According to a Bursa Malaysia filing on March 20, E&O’s indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Samudra Pelangi Sdn Bhd and Mitsui’s indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Mitsui Fudosan Asia Pte Ltd entered into a shareholders’ agreement to jointly develop a luxury highrise project in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city.
E&O’s Samudra will hold 51% stake in the joint venture while the remainder will be held by Mitsui. This joint venture marks E&O and Mitsui’s third alliance, or their second in terms of residential development. Mitsui is one of Japan’s largest property company by operating revenue.
Both parties will develop a 298-unit serviced apartment project on a 5,812 sq m freehold land through landowner Patsawan Properties Sdn Bhd (Patsawan), which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samudra.
The land is strategically located at the intersection of Jalan Kia Peng and Jalan Conlay where a double-storey colonial mansion is now seated. The project is within an exclusive residential enclave among diplomatic corps, and the city’s business, retail and cultural districts.
As of end March 2015, Patsawan has already obtained the development order approval for the project from KL City Hall. The development plan consists of two blocks of 30 and 40-storey luxury service apartments.
In 2011, a marketing collaboration was signed for selling E&O’s properties to Mitsui’s high-net-worth clientele in Japan. The tie-up led to a 2013 partnership in which the two companies jointly developed the 38-storey, 256-unit The Mews Serviced Residences in Kuala Lumpur City Centre, which has received extremely positive response since its launch.
Japanese buyers was said to have become the second largest segment in E&O’s foreign buyer profile.
Ikano Pte Ltd, the operator of IKEA stores in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, is expected to open its second Malaysian outlet at Jalan Cochrane as part of an overall expansion plan across Southeast Asia.
The new store is being erected within an upcoming integrated development area in Cochrane whereby an upcoming underground MRT Station would be directly connected with IKEA’s upcoming neighbour, a 11-storey complex hosting a 1.2 million sq ft shopping centre known as myTown Cochrane.
This retail complex is a joint venture project between conglomerate Boustead Holdings Berhad and Ikano Pte Ltd.
The master developer of the surrounding area Mutiara Rini Sdn Bhd, also subsidiary of Boustead Holdings Berhad, would also build four tower residential blocks, comprising two 40-storeys block and two 35-storeys block and two low-rise blocks of 7-storey each to complement the entire retail development.
To recap, IKEA opened its first store in Malaysia in 1996 at 1 Utama Shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya. With the strong support given by Malaysian fans and customers, IKEA grew rapidly into a standalone megastore in Mutiara Damansara in 2003, which was the biggest IKEA store in Asia at that time of opening.
Similarly to myTown Cochrane, Ikano Pte Ltd also partnered Boustead Holdings Berhad and built the Ikano Power Centre (now renamed as IPC Shopping Centre) next to the IKEA Damansara store.
Continuing its success in Malaysia, the IKEA Cheras store will be the biggest yet in Malaysia with an overall store size that is 20 percent larger than IKEA Damansara. IKEA Cheras is said to have a retail space of 41,000 sq m and a car parking area of 72,000 sq m.
“The development is currently ongoing as we progress to focus on the interior fittings and operational set-up of the store. Further details will be unveiled over the coming months,” its retail director Mike King said in a press statement recently.
Last year, Ikano Pte Ltd together with Aspen Vision Land Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Aspen Group, and the Penang Development Corporation entered into a purchase and development agreement for a proposed RM8 billion integrated development in Penang. They will jointly develop a state-of-the-art integrated regional shopping centre that will be anchored by an IKEA store, the first in northern Malaysia.
Again undertaken in a joint venture partnership with Ikano Pte Ltd, the flagship project is part of the 10-year planned Aspen Vision City involving 245 acres of freehold land in Bandar Cassia in Batu Kawan on the mainland of Penang located near the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge (Penang Second Bridge).
This project is one of several planned in Batu Kawan, including a RM1 billion project consisting of a premium retail shopping outlet called the Penang Designer Village, a 300-room international-class hotel and an offshore branch campus of Britain’s University of Hull.
Ikano Pte Ltd was also said to be exploring the Iskandar Malaysia market in the southern state of Johor. With the booming middle-to-upper class population, Ikano Pte Ltd looks certain to continue its expansion nationwide in Malaysia and in the Greater Southeast Asia region.
Under a privatisation scheme with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Jakel Development Sdn Bhd will redevelop the site into a integrated mixed development. The company is also said to be building a large scale shopping mall as part of this massive development in the heart of Cheras.
