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

Ceriamas 118 making waves 

Published 3rd October, 2010 by New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU: LT Alliance Development Sdn Bhd is now confidently embarking on its final phase of Ceriamas 118 after having successfully launched and sold Ceriamas Phase 1, 2 and 3 in Putatan last year.

Boasting a luxury and modern theme, the final phase of Ceriamas 118 comprises 28 units of three-storey semi-detached units with 3,300 square feet and are said to be the first of its kind in the area which features many modern components and details.

According to LT Alliance Development Sdn Bhd managing director Dr Low Poke Leong, this luxury category of property development in Putatan is aimed at complementing the township’s development and meeting the needs of growing affluent population around the area, providing them with the much upgraded residential choice.

“As the township develops, establishes and matures, there will be eventually a need for upmarket development. Location, design and price of the property are our main selling points of the development. Our customers, both existing and potential, were so impressed when visiting on site. We really need not do much marketing,” he said.

He said that Putatan is fast turning into a well sought-after address with easy accessibility provided by the improved infrastructure network and growing commercial activities is making it another attraction for residential preference and business choice.

“The actual construction, the on-going process and the bustling business around the area speak for themselves. They become the real attraction,” he said.

Previous skeptics of the location and value of the development project were long convinced as sales and demand of property there proved overwhelming when Ceriamas 118’s terrace houses in Phase 1 and 2 were sold out almost instantly and are now in the process of obtaining their OC.

“The 3-storey semi detached units received equally good response. Visitors to the show units for the past months indicated keen interest and admiration on its luxurious design and the much needed practicality,” he said.

He added that the project is designed with the same dedication to quality and affordability which have been the company’s commitment.

Meanwhile, the company has also recently launched another residential project, Eramas 118, at Donggongon and response was also overwhelming.

“The company has always been cautious about the property market and careful in developing the suitable types of projects. The demand for affordable housing remains a great concern for both the government and the general population. The company is aware of such need,” he said.

Low said a similar project is in the pipeline and will be launched in the future.

Source:  http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/42914