RM700m projects to enhance i-City's value

By Sharen Kaur
sharen@nstp.com.my
Published in NST on March 7, 2011

I-BERHAD, an integrated ICT developer, will start to build three properties worth about RM700 million at its i-City development in Shah Alam, Selangor, by the end of this year.

The properties are a serviced apartment block with over 100 units, a 210-room boutique hotel and a 300,000 sq ft data centre.

Chief executive officer Eu Hong Chew said the projects are meant to improve its income and enhance the land value, which is now about RM400 million.

"Because of the development model, we have vested interest to ensure that the property and land value will continue to be enhanced," Eu told Business Times during a recent study tour to Seoul, South Korea.

i-City, a RM2 billion knowledge and tourism project which started in 2005, will be developed on 29ha, over the next 10 to 15 years.

I-Berhad bought the land in the early 1990s for some RM60 million.

Eu said the company had invested RM150 million in the development, which now boasts a broadband speed of 20Mbps with fibre optics network and a back-up power supply.

Some 20 per cent of the land area has also been developed with cybercentre office suites, data-centres and an innovation centre with a combined 500,000 sq ft of space.

Eu said the company is expected to sign soon a joint venture agreement with a major local property developer to build the serviced apartments.

It also plans to do the same for the hotel development.

For the data centre, I-Berhad has a strategic alliance with a company called HDC, controlled by Datuk Richard Fong Loong Tuck, who is Glomac Bhd group executive vice-chairman.

"We believe that the tourism development will spur investment interest in i-City and demand for new office space," Eu said.

Future developments at i-City will include a one million sq ft mall, almost equivalent to Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur, a four-star and five-star hotel, amusement park and an animation studio.

Eu said I-Berhad is in talks with foreign operators to help develop the mall. He declined to name them.

It is learnt that I-Berhad is talking to a major operator in Australia.

Earlier reports speculated that Singapore's CapitaLand Ltd would be its foreign partner.

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SP Setia to launch RM3b project in Cyberjaya

By Sharen Kaur
sharen@nstp.com.my
Published in NST on March 3, 2011


THE property market in Cyberjaya is proving too hard to ignore for SP Setia Bhd as the developer is taking a second stab at the growing area.

Malaysia's biggest developer by sales will launch a RM3 billion eco-themed project in Cyberjaya, Selangor, early next year.

"Cyberjaya is a market you must not ignore. We are looking at 3,000 to 4,000 expatriates working there who need housing," chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said in a briefing in Cyberjaya yesterday.

"We will be targeting mainly the senior staff of multinational companies and Malaysians who want to invest or live here," he said.

Cyberjaya is the base for many multinational companies' support centres. Chipmaker AMD, for instance, recently opened an office that will support the finance and IT needs of its global operations.

SP Setia's project will be called Setia Eco Glades and it will feature 2,437 units of superlink houses, semi-detached homes, bungalows, condominiums and shoplots.

It has partnered Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd, the master developer of the Cyberjaya Flagship Zone for the project. SP Setia will hold 70 per cent of the joint venture while Setia Haruman holds the rest.

The joint venture is buying 107.2ha of land from Setia Haruman for RM420.4 million or RM36 per square foot.

This is the second attempt by SP Setia to buy land in Cyberjaya. In 2007, it agreed on a deal to buy 63.18ha from Setia Haruman for RM190.6 million but this fell through in 2008.

Liew said SP Setia aims to price its semi-detached units and bungalows from RM2 million and RM3 million, respectively, similar to homes at its Setia Eco Park development in Shah Alam.

The first phase of the project, comprising condominiums and semi-detached homes, is targeted to be launched by the first quarter of next year.

"We are bullish on sales. Cyberjaya has ready infrastructure," Liew said.

On funding, Liew said SP Setia will partly borrow from banks.

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I-Berhad, foreign partner to replicate Lotte World at i-City

By Sharen Kaur
sharen@nstp.com.my
Published in NST on February 26, 2011


I-Berhad, an integrated ICT-based developer, will partner a foreign firm to replicate South Korea's Lotte World at its multibillion-ringgit i-City development in Shah Alam, Selangor.

The idea is to earn new corporate tenants at i-City and improve the company's earnings, said I-Berhad chief executive officer Datuk Eu Hong Chew.

Lotte World, built by Korea's Lotte Group in 1989, comprises a hotel, mall, the world's largest indoor theme park, an outdoor amusement park and retails.

When asked if I-Berhad will partner Lotte or has had any discussions with the group, Eu declined to comment.

"We are looking at the Lotte World concept, an attraction within the city, to build up i-City. We are looking at other things," he said on the sidelines after visiting some of South Korea's major attractions this week.

I-Bhd is building up its tourism products at i-City to generate new income stream. Eu said I-Bhd targets to be profitable in the current year ending December 31 2011 driven by growth within all its three divisions, the newest being tourism.

I-Berhad also targets to generate 50 per cent income from property development, and 25 per cent each from property investment and tourism.

The company, which has been developing i-City since 2005, was able to break even in the last two financial years mainly because it sold and rented data centres with a combined 500,000 sq ft of space.

"We will be adding new attractions this year. The idea is not to make money from tourism but for it to complement our knowledge centre. We believe having certain tourism products and new ideas will attract multi-national firms and small and medium enterprises," Eu said.

For the nine months ended September 30 2010, I-Berhad posted a net loss of RM1.73 million on revenues of RM6.4 million.

I-Berhad is planning to invest RM10 million this year to equip its existing SnoWalk attraction at i-City with real snow fall.

On Wednesday, I-Berhad signed a strategic alliance agreement with BK Korea, a super snow machine manufacturer, in Seoul for exclusive rights to use the later's machines in Malaysia.

At the signing, Eu said the snow fall will attract more visitors to i-City. Currently, SnoWalk, which has been operating since last December, is attracting 90,000 visitors per week.

BK Korea will assemble the equipment in Seoul and ship them to i-City in March.

(ENDS)