By mid 2015, Jakel Development will firstly launch J.Dupion Residence on a 1.7-acre land that it already owned north of the velodrome site. Named after a crisp type of silk fabric, J.Dupion comprises only 399 units housed in 2 blocks of 39-storey service apartments and 10,300 sq ft of retail space targeted at lifestyle and convenience outlets. Majority of apartment units are positioned to maximise the city skyline.
These developments will be connected conveniently with the adjacent Taman Pertama MRT Station (formerly called Taman Bukit Ria). Taman Pertama MRT Station is only 1 MRT station away from Maluri MRT Station, 2 stations from Cochrane, 3 stations from Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and 4 stations from Bukit Bintang.
The developer is part of the Jakel Group, which is Malaysia’s renowned local textile, batik and fabric retailer. Currently, Jakel Group operates 20 stores nationwide and employs close to 5,000 staffs nationwide.
In 2012, Jakel Group bought CapSquare north and south towers together with its retail podium from Bandar Raya Developments Berhad (BRDB). Located in Dang Wangi, these freehold commercial assets have a combined net lettable area of 830,000 sq ft and the purchase price was more than RM300 million.
Subsequently, the company would redevelop them into Jakel Square, which will be consisting of a textile mall, a hypermarket, a 4-star Kuala Lumpur’s first fully Shariah-compliant hotel of 320 rooms and 2,543 parking bays. Jakel Group would relocate its first Klang Valley store – the Jalan Masjid India store, which opened in 2007, to Jakel Square.
In February 2015, Jakel Group officiated the opening of the world’s largest standalone textile mall called Jakel Mall in Jakel Square. The mall has an area of 330,000 sq ft. Later in 2015, Middle East’s largest hypermarket chain Lulu Group with collaboration with Malaysia’s Felda will open its first store in the region as part of Jakel Square.
This is a highly-anticipated multi-billion ringgit blue-chip integrated mixed development for Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. Having UK-based Leonard Design Architects, a premier shopping mall designer across the globe, would certainly add value to its glamour.
This year, Impian Ekspresi Sdn Bhd (IESB) will undertake the urban redevelopment of Pusat Bandar Damansara (PBD) or Damansara Town Centre in Damansara Heights, which is Kuala Lumpur’s most upmarket suburb. The entire project will now cover an area of over 15.84 acres to be split over two phases.
The first phase will be built on the first parcel of land, indicated as plot B (picture below), consisting of old office buildings acquired by IESB several years ago from Johor Corp (JCorp), which is the state investment arm of the state of Johor. It would cover an area of 9.5 acres.
The private company is indirectly controlled by Tan Sri Desmond Lim Siew Choon, who is both chairman of Pavilion REIT and Malton Berhad. Lim is also linked to another Bursa Malaysia-listed property developer Global Oriental Berhad (GOB).
The struggle for that prize led him into a legal battle with JCorp. The tussle was settled when JCorp and its companies exchanged that piece of land for RM500 million cash and 266,668 sq ft of future office space in PBD, in two portions of 186,667 sq ft and 80,000 sq ft.
JCorp subsequently exchanged that 186,667 sq ft, valued at RM140 million, for the already-built 20-storey office block, Block 1 of V Square @ PJ City Centre together with 964 parking bays. V Square is built by Malton and is located in Jalan Utara, Petaling Jaya. JCorp’s rights to 80,000 sq ft of office space in the redeveloped PBD remains.
With the asset swap, Malton received the rights of space equivalent to RM140 million in the redeveloped PBD, which will be satisfied by IESB. Malton has the option to sell the space at PBD to Lim starting from RM825 psf to RM1,050 psf over a period of four years starting from November 2014.
In September 2014, Jendela Mayang Sdn Bhd, which is another private company linked to Lim, acquired 6.34-acre tract of land sited next to the first parcel, indicated as plot C (picture below). The tract of land was acquired from Selangor Properties Berhad (SPB) at RM450 million, or equivalent to RM1,628 psf.
This tract of land is important as it served as a gateway between the PBD MRT Station and the first parcel. It is currently being planned as the second phase of Lim’s greater plans for PBD. Meanwhile, SPB’s subsidiary Bungsar Hill Sdn Bhd will continue to undertake design and construction of an entrance portal for MRT Corp, which will enable the public to enter and exit the PBD MRT station.
