The glittering jewel in Malaysia’s Iskandar Development Region is the Danga Bay waterfront city, a 25km coastal stretch with a financial district, an eco-tourism theme park and upscale hotels and homes.
With enthusiastic marketing, Danga Bay homes have received a warm response.
About 75 per cent of the Mediterranean-style Casa Almyra houses were reportedly sold before their official launch, with most bought by Malaysians.
But other buyers have not missed the boat yet, with two much-anticipated projects to be launched this year.
Danga Bay Service Residence and Resort Hotel, a RM536 million (S$237.1 million) development with luxury service apartments, is being developed by Ekovest.
And in October, Ekovest will launch Phase One of Sanctuary Island Villas: 82 waterfront bungalows and villas situated on their own island, complete with private berths.
The freehold units will be priced at RM3 million to RM15 million each, and are being touted as the country’s most exclusive private residential development.
Source : Sunday Times
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The Government has deferred plans to begin quarrying for granite on Pulau Ubin.
The Government has deferred plans to begin quarrying for granite on Pulau Ubin.
This follows a significant improvement in the granite supply situation in the last two months, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said in a statement yesterday.
There is adequate granite supply coming in from both nearby and new distant sources in the region.
As a result of this diversification of supply, there has not been any drawdown from the national stockpile since May.
The BCA said granite prices are now stabilised between $23 and $29 a tonne.
In January, Indonesia imposed a ban on land sand exports and detained barges shipping granite to Singapore.
Plans to reopen Pulau Ubin’s former granite quarry - Kekek Quarry - were announced in April.
Over the past few months, the BCA had been carrying out preparatory works to reactivate the Kekek Quarry.
These included conducting an environmental impact study as well as carrying out water quality tests and regulatory reviews.
BCA said it has gained useful experience and has a better understanding of the process for reactivating a quarry.
And as the industry is able to diversify and import adequate granite from many sources, there is currently no need to begin quarrying in Ubin, the BCA said in its statement.
It added, however, that ‘we are still keeping all our options open, including reactivating our own quarries if necessary’.
BCA said: ‘The reactivation of our local quarries remains part of our contingency plan to ensure supply resilience of essential construction materials.’
The news was well received by nature groups.
Dr Ho Hua Chew, chairman of the conservation committee of the Nature Society, said: ‘A quarry is quite disturbing to wildlife, so this is definitely good news. I hope this decision is infinite.’
Source : Sunday Times
This follows a significant improvement in the granite supply situation in the last two months, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said in a statement yesterday.
There is adequate granite supply coming in from both nearby and new distant sources in the region.
As a result of this diversification of supply, there has not been any drawdown from the national stockpile since May.
The BCA said granite prices are now stabilised between $23 and $29 a tonne.
In January, Indonesia imposed a ban on land sand exports and detained barges shipping granite to Singapore.
Plans to reopen Pulau Ubin’s former granite quarry - Kekek Quarry - were announced in April.
Over the past few months, the BCA had been carrying out preparatory works to reactivate the Kekek Quarry.
These included conducting an environmental impact study as well as carrying out water quality tests and regulatory reviews.
BCA said it has gained useful experience and has a better understanding of the process for reactivating a quarry.
And as the industry is able to diversify and import adequate granite from many sources, there is currently no need to begin quarrying in Ubin, the BCA said in its statement.
It added, however, that ‘we are still keeping all our options open, including reactivating our own quarries if necessary’.
BCA said: ‘The reactivation of our local quarries remains part of our contingency plan to ensure supply resilience of essential construction materials.’
The news was well received by nature groups.
Dr Ho Hua Chew, chairman of the conservation committee of the Nature Society, said: ‘A quarry is quite disturbing to wildlife, so this is definitely good news. I hope this decision is infinite.’
Source : Sunday Times
Strata Titles Board (STB) threw out the en bloc sale of the Leonie hill property on a technicality.
Jubilant minority owners of Horizon Towers hugged and congratulated one another in court yesterday after the Strata Titles Board (STB) threw out the en bloc sale of the Leonie hill property on a technicality.
‘While some have made the issue out to be one about money, to some others it’s more than that - my clients are now very happy that they can keep their homes,’ said Philip Fong of Harry Elias Partnership, who represented a group of minorities.
But not everyone is pleased. The buyers of Horizon Towers - Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Qatar Investment Authority - are considering their next move, which could include legal action against the sellers and the sales committee of Horizon Towers.
HPL said last night that it is ‘considering STB’s decision and reserves all its rights, including its rights against the subsidiary proprietors of the property who signed the collective sale agreement and the sales committee of the property’. It said that it would make further announcements if and when there are material developments.
HPL was represented by Senior Counsel K Shanmugam and William Ong of Allen & Gledhill.
HPL’s stock fell 20 cents to close at $4.68 yesterday.
STB’s rejection of the sale was unexpected - as was its brief, two-line judgment delivered after lunch yesterday.
