specific industry and master it until they are successful," said Disimond.

He also explained that the State needs lots of logistics facilities and competent distributors if it wants to control prices of goods.

"The media always talks about cabotage policy but actually the key is to get a mainline operator in Sepanggar," said Disimond.

Until February this year, KKIP managed to rope in more than RM2 billion in investment.

More than 6,000 employees work in more than 200 companies within the park. 

Source:  http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=82561

Permaju to launch its first township in Sabah 

  Written by Rosalynn Poh on 01 July 2012 at The Edge Malaysia
 
Permaju Industries Bhd, a Sabah-based company listed on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalisation of about RM190 million, is set to diversify into property development with its first launch in 3Q2012. 

The company, which was incorporated in 1996, has its core business in the automotive industry. However, it is making its foray into property development with a mixed-use township known as Princess Heights, a 109-acre leasehold tract in Sepangar just 15 minutes from Kota Kinabalu’s town centre. 

Princess Heights, which will be split 80:20 between residential and commercial units, will be developed in two main phases. The development sits on a slightly elevated tract with views of the surrounding mountains in Kota Kinabalu. It has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of at least RM700 million, which the developer believes may increase within the six years it will take to complete the township.  

Permaju Industries’ core business was timber-related until it diversified into automobile distribution and the provision of automobile-related services. The group has set an ambitious target for its new property division — it wants the property business to contribute 50% to its profit after the third year, executive director Datuk Eddie Chai Woon Chet tells City & Country. He adds that there will be more announcements in the near future on Permaju Industries’ property ventures.

Permaju’s entry into the property sector is via its acquisition of 70% of Hardie Development Sdn Bhd (HDSB) for RM33.68 million in 2010. HDSB had in 2003 entered a joint venture to develop Princess Heights with Supernesa Sdn Bhd, which in turn has a development agreement with Sabah government agency Sabah Housing and Town Development Authority to develop Princess Heights on the land owned by the state.

Chai says, according to the agreement, HDSB needs to contribute two blocks of apartments to SHTDA. 

“Why property? We chose property development because we think it is the most profitable industry for us to venture into. We chose Kota Kinabalu because Sabah was where we started our timber business, so we thought it was only appropriate that we developed our first project there,” he adds. 

The 33- year-old Chai is no stranger to property development as he has more than 10 years of experience developing the Alamesra township in Kota Kinabalu and projects in Kuala Lumpur under his own private company. According to an article in City & Country last July, Alamesra is located just opposite 1Borneo Shopping Mall and Universiti Malaysia Sabah. The 265-acre leasehold township project with a GDV of RM1.3 billion is more than 50% complete.

Chai believes there are still many opportunities in Sabah. “The property market has been very active there, especially residential. Newly launched terraced homes in Kota Kinabalu, with built-ups of 2,100 sq ft are easily being sold for RM600,000. There are still not enough houses in Sabah and the younger generation from Sabah who may currently be working in Peninsular Malaysia are looking to buy their own property back home. 

“Another interesting thing is that no matter if they are young or old, Sabahans like to invest in property. In Kuala Lumpur, one may look to buy cars or something but in Sabah, the business people seem to be interested in property. This has made the Kota Kinabalu property market vibrant over the past years. And foreigners mainly target the condominium market,” he says.

The first launch in Princess Heights will comprise walk-up apartments and 60 shopoffices. The 3-storey shopoffices with built-ups of 3,400 to 3,600 sq ft have indicative prices of around RM700,000, or between RM270 and RM300 psf. The walk-up apartments have an indicative price of RM200 psf with an average built-up of 1,000 sq ft. Apartments with lifts, which will be launched at a later date, have an indicative price of RM250 psf.

“There are many apartments in Kota Kinabalu and sales have been good. For example, some newly launched apartments in the town centre are selling for RM500 to RM600 psf and these are smaller units of around 700 sq ft. 

“There is a lot of demand for properties below RM1 million and we are confident that we can sell well. For example, our walk-up apartments will cost below RM300,000. There have been a lot of enquiries coming in since we put up our hoarding in the area and started our earthworks and infrastructure works. We are in the midst of piling for the apartment block. We have not even started marketing our project,” Chai says. 