According to PTLM Research, the latest development order plans for the first phase are as follows:
(1) 5 levels Retail Galleria with 6 levels basement
(2) Block A – 1 block 18-storey corporate office towers
(3) Block B – 1 block 12-storey corporate office towers
(4) Block C – 1 block 14-storey corporate office towers
(5) Block D – 1 block 7-storey office
(6) Block E – 1 block 5-storey office
(7) Block F – 1 block 5-storey office
(8) Block G – 1 block 7-storey office
(9) Block H – 1 block 7-storey office
(10) Block I – 1 block 5-storey office
(11) Block J – 1 block 5-storey office
(12) Block K – 1 block 7-storey office
(13) Block L – 1 block 40-storey service apartments (320 units)
(14) Block M – 1 block 40-storey premier service apartments (320 units)
(15) Block N – 1 block 42-storey premier service apartments (168 units)
Parcel of lands and existing developments in Pusat Bandar Damansara. Plot B and C were acquired for Pavilion Damanasara Heights project. – Pic by The Star.
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Lim will build a 5-star retail galleria here which will be operated by his own Pavilion Group. The mall is expected to be the biggest in the vicinity, serving the affluent populace of Damansara Heights, Bangsar, Sri Hartamas and Seputeh.
PTLM believes that the acquisition of land for the second phase would provide a large extension to the retail galleria as it is the closest to the MRT Station. Several more residential towers and a hotel tower will be built above it.
According to sources close to the project, at least nine of the office blocks in the first phase have been sold on enbloc basis to corporations nearing a benchmark price of RM1,500 psf. These blocks come with naming rights for the respective owners.
At this price, rental for the office space will have to be RM8 psf in order to generate an annual yield of 6%. This rental rate is only seen in Kuala Lumpur city centre at the moment, not in a suburban location like Damansara Heights.
With such extraordinary interest received for the offices amid the fear of an oversupply of office space, it was believed that the service apartments could be previewed by the end of this year at a price from RM1,500 psf onwards. This price will be significantly higher than the going rate for high-end apartments in Bangsar which is between RM1,200 to RM1,400 psf.
One thing for sure is that Lim is expanding his portfolio of assets and property developments under the Pavilion brand. Besides his successful Pavilion Kuala Lumpur integrated mixed development in the heart of Bukit Bintang, his other ongoing projects are as follows:
Pavilion Banyan Tree Signatures Hotel & Residences;
The agreements were subsequent to the signing of a Master Framework Agreement between the two parties signed in October 2014.
The Lifestyle Quarter will be built over a 16.8-acre site (6.8ha) with a potential Gross Development Value (GDV) of over RM8 billion upon completion, with Lend Lease owning 60% of the joint venture and 1MDB RE owning the remaining 40%.
The mixed use project will contain a new shopping mall, three residential towers and a 5-star hotel tower connected to a multi-layer central park and the TRX MRT Station, which will be the largest MRT station in Kuala Lumpur. It will be earmarked as an underground interchange station between MRT Line 1 and MRT Line 2. The TRX Station was formerly called the Pasar Rakyat Station.
The Lifestyle Quarter is expected to attract US$1 billion in foreign direct investments to Malaysia.
It will form the social heart of the TRX, by offering a series of modern lifestyle experiences and will set new benchmarks not only in terms of design, but for the types of retailers, dining establishments, outdoor spaces, leisure activities and entertainment options.
The 70-acre TRX project is positioned as Kuala Lumpur’s purpose-built international business and financial district. It is located near to Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur’s shopping belt and the iconic Petronas Twin Towers in KLCC.
TRX is envisioned to host 100 to 250 of the world’s leading corporations and create more than 40,000 jobs for knowledge workers specialising in various high-value sectors such as financial services and Islamic banking.
Operating in Malaysia for over 30 years, Lend Lease had been involved in projects such as the Petronas Twin Towers, KL Sentral Station, Alamanda Shopping Centre, Setia City Mall, Platinum Park Phase 3 and most recently the Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios, as well as international urban regeneration projects such as Barangaroo South and Darling Harbour Live, both in Sydney, and Elephant & Castle as well as the International Quarter in London.
SkyWorld is a new lifestyle property developer with great ambitions. Borned from the idea that design, when executed to perfection, can elevate living experiences to new heights. Hence, proving that form and functionalities could indeed go hand-in-hand.
Guided by emerging personalities of the property industry, SkyWorld wishes to create unrivalled sky living experiences, and a provider of urban and modern lifestyles in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
SkyWorld’s promise to the world is to “Design The Experience”, as its tagline says, for the finest urban sky living developments.
SkyWorld has the vision to be the leading developer in Malaysia with a potential gross development value (GDV) worth more than RM12 billion from its ongoing prime-landbanking exercise in Kuala Lumpur.
SkyWorld already have prime landbanks in Setapak, Jalan Sentul Pasar, Bandar Baru Sentul, Taman Danau Desa and Bukit Jalil.
