Ivory sees five-fold rise in sales

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24): Ivory Properties Group Bhd expects new property sales to grow more than five-fold to RM500 million in the current year as the Penang-based developer rolls out more projects on the island.

Executive director and chief operating officer Murly Manokharan said Ivory had registered new property sales of RM250 million within the first eight months of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2012 (FY12). This compares to the developer’s RM90 million worth of new sales in 2011.

According to Murly, Ivory aims to achieve earnings per share of at least 10 sen every year, which is expected to maintain the company’s price-earnings ratio at about five times based on the stock’s current price.

Ivory shares closed half a sen lower at 50.5 sen last Friday. The stock has declined 15% this year.

“Our property prices are [in the] affordable range and driven by the increasing demand of late. Property sales are relatively good compared with the previous financial year,” Murly wrote in an email reply to The Edge Financial Daily.

He said Ivory had unbilled real estate sales of about RM220 million as at end-2011.

In Penang, he said the RM500 million new property sales target would be mainly derived from three projects with a combined gross development value (GDV) of RM2.49 billion.

The list comprises The Latitude, with a GDV of RM476.5 million, in the Mount Erskine enclave; The Wave@Penang Times Square with a GDV of RM1.58 billion in Jalan Datuk Keramat; and the RM433.3 million City Residence & City Mall in Jalan Tanjung Tokong.

Other crucial projects expected to spur Ivory’s financials include the RM10 billion Penang World City (PWC), a joint venture undertaken with Dijaya Corp Bhd in Bayan Mutiara, according to Murly.

He said Ivory’s earnings are expected to improve from FY13 onwards in anticipation of the launch of PWC in the first quarter of next year.

“The management foresees the earnings of Ivory brewing to test another level ... from next year onwards given the massive and exclusive projects that are launched one after another. Therefore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will bode well for our future earnings as well as cash flow,” he said in his email.

Ivory’s latest financials have improved mainly due to fair value gains and negative goodwill from the acquisition of a subsidiary. In the first half (1H) of FY12 ended June 30, Ivory’s net profit more than doubled to RM30.89 million from RM14.71 million. Revenue fell 24% to RM71.3 million from RM93.63 million.

The company had cash of RM42.35 million as at June 30 against debt obligations of RM257.39 million, translating into a net debt of RM215.04 million. Its latest reported net assets per share stood at 81 sen.

The RM10 billion PWC project will be closely watched. In March last year, Ivory submitted an application to the Penang Development Corp to purchase and develop the 102.56-acre tract in Bayan Mutiara.

After a competitive bidding process, Ivory got the land for RM1.07 billion or RM240 per sq ft. It will be jointly developed with Dijaya into a residential and commercial enclave.

According to a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the proposed eight-year development is expected to start in 2H12. This is not the first collaboration between Ivory and Dijaya. The two companies already have a JV to undertake an estimated RM64 million residential project known as Aston Villa in Penang.

In the central region, Ivory and Dijaya have also formed a collaboration to undertake an estimated RM420 million mixed development in Tanjung Malim, Perak.

According to Ivory’s website, the project known as Ivory Eco Park includes residential, office and retail components near Proton City and the Behrang Railway Station.

Having done well in Penang and roped in a reputable JV partner in the form of Dijaya, it is therefore reasonable to ask if Ivory has plans to take its expertise to the Klang Valley.

Murly said developing properties in the Klang Valley will be a natural progression for Ivory, in line with the group’s plans to expand towards the central region.

“Undoubtedly, Ivory is cautiously scouting potential development land in mainland Penang and moving towards the central region of Malaysia as well,” he said

Murly declined to specify if Ivory is keen to participate in the development of the Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) proposed Kwasa Damansara township on a 2,330-acre tract which forms a portion of the Rubber Research Institute Malaysia’s (RRIM) 3,155-acre enclave in Sungai Buloh.

It is worth noting that Dijaya has expressed its intention to develop properties within Kwasa Damansara as its Tropicana Golf & Country Resort in Petaling Jaya borders the southern portion of the RRIM land.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on Sept 24, 2012.

10 steps toward affordable housing

It’s a complex problem which requires delicate yet decisive handling.

FOR too long, Malaysia has not had a pragmatic policy to deal with the issue of housing for the masses, which includes affordable housing for those who are relatively better off and low-cost housing for the poor.

The problem is a big one and particularly difficult.

Up to now, no satisfactory solution has been found. Low-cost houses are defined as those costing below RM42,000 while affordable housing costs between RM85,000 and RM300,000.

A good housing policy enables most people to have access to decent housing, which should be taken to mean housing with basic facilities in surroundings which are adequate and safe for human habitation and interaction.

There are several dimensions to this. If people are to be able to afford nice homes, they need adequate income.

That means proper housing cannot be divorced from the question of increasing incomes for all and must go hand in hand with that.

At the same time, if everything is left to the free market and to the whims of property developers, then there is going to be little development in this area which carries low margins.

The less affluent, who constitute most of the population, will be marginalised and those who have much more than others will accumulate property far in excess of their needs.

There needs to be control and regulations which are scrupulously enforced.

The Government now seems to be serious about doing something. And if it is, then it has to make several hard decisions.

