I-Berhad boss out to fulfil i-City dream

By Sharen Kaur

sharen@nstp.com.my

Published in NST on March 26, 2012

Tycoon Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong may consider divesting some of his stake in integrated ICT developer I-Berhad to institutional investors.

While stressing that he was not ready to sell, Lim said a change of mind was possible if there were investors who shared the same business interest and philosophy as himself.

Lim, who is the executive chairman of I-Berhad, told Business Times that several local and foreign investors had approached him to buy a stake in the company.

He added that he wanted to spend more time building i-City and create better value for shareholders and investors. Lim owns 65 per cent stake in I-Berhad, a company that started as a digital lifestyle products maker but had in 2006 launched i-City as part of its plans to re-invent itself as a property developer.

i-City is a RM3 billion knowledge and tourism project in Shah Alam, Selangor. Developed on 41ha land for a period of 10 years, i-City provides a digital working environment.

 

I-Berhad bought 29ha of the land in 1993 for RM60 million from the Selangor government. It then won a 21-year concession from the state government in July last year to manage an additional 12ha for the project.

This raised the project’s gross development value from RM2 billion to RM3 billion. “I will be ready to sell some of my shares in the company when i-City has reached certain maturity, and when the investors accept our business model.”

Lim has invested more than RM1 billion of personal funds into i-City over the last five years. Now, 20 per cent of the project has been developed.

Today, i-City is not just an ICT development but an international enclave boasting both leisure and entertainment, as well as other cosmopolitan lifestyle activities.

“For the time and money I have spent on i-City, I could have made billions of ringgit on other projects.

“But I believe in this development and that is why I will continue to invest in the project. “i-City is a new tourism destination for Malaysia and we are contributing to the country’s economy and creating job opportunities and entrepreneurs,” Lim added.

Lim was the first Malaysian to invest in China when he opened his first joint venture (JV) spring mattress plant in Tianjin, China, in 1984.

In the 1970s, the Malaysian bedding industry was dominated by latex foam mattress but with his pioneering spring mattress design, he became the market leader with the Dreamland brand. He was in his mid-30s then.

When China was opening up to foreign investments in 1984, that was when Lim took the Dreamland brand offshore.

Over the next five years, he introduced what he called his "rubber stamp" strategy, where he began to duplicate his JV investment in Tianjin in other major cities in China. By 1995, he had seven mattress plants in China.

Because of his success, Lim became a much sought-after JV partner by the Chinese and thus, he ventured into other industries like steel wire, air-conditioning and independent power plant.

Lim was responsible for the successful listing of Sumurwang's manufacturing arm, Dreamland Holdings Bhd on the Main Board of the local stock exchange in 1987 while serving as its chief executive officer.

In 1991, he diversified Dreamland and ventured into the steel industry, and subsequently changed the company's name to Kanzen Bhd.

In late 1993, Lim divested Sumurwang's interest in Kanzen to reorganise the former's corporate structure to focus on manufacturing, property development and financial services. 

In 1999, Lim, through Sumurwang, acquired I-Berhad to venture into digital lifestyle product manufacturing and subsequently, an ICT developer.

"My vision was to go into technology development and build a cybercentre for the country. I started as an entrepreneur and will promote entrepreneurship. Everyone can be successful provided they have core values," said the Lim .

-ENDS-

PKNS woos foreign investors

By Sharen Kaur

sharen@nstp.com.my

Published in NST on March 20, 2012

SHAH ALAM: THE Selangor State Development Corp (PKNS) will embark on an asset swap deal with foreign property investors and developers to ease its cash flow requirements.

PKNS general manager Othman Omar said the corporation has received offers from the investors from Hong Kong, China and Singapore who are keen to undertake some form of construction within its new developments in exchange for one or two towers.

The business development division of PKNS has announced RM14 billion worth of new projects in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, a bulk of which are urban regeneration and reverse privatisation developments in the Klang Valley.

In addition to that, PKNS is also talking to foreign private institutions, asset management companies and hotel operators to buy en-bloc some of its properties or lease them long term.

"We want to work with firms like CIMB or Maple Tree for this purpose. We are talking to many parties and hope some deals will materialise this year," Othman told Business Times.

Othman said the investors are interested to buy Grade A office buildings, residences, retail and hotels.

New projects by PKNS' business development division include Datum Jelatik, a RM900 million urban regeneration project in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, involving four residential towers, offices and a retail complex.

Othman said an international investment firm has offered to buy two of the residential towers at around RM800 per sq ft each.

He said PKNS has also received offers from the investors to buy several properties at its RM3 billion Datum In-City@ PJ West project, located nearby Western Digital, starting from RM550 psf.

The project will feature five residential towers, two office buildings, a five-star hotel, a mall and a transportation hub.

Othman said some of its other projects like the RM1.8 billion Datum Sports City project in Kelana Jaya; PJ Sentral Garden City, a joint-venture redevelopment with Nusa Gapurna and the Employees Provident Fund; Datum PJ @ Section 14; and Selangor Science Park 2 in Cyberjaya have also garnered some foreign interest.

