PROPERTY : [
Search |
Wanted |
Exchange |
Auction |
Tender |
Event |
Project |
Term Of Used ]
Tell A Friend About This Page
Breaking News
|
|
|
We provide up to-date news and information for all of you. All our information is useful for you to enrich your knowledge. Please visit us every day ! | Breaking News ::
Two landmark malls getting new owner | Datuk Jaafar Abdul Hamid, the former managing director of United Engineers (M) Bhd (UEM), is acquiring two mega malls from Lion Group Bhd subsidiary Chocolate Products (Malaysia) Bhd and a piece of land in Johor which he says will form the launching pad for his plans to build a retail property group.
In an exclusive interview with Star Business, Jaafar said the purchases were being made for a total of RM403mil via his firms Hektar Premier Sdn Bhd and Hektar Klasik Sdn Bhd.
Hektar Premier is buying Subang Parade in Subang Jaya for RM233mil and has an option to buy Makhota Parade in Malacca for RM146mil. The two malls have a combined retail space of about two million sq ft.Hektar Klasik, on the other hand, has bought a 115-acre plot in Bandar Nusajaya in Johor for RM33mil. This will be developed into a mall offering 1.5 million sq ft of retail space.
Jaafar has a 99.99% stake in Hektar Premier, with his associate Shahril Kassim holding the balance. As for Hektar Klasik, Jaafar and Shahril together have 51%, while a Hong Kong investor holds the remaining equity.
“Our target is to have five million sq ft of retail space over the next five years,’’ said Jaafar, who is the executive chairman of both Hektar Premier (which recently changed its name from Onyee Holdings Sdn Bhd) and Hektar Klasik.
By next year, his group would have about 3.5mil sq ft of retail space with the new mall in Johor shaping up. To have the additional 1.5 million sq ft so that it owns five million sq ft of retail space, the option is either to develop a new mall or buy an existing one, perhaps in the northern region, to link its loop from north to south of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
“We have a long-term horizon and we are here to stay. We feel that you cannot be a big player without a sizeable stock of retail space. Only with five million sq ft would we be closer to realising our vision of becoming a retail property group,’’ Jaafar said.
“And only with experience and expertise would there be opportunities for us to be a regional player. This can be done in many ways, be it via leasing opportunities, offering expertise for managing malls, or even being co-partners.
“When we have the volume in retail and merchandise, the tenants will follow. Only then can we do block leasing and benefit from the economies of scale,’’ he added.
As for the funding for Subang Parade and Makhota Parade, Jaafar it would be through bank borrowings and cash.
But why venture into retailing when he has years of experience in the infrastructure business?
“According to Euromonitor (a retail research publication), the local retail industry was worth RM 44bil in 2000 and is expected to grow to RM70bil by 2005. Although the property market in the country has suffered from an overhang, retail sales have been on the uptrend since 1999.
“There are some hiccups now, but it is a business to be in and that is why we are going into it. When we found out the two malls were for sale, we approached Lion via our agents and we have struck the deal with them,’’ he said.
He felt that Subang Parade was ideally located and accessible to a population of 500,000 within a 10km radius.
To attract more people, some repositioning and reinventing may be necessary. Subang Parade is located on a 12.9-acre site, including two acres of vacant land, and Makhota on 13.1 acres. The occupancy rate at Subang Parade is 97% while that of Makhota is 87%.
For the financial year to June 30, 2001, Subang Parade raked in a net profit of RM12.3mil, and Makhota Parade RM10.5mil.
Jaafar said the company had yet to decide what it wanted to do with the vacant plot next to Subang Jaya. But for the Johor land, the cost of putting up a new mall would be between RM250mil and RM300mil.
Now that Jaafar has begun building the pieces of his retail property group, sourcing for cheaper funding is another of his goals, and an injection of these assets into a listed vehicle may be in the offing.
Source : The Star 27/12/2003 |
|
 |
|
Property Poll |
| What is you preferably way to look for property ? |
|
|
|
|
|
