Thanks to 'Setia 5/95 Home Loan Package', Malaysia's biggest property developer has registered RM500 million in sales up to April 19.
SP SETIA Bhd (8664), the country's biggest property developer, is on track to meet its sales target of RM1.1 billion by October 31, thanks to its innovative home loan scheme.
Dubbed "Setia 5/95 Home Loan Package", it allows buyers to make a 5 per cent downpayment on a house and nothing more until completion.
The scheme was launched on January 19, and due to its overwhelming response, the company has extended the promotion period to July 19 and is targeting an additional RM300 million in sales, group managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said.
Up to April 19, SP Setia has registered RM500 million in sales.
SP Setia is launching Setia Sky Residences this month, expecting to rake in RM200 million sales.
"When we launch, one whole block comprising 211 units will be sold. Times are good for developers," Liew said at the launch of the group's first low-cost housing scheme at its flagship Bandar Setia Alam in Shah Alam, Selangor, yesterday.
Sky Residences comprises four 39-storey condominium blocks, featuring a total of 844 units worth about RM800 million.
It is SP Setia's first high-rise development in the Kuala Lumpur city centre, located next to the National Heart Institute on Jalan Tun Razak.
On Bandar Setia Alam, Liew said the group will launch 449 units of low-cost apartments priced at RM42,000 each, and 220 units of low medium-cost apartments priced from RM72,000 to RM105,000 per unit, as part of its corporate social responsibility.
The total gross development value is RM34 million.
"We will be losing RM20,000 from every unit we sell but we are building the apartments to cater to the lower income group. The properties will be located next to established areas," Liew said.
To help the lower income group own a home, SP Setia has teamed up with Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) to provide 100 per cent financing.
SP Setia will build 7,212 affordable homes over the next 10 years.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, who witnessed the signing between SP Setia and MBSB yesterday, said the housing landscape should change with low-cost houses moving up a notch from a low-edge environment.
Kong also urged local developers to build affordable homes close to prime areas and infrastructure to assist the low income group whom largely depends on public transportation for travel.
Source from btimes.com.my
The developer will launch three high-end projects in Selangor and Langkawi to ride out the economic downturn and remain profitable
PROPERTY developer Bertam Alliance Bhd (9814) will launch three high-end projects worth a combined RM310 million in Selangor and Langkawi to ride out the economic downturn and remain profitable.
The company hopes to maintain its 2008 earnings via locked in sales and income from the projects, its executive chairman Ng Sing Hwa said.
For the year ended December 2008, Bertam made a net profit of RM5.5 million, up 28 per cent from 2007, on revenue of RM45.2 million.
Bertam, (formerly, UH Dove Holdings Bhd), is launching up to 30 bungalow lots in Langkawi worth over RM20 million in June, Ng said.
In July, it will launch Grand View, a gated and guarded community featuring 66 exclusive bungalows worth RM140 million (RM1.8 million to RM3 million each) in USJ1, Subang Jaya.
By September, Bertam will launch 72 bungalows in Kota Damansara, worth RM150 million, or RM1.8 million to RM2.2 million each.
Ng told Business Times after the company's shareholders meeting in Petaling Jaya yesterday that it is optimistic of selling the stocks within a year.
"Our properties are in established areas. So long as you don't overprice, there will be buyers. As a developer, I am quite happy with 25 per cent to 30 per cent profit margins," he said, adding that Bertam will emphasise on building houses in small numbers to remain cash flow positive.
It will also buy pockets of land from developers in choice locations instead of more than 40ha.
"Landbank kills if you are not careful and are over geared. If you buy land of more than 200ha, you will be cashflow negative, unless you have been able to develop it by more than 50 per cent. We won't toy with that risk," Ng said.
Ng added that Bertam will not lock-in a project that will last more than three years.
"Housing is an industry, not a real estate development. We buy land and keep on moving. We do not speculate or keep stocks. We have the right products to sell. We emphasis on design and do not overprice," Ng said.
Source from btimes.com.my
The bank plans to invest a US$500 million fund in some undervalued properties in Kuala Lumpur and the Asean region, says its vice president for asset management
HONG KONG: Asian Finance Bank, one of three foreign Islamic lenders in Malaysia, plans to invest a US$500 million fund in real estate projects in Southeast Asia as the global financial crisis creates more buying opportunities, its vice president for asset management said.
The bank, owned by Qatar Islamic Bank, RUSD Investment Bank Inc of Saudi Arabia and Global Investment House of Kuwait, would initially invest in budget hotels in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, Mohd Zamri Shariff said.
The bank would also refurbish so-called class B and C office buildings and upgrade them to high-end office spaces, he said.
“We are looking at some undervalued properties in Kuala Lumpur and the Asean region,” Shariff said.
