In vogue

Bizweek
Saturday March 31, 2007

In vogue

BY JOSE BARROCK



Property companies have won the tag as the most vogue company for the month.

The main sweetener is the recent announcement that real property gains will be abolished effective April 1. Other measures included removing the required approval from the Foreign Investment Committee for purchases of properties priced above RM250,000 and the maximum three credit facilities for purchases by foreigners.

Undoubtedly, this should augur well for property developers. In fact, many property counters have already seen a run up in their share price, which reflects positive sentiments.

Like other property development companies, WCT Land Bhdshares started gaining in early March and to date, the momentum has seen the shares climb by as much as 40%.

Apart from the recent measures, there are also other plus points in the company.

Some of its projects, scheduled for launch last year but were deferred, are expected to take off in the early part of the current financial year.

This includes the RM65mil commercial property in Kelana Jaya, which was deferred to the first half of the current financial year.

WCT Land may also be able to realise the sale of its Bandar Bukit Tinggi Tower 1 office blocks in Klang which is valued at about RM86mil and a residential project at Sutera harbour, in Sabah, valued at about RM196mil. The response to the Bandar Bukit Tinggi 1 and 2 projects has been encouraging.

Despite the glum property market, until the middle of last year, Bandar Bukit Tinggi 1 had registered sales of almost RM1bil, or more than 80% of its gross development value of RM1.2bil, while Bandar Bukit Tinggi 2’s sales also breached the RM1bil-mark, or almost 70% of its gross development value of RM1.5bil.

Bandar Bukit Tinggi is WCT Land’s flagship development with a total gross development value of about RM2.7bil spanning over an area of over 900 acres.

The project commenced in 1998 and the company is currently developing the remaining land, which has a gross development value of about RM900mil and should keep WCT Land busy for the next six years or so.

Its other projects include the AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre and an adjoining hotel located in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang.

The AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre will house the largest Jusco mall in Southeast Asia and is slated for completion late this year.

For the year ended December 2006, WCT Land posted a net profit of RM47mil on the back of RM231.7mil in sales, which is a dip of 20.6% and 28.4% respectively from a year earlier.

The fall was attributed to the slow down in property sales, WCT Land said in an announcementaccompanying its financial results.

WCT Land has also stated that it may venture into India to develop mid-sized housing projects but that is likely to materialise in a year or two’s time.

Company officials have also spoken on the possibility of WCT Land venturing into Vietnam, but negotiations are still in the early stage with nothing concrete.

Aiding its potential to get jobs overseas is its strong parentage. The company is 74% controlled by construction company WCT Engineering Bhd, which has had considerable success inking jobs in West Asia and India, among others.