Joint venture to pay RM800m for 28.3ha of freehold land for mixed development project..
ISKANDAR Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) is set to partner two prominent Singapore companies today to buy and develop some 28.3ha of land in the Danga Bay area of Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, sources said.
The three parties will work together in a joint venture (JV), with one of the Singaporean heavyweights taking a controlling stake in the venture.
Sources familiar with the plan said the JV will buy the freehold land for about RM800 million, on which it will undertake a mixed development project.
The land deal is prominent as it is the biggest entry into Iskandar so far by Singaporean investors.
“It’s a fair price they paid. It’s below the average price in that area of about RM500 per square foot,” one of the sources said without elaborating.
The project, which may take six to eight years to develop, is estimated to have a gross development value of between RM7.5 billion and RM8.5 billion, the source added.
IWH, which is reportedly eyeing a listing on the Malaysian stock exchange this year, is the master developer of about 1,618ha of prime waterfront land in Johor Baru. About half that landbank is in Danga Bay.
It is understood that the prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Lee Hsien Loong respectively, will witness the signing ceremony today in Iskandar’s Medini area.
IWH is 40 per cent-owned by the Johor state government via Kumpulan Prasaran Rakyat Johor, while the remaining 60 per cent is held by tycoon Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo via Credence Resources Sdn Bhd.
The Employees Provident Fund and Khazanah Nasional Bhd also hold indirect stakes in IWH.
The latest deal comes amid growing property alliances between both countries.
In 2011, Malaysia’s investment arm Khazanah and its Singapore counterpart Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd formed two property alliances – M+S Pte Ltd and Pulau Indah Ventures Sdn Bhd – to jointly develop prime land in Singapore and Iskandar.
Khazanah holds a 60 per cent stake in the M+S joint venture, and a 50 per cent stake in Pulau Indah.
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