Property Hunter Magazine October Issue 2014 | Page 38

/// East Malaysia Property News

Hua Yang Berhad Eyes on Kota Kinabalu and Penang Property Markets
31 March 2014, the company
registered sales of RM750 million.
“So far our launches have received
reasonable response. The demand
(for affordable housing) is still there
and the market is still resilient.”
“But the tricky part would be stricter
loan approvals and I think a lot of
people are holding back a bit to
observe the market and expect
for better deals in the second half.
Our focus will be on the affordable
housing segments,” said Ho, noting
that the company expects to witness
a double digit growth in revenue for
the current financial year.

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Notably, the company’s revenue
stood at RM509.9 million in FY2014,
up 24.8 percent from FY2013’s
RM408.7 million.

Hua Yang Bhd – which eyes to
launch new property projects with
a total gross development value
(GDV) of RM1.1 billion for the
present financial year ending 31
March 2015 (FY2015) – is still on the
lookout for opportunities to enter
the property markets of Penang and
Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, revealed its
CEO Ho Wen Yen and reported in
the media.

“We are still in talks with landowners.
We have been looking into this
since the last two years but land
cost keeps rising in Penang. We
are working very hard to enter this
market. Our focus areas will be
in Bukit Mertajam, Juru and Batu
Kawan,” said Ho after the company’s
AGM.

He noted that while land price in
Kota Kinabalu is still manageable,
“there are a few factors that need
to be considered such as approvals
from authority. That would be a
longer process.”
Ho said the company aims to
achieve a sales growth of between
RM500 million and RM600 million
for FY2015. For FY2014 ended

Currently, the company has nine
ongoing projects spread across
Johor, Klang Valley and Perak, with
total unbilled sales of RM808 million
as of 31 March 2014.
This story was first published by
www.propertyguru.com.my and is
reproduced as part of an editorial
partnership between Property
Hunter and PropertyGuru Group.

Sabah Construction Cost Among Highest in Malaysia
material in Sabah is among the
highest in Malaysia. He says,
“building material and construction
cost in Sabah is estimated to be 30
per cent higher than in Peninsular
Malaysia and this is reflected in the
housing price.”
The price difference has been
largely attributed to the cabotage
policy implemented in Sabah and
the higher cost of building materials
such as sand, tiles and bricks. Tiles
and bricks can be manufactured
locally but high electricity, transport
and handling costs can make these
materials more expensive than in
Peninsular Malaysia.

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Rural migration into urban centres,
particularly Kota Kinabalu, is
creating a higher demand for low- to
medium-cost housing but escalating
construction costs is making it a

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challenge for developers to provide
enough housing units to meet this
demand.
According to SHAREDA president
Francis Goh, the cost of construction

Inadequate supply of cement is also
another contributing factor. Cement
prices in Sabah is about RM18 per
bag compared to around RM15
in Peninsular Malaysia. Adding to

the price disparity, cement costs
less in Peninsular Malaysia and
also Sarawak because they have
ample cement processing plants
to better cope with the demand.
In Sabah, there is only one cement
concessionaire supplying the whole
state.
With landowners demanding
higher rates to develop their land,
and coupled with the high cost
of construction materials, prices
for landed properties are getting
further out of reach for the majority
of Sabah’s population. Strata-titled
properties are now more in demand
with prices hovering between
RM380 – RM400 per sq ft for a
medium-cost condominium and up
to RM680 – RM1,200 per sq ft for a
high-end condominium, depending
on location.

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