Lawyers for the parties, who had spent a week putting their arguments to the board, told BT that they were taken aback when STB announced abruptly that it had decided to reject the application for a collective sale order because ’statutory requirements’ had not been met.
STB did not say what these requirements were. And attempts by BT to contact STB and the sellers’ representative, Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim of Drew & Napier, were unsuccessful.
But BT understands that the application for a collective sale order may have been rejected because insufficient notices were posted and some documents were not filed.
STB’s decision could have been prompted by arguments put by Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, representing a minority owner.
Mr Hwang said that his client objected to the collective sale because the application for the sale order did not comply with provisions in the Land Titles (Strata) Act, which governs collective sales in Singapore.
Legally, if an application to STB does not comply with requirements laid out in the Act, the board does not have the jurisdiction to grant an order, even if there are no objectors.
Some 84 per cent of Horizon Towers owners backed the collective sale - more than the 80 per cent requirement - but STB’s approval was still needed for the deal to go through.
STB’s decision yesterday to dismiss the application means that the en bloc sale of the property is effectively off. While the sellers have the right to appeal against the board’s decision, the lengthy process involved means that the deal is unlikely to be sealed by the Aug 11 deadline for the sale.
This could now pave the way for Horizon Towers to be sold at a higher price, thanks to the recent property boom.
The two-block development was pledged to be sold en bloc for $500 million in February. The price reflects a unit land price of $810 to $820 per square foot per plot ration (psf ppr), including a premium to top up the lease to 99 years from the remaining term of about 71 years.
If later collective sales are anything to go by, Horizon Towers could fetch a higher price. The development next door, The Grangeford, was pledged for sale in June to Overseas Union Enterprise for $625 million or about $1,820 psf ppr, including a premium to top up the lease.
That is the highest collective sale price paid for a 99-year leasehold property on a psf basis - and part of the reason for the Horizon Towers saga.
Horizon Towers’ majority owners, after signing off on the deal, became unhappy with the significantly lower price they were to receive.
Source : Business Times
‘While some have made the issue out to be one about money, to some others it’s more than that - my clients are now very happy that they can keep their homes,’ said Philip Fong of Harry Elias Partnership, who represented a group of minorities.
But not everyone is pleased. The buyers of Horizon Towers - Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Qatar Investment Authority - are considering their next move, which could include legal action against the sellers and the sales committee of Horizon Towers.
HPL said last night that it is ‘considering STB’s decision and reserves all its rights, including its rights against the subsidiary proprietors of the property who signed the collective sale agreement and the sales committee of the property’. It said that it would make further announcements if and when there are material developments.
HPL was represented by Senior Counsel K Shanmugam and William Ong of Allen & Gledhill.
HPL’s stock fell 20 cents to close at $4.68 yesterday.
STB’s rejection of the sale was unexpected - as was its brief, two-line judgment delivered after lunch yesterday.
Lawyers for the parties, who had spent a week putting their arguments to the board, told BT that they were taken aback when STB announced abruptly that it had decided to reject the application for a collective sale order because ’statutory requirements’ had not been met.
STB did not say what these requirements were. And attempts by BT to contact STB and the sellers’ representative, Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim of Drew & Napier, were unsuccessful.
But BT understands that the application for a collective sale order may have been rejected because insufficient notices were posted and some documents were not filed.
STB’s decision could have been prompted by arguments put by Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, representing a minority owner.
Mr Hwang said that his client objected to the collective sale because the application for the sale order did not comply with provisions in the Land Titles (Strata) Act, which governs collective sales in Singapore.
Legally, if an application to STB does not comply with requirements laid out in the Act, the board does not have the jurisdiction to grant an order, even if there are no objectors.
Some 84 per cent of Horizon Towers owners backed the collective sale - more than the 80 per cent requirement - but STB’s approval was still needed for the deal to go through.
STB’s decision yesterday to dismiss the application means that the en bloc sale of the property is effectively off. While the sellers have the right to appeal against the board’s decision, the lengthy process involved means that the deal is unlikely to be sealed by the Aug 11 deadline for the sale.
This could now pave the way for Horizon Towers to be sold at a higher price, thanks to the recent property boom.
The two-block development was pledged to be sold en bloc for $500 million in February. The price reflects a unit land price of $810 to $820 per square foot per plot ration (psf ppr), including a premium to top up the lease to 99 years from the remaining term of about 71 years.
If later collective sales are anything to go by, Horizon Towers could fetch a higher price. The development next door, The Grangeford, was pledged for sale in June to Overseas Union Enterprise for $625 million or about $1,820 psf ppr, including a premium to top up the lease.
That is the highest collective sale price paid for a 99-year leasehold property on a psf basis - and part of the reason for the Horizon Towers saga.
Horizon Towers’ majority owners, after signing off on the deal, became unhappy with the significantly lower price they were to receive.
Source : Business Times
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