Chasing the global dream

Chasing the global dream

Stories by ANGIE NG and ELAINE ANG

MALAYSIAN developers are a creative and adventurous lot and have many signature real estate projects dotting many parts of the world today.

Malaysian-built and owned property landmarks can be found in a growing number of cities as developers continue to take their expertise beyond the local shores.


A bungalow in SunCity's Sunway Toul Kok City project in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
There is quite an impressive number of landmarks across the globe, including hotels, commercial, retail, and residential properties, and recreational facilities.

IGB has a stable of hotel properties in various cities, including St Giles Hotel in London and Heathrow, MiCasa All-Suite Hotel in Yangon, New World Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, and St Giles Manila.

IOI Corp Bhd, in a joint venture with Andhra Pradesh State Trading Corp, has completed a gems and jewellery complex in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.


Datuk C.K. Wong
Next on its plate will be a high-end condominium project in Sentosa Cove.

Undertaken by IOI Land Singapore Pte Ltd, a 70% subsidiary of IOI Properties Bhd, the project will be a joint venture with Ho Bee Investment Ltd.

IJM Properties has some residential developments in India, including Raintree Park in Hyderabad, Andra Pradesh.

Mulpha International Bhd's development projects in Sanctuary Cove, Queensland, and Norwest Business Park, Sydney, have made the company one of the largest Malaysia-based real estate investors and developers in Australia.

Also targeting the overseas markets are Sunway City Bhd (SunCity), Ireka Corp Bhd and Gamuda Land Sdn Bhd.

Having transformed an old tin mining land into the vibrant address that is Bandar Sunway, SunCity now wants to put its creativity and expertise to undertake more projects that are different and unique.

“There is an apparent undersupply of well-designed properties in some of the high-growth cities in the region and we want to come out with good projects that add value to the property landscape there,” SunCity senior managing director Datuk C.K. Wong said.

It is building a landmark housing development in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: the Sunway Toul Kok City project.


Lai Voon Hon
The niche project comprises 84 double-storey bungalows within an exclusive residential enclave that introduces a new lifestyle of high-end homes with a host of facilities within a gated and guarded surrounding.

At the launch recently, all the units were sold out.

The 32-acre project has an estimated gross development value of US$33mil.

The project's third phase on the remaining 15 acres will comprise 84 units of 3-storey link house and 48 double-storey villas.

In India, SunCity’s project Sunway Prajay Megapolis is in Hyderabad, an emerging IT and biotechnology hub.

The 400 units of upmarket residential high-rise development on 5 acres have a gross development value of RM300mil.

“We regard this project as our maiden entry into the booming real estate market in India and are looking forward to securing other projects in the rapidly growing market,” Wong said.

Ireka Corp Bhd is currently busy building up the property portfolio for Aseana Properties Ltd (ASPL) in Vietnam, a US$275mil property development company listed on the London Stock Exchange and which is managed by Ireka's fully owned subsidiary Ireka Development Sdn Bhd (IDM).


Datuk Leong Hoy Kum
Ireka has a 20% stake in ASPL, which focuses on property development in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Executive director Lai Voon Hon said IDM was currently working on several projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, comprising Grade A offices, 5-star hotels and mid- to high-end condominiums.

“We hope to develop our highly successful i-Zen brand of high-end condominiums and offices for ASPL in Vietnam, and we expect to receive very positive response from both its increasingly affluent local and returning overseas Vietnamese (Viet kieu as they are called in Vietnam),” Lai said.

Ireka will also tap on its expertise in developing successful hotels such as the Westin KL to develop award-winning 5-star hotels for ASPL in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi to meet the huge demands for rooms in both these cities.

Gamuda Land Sdn Bhd, the property development arm of Gamuda Bhd, expects to make its foray into Vietnam next year when it launches its first mixed development housing and commercial project in Hanoi.

The company, in a joint venture with a Hanoi state-owned enterprise, is finalising a plan to develop a US$1bil township.