Property transactions are down, office occupancies are down, unsold units are up — things certainly didn’t look good in 2016, according to the Malaysian Property Market Report 2016 released by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) early this week.

After a long wait, Gadang Holdings Bhd recently won a mass rapid transit Line 2 viaduct project worth RM952.1 million. We believe the company stands a good chance of winning more projects in the near future, considering the various infrastructure projects scheduled to be awarded in the coming months. Meanwhile, its outstanding construction order book (lifted to RM1.6 billion) and unbilled property sales of RM165 million provide earnings visibility over the medium term. Its utilities unit continues to churn in stable earnings from its four water supply concessions in Indonesia, which more than offset a minor loss at its plantation unit.

The GLORIS COLLECTION at Setia EcoHill adopts the best formula with eco-centric designs
and a surrounding that cultivate long-term sustainability.

This is an excerpt of Part 2 of the Q&A with speakers following TheEdgeProperty.com Symposium on Property Management 2017 on April 8. Part 2 features only questions directed at Chris Tan, managing partner of Chur Associates who received the most number of questions.

The full Part 2 of the Q&A is available online at TheEdgeProperty.com. Please note that the replies reflect the personal views of the speaker and do not constitute legal advice.

S P Setia successfully tendered for 4.6 acres (1.86ha) of leasehold land along Toh Tuck Road, Singapore for S$265 million (RM847.6 million) from the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2017.

In 1Q2017, of eight properties sold under the hammer, four were landed homes, according to JLL in a release on April 3. The four transactions totalled S$11.2 million, or 73.5% of the S$15.23 million auction deals concluded in the first three months of 2017.

Sime Darby Property’s 40%-owned Seriemas Development has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to sell 342.5 acres (138.6ha) of land in Bangi to S P Setia for RM447.6 million (or RM30/sq ft), with profit-sharing of 20% of the pre-tax profit from the development, subject to a maximum of RM44.7 million (or RM3/sq ft).

Last Friday, Mitrajaya Holdings Bhd announced that they have secured a RM273.8 million building job known as “A Centre of Excellence” from STF Resources Sdn Bhd. The building job is located at Lot 44, Jalan Dato’ Onn, Mukim Bandar Kuala Lumpur, Seksyen 51, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and is slated for completion by April 2019 (24 months from now).

The market chatter that first surfaced in 2014 to merge all the property companies under PNB’s portfolio could finally happen. Instead of merging S P Setia Bhd, Island & Peninsular Sdn Bhd (I&P) and the property businesses of Sime Darby Bhd, S P Setia announced that it had entered into a memorandum of intent to only acquire I&P however. 

The factory will be located at its Sendayan TechValley, Bandar Sri Sendayan, with a planned capital expenditure (capex) of RM30 million (excluding the cost of a 12-acre [4.86ha] industrial land).