He said PKNS will be adding another RM6 billion worth of new projects by the end of this year, in addition to the RM14 billion that was already announced.

Iskandar development authority raises targets

By Sharen Kaur

sharen@nstp.com.my

Published in NST on March 20, 2012

ISKANDAR Malaysia targets to achieve RM20 billion worth of fresh investments per year starting this year until 2020, says Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda).

And from 2020 onwards, it plans to raise the target to RM25 billion a year until 2025, said Irda chief executive Ismail Ibrahim.

"Since the launch of Iskandar in 2006, we have been achieving new investments of between RM10 billion and RM15 billion a year. We need to raise our targets in order to achieve the cumulative investments of RM383 billion by 2025," he said.

Irda is the regulatory authority mandated to plan, promote and facilitate the development of Iskandar located in south Johor into a strong and sustainable metropolis of international standing by 2025.

It has set a target for Iskandar to be developed by 2025, having received cumulative investments of RM383 billion and creating a 1.4 million workforce with RM93 billion in gross domestic product.

As at December 31 2011, Iskandar, which is three times the size of Singapore, has attracted investments of up to RM84.9 billion, whereby 60 per cent is domestic-driven.

Last year, Iskandar achieved RM15.3 billion in new investments.

Ismail said he is bullish on the RM20 billion target, attributing growth to a number of catalyst projects like Legoland Malaysia, Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios, Newcastle University Medicine, Marlborough College and Columbia Asia Hospital.

Ismail said the deal between Khazanah Nasional Bhd and its Singapore counterpart, Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd, to undertake RM30 billion worth of development projects in Iskandar and the island state will spur growth in the region.

Irda will be coming out with programmes to woo more investments from North America, Europe, the Middle East, China, Japan, and other Asian countries including Singapore, he said.

"We have a policy of not favouring or discriminating any interested parties who want to invest in Iskandar. We are promoting nine sectors and welcome all investors," Ismail told reporters yesterday at the Global Special Economic Zones Summit.

He said Irda is in talks with several foreign-listed companies and multinational companies to set up shop in Iskandar. 

Ismail expects the companies to invests in the logistics, financial services and oil & gas sectors there.

Robin Tan ready to take Berjaya Corp to greater heights

By Sharen Kaur
sharen@nstp.com.my
Published in NST on March 5, 2012

A NEW chapter has opened in Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) under the leadership of its chief executive officer and interim chairman Datuk Robin Tan Yeong Ching, with injection of fresh ideas and expansion drive to propel growth.

Tan, whose father is BCorp founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan, plans to take the group's consumer marketing business and infrastructure division to greater heights.

Already the versatile group, worth RM4.1 billion by market cap, BCorp has presence in over 15 countries with businesses in consumer marketing; property investment and development; hotel and resort operation; gaming; stockbroking and asset management; as well as food and beverage.

BCorp has interest in automobile; operation of sanitary landfill; media and publishing; trading of lumber-panel and building products; as well as garment and apparel manufacturing.

Tan believes there is potential to expand significantly the group's consumer marketing business, especially its multi-level direct selling group Cosway Corp Ltd, and its infrastructure division.

Cosway, which is listed on the Hong Kong Exchange with annual revenue in excess of HK$6.23 billion (RM2.4 billion), operates in 15 countries.

The company carries a range of products like health and nutrition, slimming, personal care, skin care, cosmetics, perfumes, household, food and beverage, water filtration systems and kitchenware.

"We are exploring and identifying new markets and businesses for Cosway. We are looking to expand in eastern Europe like Russia, Latin America and China. Our e.Cosway.com business is also picking up pace and there will be exciting growth," Tan told Business Times.

For infrastructure, Tan said BCorp is identifying potential jobs like water-related projects as well as the construction and operation of sanitary landfill in Asia, targeting China and the Philippines. 

BCorp currently has 85 per cent stake in DSG Holdings Ltd, which holds two potable water supply companies and one wastewater company in China.

The group has sanitary landfill projects in Bukit Tagar, Selangor, and Foshan, China.

"We believe there is great opportunity to grow in these areas and they can one day make up a fraction of BCorp's earnings," he said.

Tan is currently heading BCorp as his father, Berjaya Group founder Vincent Tan has relinquished his position as chairman of the group.

BCorp closed 99 sen last Friday, 2.5 sen higher than the previous day's closing.

The group's net profit fell 73.47 per cent to RM22.95 million for the second quarter ended October 31 2011, compared with a year ago after revenue dropped due to lower property sales and the deconsolidation of the financial results of Berjaya Sompo Insurance Bhd.

The group's revenue was lower at RM1.69 billion compared with RM1.71 billion previously because of the deconsolidation of Berjaya Sompo's financial results from the group revenue, following the disposal of a 40 per cent stake in the latter during the first quarter. The property development business also registered lower sales.

Investment analysts covering the stock said BCorp could perform better this year, led by its gaming and consumer marketing businesses.