Permaju Industries is also looking to develop a 10-acre commercial tract there and recently announced that the anchor tenant for its commercial component will be Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd, a local retail organisation with more than 72 outlets nationwide. While further details were unavailable at press time, the commercial tract agreement will be with Permanent Engineering Sdn Bhd, which will act as a project management company and lease the commercial component to Mydin Holdings for 20 years. A Bursa announcement states that the total development cost of the commercial project is about RM150 million.
Chai believes the land value of Princess Heights will increase up to five times its current value of RM33 million with the attractive offerings in the commercial tract, which is situated in the middle of the township. He says Princess Heights is targeted mainly at the local market. Chai adds that future projects from Permaju Industries would continue to cater for the medium and higher-end markets.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 913, June 4-10, 2012

Source: http://www.theedgeproperty.com/news-a-views/10245-cityacountry-permaju-to-launch-its-first-township-in-sabah.html

KK City Property Market

Published on April 25, 2012 by borneopedia.com

LATEST property market report by C H Williams Talhar & Wong (WTW), a leading real estate services company in Malaysia, says that the rise in prices of landed residential developments in the state capital of Sabah, known previously as Jesselton, is expected to remain unabated.

WTW’s report for 2012 just released to Borneopedia attributes this upward trend in the City of Kota Kinabalu to rising land and building costs, limited supply of new landed housing properties and the fact that the bulk of new developments comprise strata-based properties.

“To cushion escalating house prices, developers are also offering properties further from the city centre and with smaller plot or built-up areas.

“Landed homes at higher prices are beyond the range of most first-time home buyers who would instead be looking at more affordably priced properties like apartments and mid-range condominiums,” the report adds.

The WTW Property Market 2012 report that gives a state by state account of the trends, prices and sentiments on all sectors of the property market in Malaysia.

The WTW market report says that for these reasons the landed residential sector was less active in 2011 as compared with strata-based properties.

However, it points out that rental trends for the landed residential sector in the past year continued to be stable although yield expectations are softening in view of rising house prices.

The WTW market report listed only seven landed residential developments in and around Kota Kinabalu City that are on-going and due for completion between now and 2014.

On-going housing projects

These include the Kubusak Perdana development of 24 units of double-storey terraced units going at RM438,000 per unit and 14 semi-detached units, in Penampang, that are due for completion in 2013.

The 57 units of two-storey terraced houses for Phase 2B of Formosa development at Shantung Villa off Jalan Bundusan, also in Penampang (left), are going at RM668,000 each and due for completion also in 2013.

The third development also within the Penampang district, located south of the capital city, is the Sumudu by Prima where a total of 97 units are being built with a price tag of RM465,000 each, due in 2014.

The remaining four on-going landed residential developments are located all in the northern region of Kota Kinabalu City.

Three of them – the Cerah Phase 6 and 7A, the Green Hill Park, and 15 units of two-and-a-half storey town house villas at Phase 2B of the Kensington Green development going at RM750,000 per unit are located  along the Tuaran By-pass.

The fourth is the Nounton Juta project at Inanam, and all four developments up north are due for completion by 2013.

2012 market forecast

Datuk Chong Choon Kim (right), managing director of WTW’s Sabah operations, told Borneopedia in an interview that based on prices of newly launched properties in the state, property prices as a whole would continue to rise at about 10 per cent, the same rate as that for last year.

He believed that the anticipated billion ringgit investments by Petronas in the oil and gas industry would be a major stimulus to the local economy and would have a positive effect on the property market.

Commenting on recent reports saying that Petronas is planning to pump in about RM45billion worth of investments in Sabah between now and 2015, Chong said this would definitely have a spill-over effect on housing needs in the state.

Contributing factors

“Considering that at least 3,500 new workers are likely to be engaged in these mega projects for locals and foreigners, there would certainly be an increase in housing needs,” he added.

Such positive effect on the property market would not be only confined to the residential sector but on the commercial sector as well, he pointed out, since these new workers are likely to need food, supplies and a wide range of services.

