LEVERAGING from its success in Penang, Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) will be expanding the depth and breadth of its property and hospitality business, going forward, deputy managing director Eric Chan Kok Leong says.
Chan says “the continued interest” in property development and the hospitality industry in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor is encouraging the company to look into new concepts and lifestyles.
“We want to expand the brand further out here (in Kuala Lumpur's hospitality sector) and in Johor's (property development scene),” he says.
“The various ongoing Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) means there will be more consultants arriving in Klang Valley. Our serviced apartment concept will allow them a certain amount of flexibility,” he says at a media event.
The lifestyle property developer recently expanded its hospitality business for the first time into Kuala Lumpur with the opening of luxurious serviced apartments E&O Residences in Jalan Tengah, on the same site as its condominium project St Mary Residences. The company is managing the E&O Residences on a 10-plus-five years lease for the Anglican church, the former owner of the land.
The St Mary development, which comprises the 200-suite E&O Residences, the 457-unit St Mary Residences and retail centre St Mary Place, brings together E&O's core business of property development and supporting lifestyle pillars of hospitality and food and beverage within one location.
The group is known for its flagship hospitality business E&O Hotel in Penang city and sea-fronting Lone Pines on Penang's Batu Ferringhi stretch. It also has a property project, Seri Tanjung Pinang, in Penang.
E&O Residences KL’s beautifully landscaped garden courtyard with swimming pool.
Chan says there is “so much pedigree and history” in E&O Hotel and the company would like to leverage on what it has built over the years on the island and bring that influence and branding into its hospitality business in Kuala Lumpur.
The company officially opened its Kuala Lumpur's hospitality business, E&O Residences, in the middle of December and currently has about 20 long-staying guests. It is targeting a 60% occupancy for its first year, Jamie Case, chief operating officer of Eastern & Oriental Hotel Management, says in an e-mail.
Chan says E&O Residences is “very niche” and he notes that there are a couple of international brands entering the Kuala Lumpur hospitality scene, the likes of Pavilion Banyan Tree Signatures, Four Seasons and W Kuala Lumpur Hotel and The Residences. The past week, the to-be-built Harrods Hotel and Four Seasons Place created considerable interest in the market.
“Can we be on par with these brands? If we want to succeed in this business, we have to. We have to go global with our brand,” he says.
On the property development front, Chan says the company is working on a June launch for the first phase of its terraced linked houses in its wellness-themed Medini township in Iskandar Malaysia, an economic corridor three times the size of Singapore.
The 210-acre site, the largest of its upcoming projects, has an estimated gross development value of RM3.5bil. That project will take five to eight years to be fully developed. The first 100 units are expected to be priced at more than RM800,000. Property in Iskandar has been generating considerable interest the last couple of years.
The company is also working towards the launch of Princes House in London, currently a popular destination among Asian investors as a result of the weak pound and its potential capital growth. Located in Zone One, the Central London project will have between 60 and 80 apartments to be launched at more than £1,000 per sq ft.
In Kuala Lumpur, the company will also launch The Mews in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng. It is “an understated development” with emphasis on security, storage, conveniences and with larger-than-normal parking space.”
The 38-storey freehold development will have 256 units in two towers, with emphasis on small units beginning from 900 sq ft.
A source says the special element about this project is that it is targeted at women purchasers, hence its emphasis on security. Notwithstanding that, the source says there should be a lot of interest from men too.
Over the next 12 months, E&O aims to roll out some RM2.5bil worth of properties. - The Star
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