/// International Property News
Iskandar Waterfront Sells 15ha to Singapore Firm
Property Consultants Sdn
Bhd executive director V.
Sivadas told StarBiz.
HK Property Sales Fall to 17Year Low as Tax Hike Bites
“There are only a few blocks
of shoplots currently. It
is good to have new and
foreign developers entering
the market and providing
new ideas and products.
Hao Yuan director Du Jia Nam (2nd from left) exchanging
documents with IWH chairman Datuk Mohd Othman Yusof.
With them are Hao Yuan president Du Zhen Zeng (left) and IWH
managing director Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo
Iskandar Waterfront
Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) has
sold 15ha of seafront land in
Danga Bay for RM1.6 billion
to a Singaporean firm, which
is planning an RM8 billion
development featuring,
among others, Peninsular
Malaysia’s tallest tower.
The master planner
for Danga Bay said in a
statement yesterday that
it had signed the sale and
purchase agreement with
Hao Yuan Investment Pte
Ltd for six parcels of land,
which would be developed
by Pristine Sun Properties
Sdn Bhd, a 60:40 jointventure (JV) between Hao
Yuan and IWH.
The price tag of RM1.6
billion works out to a land
cost of 20% of the RM8
billion gross development
value, within the range of
15% to 20% typically paid to
a landowner in Malaysia.
At some RM998 per sq ft
(psf), the sale set a new
benchmark for commercial
land transactions in Johor
Baru, besting even the
landmark RM4.5 billion deal
between the Johor Sultan
and China’s Guangzhou R&F
Properties Co Ltd, which
was agreed at RM891 psf.
Hao Yuan has drawn up
plans for several high-end
residential, commercial
and retail properties for its
project, including the tallest
58
tower in Peninsular Malaysia
and a “landmark tower”.
Hao Yuan’s portfolio in
Singapore includes the
Forestville Executive
Condominiums, Sea Horizon
and the Woodlands New
Executive Condominium.
The little-known firm is
believed to be a Chinalinked company registered
in Singapore.
This marks yet another JV for
IWH’s Danga Bay land-bank,
which is undergoing rapid
development as part of
Iskandar Malaysia.
A spokesperson for IWH
said he could not disclose
details on the plot ratio,
gross floor area and net
saleable area of the project,
but property executives
estimate a plot ratio of up to
10 times, allowing its owners
to extract maximum value
from the prized land along
Johor’s coastline.
IWH was also expected to
ink more property deals
in the coming months,
as interest picked up in
Iskandar Malaysia despite
the curbs on speculation
announced in recent
months, market observers
said.
“Danga Bay hasn’t seen
much development in the
past 20 years. Up to now,
it’s mostly been reclamation
work,” PA International
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
“Danga Bay needs to be
transformed and developed
faster, and this is made
possible by new entrants,”
he said.
But Sivadas also
underscored concerns
about the pricing, which he
felt would likely exceed what
most of the local population
could afford.
“Almost every single
development here is
targeting the high-income
group, which in Iskandar
Malaysia isn’t large, as well
as foreigners. Whether this
is sustainable is a question
mark.
“A lot of the hype in buying
over the past two years is
riding on the expectation of
the MRT (mass rapid transit)
being built, but this is many
years down the line,” he
said.
Johor Baru-based Sivadas
added that he was
puzzled by the proposed
skyscrapers. “It doesn’t make
sense, considering that
Danga Bay is a low-density
township,” he said.
IWH, which is developing
1,700ha in Danga Bay,
Desaru, Tebrau and Johor
Baru, has shelved its
US$300 million (RM957
million) listing to the final
quarter of next year on
worries that measures
to rein in property prices
could crimp demand from
foreigners.
Hong Kong
The number of
properties sold in Hong
Kong fell by more than
a third last year to a
17-year low as a drastic
increase in tax on home
sales, introduced to
tackle rising prices, easily
outweighed discounts
offered by the city’s
property developers.
The total number of
sale and purchase
agreements concluded
in 2013 was 70,503,
down 39% from 2012,
according to the Hong
Kong Land Registry. The
value of deals dropped
30% from a year earlier
to HK$456 billion
(RM193.8 billion).
Forecasters expect the
downturn to continue
this year. With tycoons
like Li Ka-shing warning
of the impact on his
property business,
Deutsche Bank said in
November that Hong
Kong home prices could
drop up to 50% over the
following 12 months.
Designed to burst
the city’s long-term
property price bubble,
last February’s doubling
of stamp duty on
residential transactions
to as much as 8.5% of
the sale value has yet to
stop home prices from
creeping up. According
to property service firm
Centaline Property,
overall home prices
edged up 3% for the
year, and have jumped
120% since 2008.
But in a reflection on
the scale of last year’s
slowdown, tycoon Li,
who owns property
company Cheung Kong
(Holdings) Ltd, said
last November that his
business had suffered
its worst year in more
than a decade.
Major rival Sun Hung
Kais Properties Ltd
in September posted
a 14% fall in full-year
underlying profit for
2013, trailing forecasts
and marking its first
drop in annual earnings
due to slow sales in
Hong Kong.
Pr X