Favourable palm oil prices, presently hovering at around RM3,500 per tonne, is a factor contributing to the upward trend in prices in the Sabah property market.

He reckons the rental market for residential and commercial properties would also be more active.

Chong said another factor that is likely to contribute towards the upward trend in the local property market in Sabah is the favourable palm oil prices that is presently hovering around RM3,500 per tonne.

He believed local planters would continue to have funds to invest in the property market and this would be a factor that contributes towards the upward trend in prices.

WTW, with its head office in Kuala Lumpur, provides a comprehensive range of property services in Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah, through its branches in Kuching, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu, Bandar Seri Begawan, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu, Keningau and the federal territory of Labuan.

Boosting KK's South Corridor

Published on: Saturday, March 31, 2012

Kota Kinabalu: The property market in Sabah, particularly Kota Kinabalu and its surrounding areas, has been vibrant over the last decade mainly due to the strong economic growth in the State and investors from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, according to Datuk John Chee JP.

"Investment from overseas is on the rise such as in MMII H (Malaysia My Second Home). The vibrant market is also attributed to the palm oil boom in Sabah and the growing awareness on property investment over the years," he said.

Chee, an engineer-cum-property developer, also highlighted the scarcity of affordable land for properties, especially in the city area.

"The launching of Taman Desa Seri Ketiau phase (I) in Putatan offers hope to buyers to capture the opportunity to own a sizeable unit and at the same time able to enjoy the benefits of quality living in the suburb of Kota Kinabalu.

"With better roads and flyovers, it only takes 10 to 15 minutes to reach Kota Kinabalu. Taman Desa Seri Ketiau (phase I) consists of 97 units of double-storey terrace houses with a total built-up area of 1,439 square feet," he said.

Chee has been focusing in the Putatan area, which is the Southern Corridor of Kota Kinabalu for almost a decade now, and well known for the Grand Plaza Putatan and Hypermarket project.

"With the elevation of Putatan to a full district, it would transform the town into a vibrant metropolitan with the up-and-coming facilities.

"The completion of the new Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) and the recently launched Mega project, Aeropod, would also give a big boost to the KK Southern Corridor development.

He said the newly upgraded railway line and the promised Pan-Borneo Highway again would add values to the properties down south.

"Another factor for growth is also attributed to the mushrooming of the oil and gas industries at Kimanis and Sipitang.

"The property market will continue to be vibrant as long as the economic growth in the State is maintained," he said.

Source: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=81120

Jesselton Mall to house exclusive outlets

Published on: Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Kota Kinabalu: Jesselton Mall is set to be the State Capital's premier exclusive retail outlets once completed in four years' time from now.

Integrated with the on-going Jesselton Residences development, the Jesselton Mall offers 123 retail lots for businesses.

"This development augurs well with the State Government's aspiration of making Sabah as the main shopping tourism destination in the region," said developer, Jesselton Waterfront Holding Sdn Bhd, General Manager, Kevin Thong.

The Jesselton Mall is designed to add greater value to Jesselton Residences, which is a high-end luxury condominium development, making it the city's premier address much like Orchard Road in Singapore.

Speaking to reporters here, Thong said the area where Jesselton Mall and its neighbour, Suria Sabah would be the new KK town.

Besides from walk-in customers and tourists, the business outlets in Jesselton Mall are also assured of customers from the occupants of the 333 condominium lots in Jesselton Residences, he said.

He said the Jesselton Residences project was selected as the only one from Sabah to participate in last year's investment forum in Shanghai, China in view of its high value as well as for the promotion of tourism.

Property sector in Sabah is expected to be on the upward trend not only due to tourism but also the oil palm industry and now the up and coming oil and gas industry.

For the Jesselton Residences, it was now 70 per cent sold.

Thong said sales for the Jesselton Mall will be launched this Friday until Saturday at Luyang Plaza.

Those buying within the Chinese New Year period would also be given "angpow" in the form of free sales and purchase agreement as well as loan legal fee, he said.

Source: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=80381