SP Setia taking new tack with KL project

By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST on June 10 2010

SP Setia Bhd (8664), the country's largest property developer by sales, is targeting to launch its much-talked-about KL Eco City, a RM6 billion project in Kuala Lumpur, by December.


"We postponed the launch of KL Eco City previously because of what was happening globally. We hope this time the project will come on stream as planned," SP Setia president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin told reporters after visiting Balai Berita in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

KL Eco City, described as a green mixed development, is located opposite Mid Valley Megamall. It will be developed in three phases over some 10 years.

SP Setia will build office towers, condominiums and signature offices, including an area for retail.

The project is a joint venture with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), which owns the 9.7ha leasehold land in Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum.

DBKL is partnering SP Setia on a profit-sharing basis, taking 20 per cent of the project's net profit.

Liew said he was upbeat about the project, among SP Setia's biggest.

"We will have a different marketing approach for KL Eco City. It will be something never done before - not by us nor any other developers in Malaysia."

Liew also expressed optimism that SP Setia would meet its RM2 billion sales target for the fiscal year ending October 31 2010.

Up to May 31 this year, it had achieved revenue of RM1.6 billion, attributed to property sales from its 10 ongoing projects in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Since last year, SP Setia has launched several marketing programmes to promote sales, including its popular "5/95 home loan package", which has been emulated by other property developers, and the "Best for the Best" scheme. The latest was the "Invest in Setia Homes".

SP Setia achieved its highest sales of RM1.65 billion last year in spite of the global economic turmoil.

-ENDS-