Thinkproperty Blog

SELANGOR, 8 MARCH 2010 – Sunway City Berhad (Sunway City) continued to stay true to its commitment towards innovation with its Sunway Platinum Success RM132 million Musharakah financing. This deal was listed by Islamic Finance Asia magazine as one of the ‘Top 10 Islamic Groundbreaker Deals of the Year for 2009’. The top 10 groundbreaking deals were selected from more than 40 submissions from all over the globe. The Sunway Platinum Success deal was arranged by Maybank Islamic and counselled by Albar & Partners. It utilized the Musharakah Mutanaqisah structure which is typically used for individual home financing. The deal was deemed as groundbreaking as it broke the traditional boundaries of a typical Musharakah Mutanaqisah partnership. The uniqueness of the deal was attributed to the fact that it did not utilize cash on the issuer’s side for refinancing. Instead, it revolved around the issuer’s ownership of the existing property. Proceeds from this RM132 million (US$38.56 million) deal were used to refinance the issuer’s existing term loans taken up to part-finance the construction of Monash University’s Malaysian campus. To this end, Sunway City owns the land while Platinum Success owns the building with assignment of rental proceeds from Monash University as securities.

Ms Tan Poh Chan, Chief Financial Officer of Sunway City Berhad, receiving the award at the Islamic Finance News 'Deals of the Year 2009' KL Awards Dinner.

Extract from Business Times (12/03/2010)

A GREEN strategy approach tailored to suit the country's construction industry is expected to be developed at an upcoming carbon neutral conference. This is in line with the Prime Minister's commitment for a 40 per cent Greenhouse gas reduction by 2020.

Among the suggestions that will be put forward are to encourage buildings to incorporate solar panels, water harvesting and other shading materials, monitor earth work, cutting and replanting initiatives.

"We hope buildings will incorporate as many solar panels to harness solar energy because this is the way forward in doing our part to curb the global warming," said Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Human Settlement (Earoph) Malaysia deputy president and Rehda Institute chairman of the board of trustee, Datuk Eddy Chen Lok Loi, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Rehda, Earoph Green Technology Innovation and Sime Darby Property are jointly organising Malaysia's first carbon neutral real estate conference: "The Green Solutions Property Conference 2010", which will be held on April 6 in Kuala Lumpur.

Extract from Business Times (12/03/2010)

PROPERTY developer SP Setia Bhd (8664) has in principle bagged a property project from Vietnam's Investment and Industrial Development Corp to develop a 10.8ha land in Binh Duong province,Vietnam, for a 50-year term.

In its filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, SP Setia said its subsidiary Setia Lai Thieu Ltd has received an investment certificate from the People's Committee of the Binh Doung Province for the establishment of Setia Lai Thieu One Member Co Ltd with a charter capital of US$6.5 million (US$1 = RM3.32).

Setia Lai Thieu One Member Co will undertake the development of Eco-Xuan Lai Thieu, which features shop houses, terrace houses, semi-detached houses, commercial centres, club house and apartments.

Extract from The Star (12/03/2010)

THE fiasco surrounding the gated and guarded neighbourhood issue will not be resolved even if the Housing and Local Governmnet Ministry were to release its own set of guidelines.

In fact, any guidelines being drawn up by both the Federal and Selangor governments will be ultra vires, said planning lawyer Derek Fernandez.

Fernandez said two acts of Parliament — the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133) and the Road Transport Act 1987 — directly prohibit any restriction of access to any public road by a private individual or residents association.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who is also a lawyer, agreed that the situation was getting out of hand and said that the laws would have to be amended before any guidelines could be enforced.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

JOHOR BARU: Two abandoned housing projects in the state valued at RM40mil will be revived by the Housing and Local Government Ministry with the co-operation of developers.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said that the projects in Cahaya Kota Putri in Plentong and Taman Mawar in Kulai had been taken over by Mahabuilders Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad respectively.

“The projects comprising 600 houses and shoplots were abandoned in 2005,” he said during a visit to the Cahaya Kota Putri site last week.

The problem of abandoned housing projects had always plagued the ministry but it was trying to reduce their occurrence, he added.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

PETALING JAYA: The arbitration claim by Bahrain Asphalt Establishment BSC (BAE) amounting to 109.27 milion Qatari riyal (RM101.06mil) against the Gamuda Bhd-WCT Bhd joint venture (JV) in Qatar may have an impact on both the Malaysian companies’ earnings, according to analysts.

OSK Research in its report yesterday said the claim by BAE was “not good news.”

It said the arbitration could be long drawn, based on WCT’s ongoing arbitration with Dubai’s Meydan LLC, where the latter had cancelled a deal to build a race cource there. The claim has been pending since early last year.

“Assuming the (BAE) claims are made in the current financial year, our FY10 earnings (for WCT) forecast would be reduced by 29%,” said OSK.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

PETALING JAYA: Property developer BCB Bhd has acquired a five-acre plot of freehold vacant land in the mukim of Batu in Kuala Lumpur for RM51mil from co-owners Warta Development Sdn Bhd and Yap Khay Cheong & Sons Realty Sdn Bhd.

The company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that it had entered into the sale and purchase agreement with the owners yesterday.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

PUTRAJAYA: Over 500 residents from 76 apartment units at a government quarters in Precinct 11 here were evacuated for maintenance work to be carried out at their premises.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk T. Murugiah said the work to fix cracks and leakages by the Public Works Department cost RM200,000.

He said the 515 residents who were evacuated were staying temporarily at a nearby apartment block since March 1.

The maintenance work would begin on April 1 he told reporters after visiting the quarters yesterday.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

KUCHING: Only 68 notices affecting 10,393 titled land in the state are still in force under Section 47 of the Sarawak Land Code, which is contrary to the belief that the Government is still clinging on to many plots of land.

Land and Survey Department director Datuk Sudarsono Osman said the amount of land still under Section 47 only represented about 2% of the total titled land statewide.

There are 553,623 pieces of titled land in Sarawak.

Sudarsono said the 68 notices were the outstanding ones left after the Government released some of the notices affecting titled land in Bako and Sejingkat recently. It is said that 1,087 notices under Section 47 had been imposed since 1973.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

KUCHING: The Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) has helped resolve about 100 land disputes between oil palm plantation developers and native customary right (NCR) landowners.

Its president Sidi Munan said the association provided free services to the landowners and that disputes were usually settled when the developers recognised the NCR claims and stayed away.

“In some instances, the developers and NCR landowners later became good friends. Several landowners have been employed by the developers to work in their projects,” he told The Star yesterday.

However, he said, there were “stubborn” developers who ignored the NCR claims and bulldozed native land.

Extract from The Edge (10/03/2010)

KUALA LUMPUR: Kulim (M) Bhd is disposing of Menara Ansar in Johor Bahru to Al-‘Aqar KPJ Real Investment Trust for RM105 million, to be satisfied by RM63 million cash and 42.9 million new trust units priced at 98 sen apiece.

“The group has opted to dispose of its investment in Menara Ansar as it would allow us to unlock the value of our non-core asset as well as realise our investment in the property,” said Kulim managing director Ahamad Mohamad.

The net book value of the property as at Dec 31, 2008 was RM90 million.

Ahamad said the resulting cash inflow of RM63 million would be used to repay borrowings that currently stood at RM1.7 billion and lower the company’s gearing to 0.32 times from 0.33 times.