“This will be our first Asian fund that will be invested solely in real estate development.”
The fund is due to be launched next year by the bank, which was incorporated in Malaysia in 2005.
The global financial crisis had pushed property prices lower, creating an opportunity for long-term investors to snap up these assets, Shariff said.
The bank planned to raise the bulk of the US$500 million from investors in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, countries awash with petrodollars and looking for attractive outlets for their funds, he said.
“Even if oil prices have fallen, there is no liquidity issue in the Middle East. They are still looking to invest their petrodollars,” he said.
BUYERS’ MARKET
In Malaysia, property prices are expected to fall by as much as 20 per cent this year and in 2009, ending six years of uninterrupted growth, he said.
“It’s a buyers market,” he added.
While valuations had fallen to attractive levels, the bank remained cautious in investing.
Most Malaysian banks had also scaled back lending to the property sector due to the subprime crisis, he said.
Loans to developers in Malaysia grew just 8 per cent in August, less than the 30 per cent rise in July, Shariff said.
“This is not a good sign. Next year, we are looking at zero growth in property lending, or even a negative figure,” he said.
In April this year, the bank launched a US$300 million shipping fund, which would be used to acquire oil tankers and other carriers, which would then be leased out, he said.
The shipping fund is set to make its first acquisition worth about US$30 million by the end of this year, he said.
Source from btimes.com.my
The Malaysian property market is showing signs of recovery, albeit at a slow pace, attributed to government spending and developers taking a cautious stance during the economic downturn.
"We are recording higher property volume, but lower value. The price is not plunging. It is just that the lower bracket of properties are selling now," said Dr Zailan Mohd Isa, director of the Valuation and Property Services Department under the Ministry of Finance.
According to data provided by the department, there were 23,256 unsold completed residential units in Malaysia as at March 31, 2.1 per cent lower than the same quarter last year.
In addition, there are 15,723 units with approved building plans - launched, but not constructed. Last year, the figure was 18,402 units.
For unsold properties under construction, there are 49,904 units versus 53,619 units last year.
"Due to the economy slowdown, developers have been cautious. Hence, there were less new products in the market. But overall, the performance in the sector remains healthy but most importantly, the government has to secure jobs, facilitate domestic spending and control inflation," he said.
Zailan was speaking at a media conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, in relation to the 20th National Real Estate Conference that will be held from August 11-12 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
The event is hosted by the Association of Valuers and Property Consultants in Private Practice Malaysia and Institution of Surveyors Malaysia.
The conference will underline issues faced by the real estate sector, covering residential, office, retail, hotel and industrial markets.
Organising chairman Elvin Fernandez said the conference was timely and important to re-calibrate the fundamentals in the Malaysian real estate market. He said there is a self correction mechanism in the market now as the country's 2,000-odd developers are holding on to their launches.
Source from btimes.com.my
DEVELOPER Dijaya Corp Bhd (5401) will launch properties worth RM1.8 billion in fiscal 2010 to expand and sustain earnings.
Managing director Datuk Tong Kien Onn told Business Times after the company's shareholders meeting yesterday that it expects its net profit and revenue to improve slightly this year despite a weak market.
Tong said Dijaya achieved RM153 million in sales in the first half of 2009 and is expecting RM100 million more in the second half.
But profit will be hit due to higher land and construction costs. The company is projecting a net profit margin of 15 to 18 per cent this year versus 25 per cent before.
For the year to December 31 2008, Dijaya posted a net profit of RM34.4 million on revenue of RM244.1 million.
In the first quarter of 2010, Dijaya will unveil Tropicana Grande, the last residential development at its award-winning 250ha Tropicana Golf & Country Resort in Petaling Jaya.
It plans to offer 300 units of high-end condominiums for about RM2 million each.
In the second or third quarter, Dijaya will launch three projects that will include Tropicana Avenue in Petaling Jaya, which will feature eight- and 10-storey office blocks including two floors for retail.
In Balakong, Kajang, Dijaya will launch a RM380 million resort development comprising apartments, and two- and three-storey semi-detached and link houses.
In Sungai Long, Cheras, it will launch a RM200 million housing project that will have semi-detached and double-storey link houses, and low-cost apartments.
By the end of 2010, Dijaya will introduce Pool Villas in Tropicana, offering semi-detached houses worth an average of RM2.8 million each, or a combined RM160 million.
Finally, it plans to launch twin-tower offices blocks in Tropicana for more than RM150 million.
Dijaya will sell one block and retain the other to build its investment portfolio for recurring income.
Currently, Dijaya's portfolio includes the 12-storey Tropicana City office tower and newly-opened Tropicana City Mall in Damansara.
Source from btimes.com.my
