Felda could lose Jalan Semarak land worth RM200m, says report

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 21): The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) is in danger of losing ownership of a piece of land worth RM200 million along Jalan Semarak, as a result of a “dubious deal” that took place about two years ago, according to a news report today.

The land is supposed to be for the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC) development project which will comprise seven towers, including Felda’s KLVC Tower1A.

The tower will have 59 floors of offices, a two-floor office podium with parking lots, a six-floor car park, a two-storey underground car park, a rooftop garden and a helipad.

According to a report by the Malay daily Berita Harian, which quoted an anonymous source, the land had undergone a dubious change of ownership in 2014.

The source also said that the transfer of ownership was believed to have taken place when Felda’s investment arm, Felda Investment Corp (FIC), appointed a local company as its main developer in June 2014.

The developer was given full power of attorney to develop the project worth RM200 million.

Berita Harian reported that the source said Felda’s board of directors only learnt that a developer was appointed three months later, on Sept 2, 2014.

The source said that governance over the project was confusing for the board as no one knew who made the decision.

“From a management point of view, it is quite confusing because the Felda Board of Directors does not know who made the decision, whether it was FIC or Felda because at the time, that same person sat in FIC and Felda.

“Felda had issued a letter of attorney to the company to develop the area. However, it was later discovered that ownership of the land had been transferred to the company in December 2015,” the source told Berita Harian.

Felda has not made any announcements to Bursa Malaysia on the transfer.

Berita Harian said that based on media reports on May 14, 2014, Encorp Bhd as the subsidiary of FIC was the developer of the project with a GDV of more than RM500 million.

However on Nov 6, 2014, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall received an application for planning permission for the same devlopment by KLVC’s main developer and not Encorp, Berita Harian reported.

The Companies Commission of Malaysia also showed that KLVC’s main contractor is a firm set up just last January.