There are already in place a number of housing programmes and these will no doubt be given a boost in the Budget to be unveiled tomorrow.

Here are our 10 steps towards low-cost and affordable housing and some of them are quite onerous. Others are probably already in contemplation and implementation stage but these steps must be the minimum that need to be taken to ameliorate and eventually solve the problem once and for all.

1. Set up a housing authority for this specific purpose. The 1Malaysia People Housing Programme or PR1MA has been set up for part of this purpose. But as it is currently constituted, its role is limited. You need one overall authority which will handle all forms of housing for the masses – that essentially means both low-cost and affordable housing under one roof. Without that, efforts are going to be piecemeal and not integrated.

2. Get the best brains to helm this authority. This is a tough problem and a very important one as it affects the well-being of most people in the country. It requires people of exceptional ability with impeccable integrity who will handle a wide-ranging array of powers to get to the root cause and get things moving. Someone with wide experience in the property sector and who now wants to move to public service would be an ideal choice.

3. The authority must be professionally and independently run. While a set of policies should be given, it must be completely above politics. The aim should be to provide affordable housing and nothing else.

4. It must run the projects by itself. Handing it over to developers just introduces another layer of profits and raises costs. That does not mean that there should be no subcontracting. Developers who have low-cost and affordable housing as part of their development should put their stock through the overall housing authority so that verification can be made of the buyers’ status.

5. Land must be acquired on a systematic basis. Both the federal and state government should allocate land for this purpose. Further, every large development should require an appropriate mix of low-cost, affordable and luxury development.

6. The authority must place rigid strictures on resale of property. Such sales must be made only back to the authority and if sale is within, say, five years, purchasers should not be able to reap a huge gain. That will mean a tightly controlled market for properties in this sector so that prices are kept as low as possible.

7. It must have an impeccable system of vetting applicants. Those who do not deserve it must not be allowed to get on board the scheme. Each applicant’s financial background must be thoroughly investigated before it is approved. Computerise as much as possible and link it with the various authorities. Even bank accounts should not be sacrosanct.

8. Reduce discretionary power. Criteria should be clearly set and once a person meets the criteria, he should be automatically eligible. If there are more applicants than units for a particular project, then selection should be made by public balloting.

9. Forget racial quotas which inevitably leads to politicisation. If some races are poorer than others, it will be automatically reflected when the criteria for eligibility are evaluated. That will avoid further division among Malaysians.

10. Do proper market research. The last thing we need is to have a surfeit of low-cost and affordable housing with insufficient takers. Needs and affordability have to be carefully studied and analysed to ensure the final product meets with market demand.

One of the greatest success stories anywhere for the provision of affordable, decent housing for its populace must be land-starved Singapore. Basically, it involved the evolution of a two-tier pricing system, one with strict controls for government-sponsored projects and another free-market priced system for the private sector.

While there is lot that can be learned from Singapore’s Housing Development Board and its system of HDB flats, one must be careful to learn from its mistakes as well.

Unrestricted access of foreigners to its property markets has resulted in a yawning chasm between private and government projects, leading Singaporeans to charge that they have been dispossessed in their own land.

That’s one of most major complaints of Singaporeans in what has been otherwise one of the greatest success stories of economic development, raising incomes and improvement of the quality of life in the world.

It’s a danger sometimes to keep the best for only those who can afford it. It is going to be quite a challenge to mix up low-cost and affordable housing within proximity of exclusive areas so that the population does not get alienated from each other.

There is, however, one truth that we cannot run away from. There is limited supply of land and it does not increase. But the population does and inevitably land prices are always going to rise.

If we don’t solve this problem of allocating an increasingly scarce resource fairly, there is going to be a major problem. At the end of the day, increasing incomes and reducing the gap between the rich and the poor is what will do most for affordable housing.

> P. Gunasegaram is an independent consultant and writer.

又一乔治市老建筑转手 狮城人550万买莺罗

（槟城25日讯）乔治市入遗后老建筑水涨船高，如今又一老建筑被相中，以高价转手新业主，令人对老建筑身价不断飙升，悲喜交集。

在乔治市世遗区一栋有逾80年历史的“莺罗”茶室冷气旅社老建筑以高价过手，业主以550万令吉将产业转入新加坡人手中，喜的是，为老建筑注入新生，悲的是，原有租户或传统行业或挥别乔治市。

打造成精品酒店

莺罗相信也是继牛干冬南华旅社以700多万由本地人收购后，另一宗高价交易的老房子。莺罗座落世遗核心区的广东街（Penang Street）及义兴街（Church Street）交界，该建筑被指是在不久前以550万令吉转手新加坡公民，料将不久打造成为乔治市另一家精品酒店。

据了解，早在去年尾，原有业主即释放消息有意放手莺罗产业，引来不少投资家，唯却因为出价不菲，造成不少潜在投资者却步打退堂鼓，然而即使是天价，看在外国人眼中却是发展潜能良好，以致该产业在不久前终易手。据了解，原有业主在年前即已将茶室转手他人，个人已进入退休状态，始料不及的是，有关产业却在不久转手他人。

月收上万租金

据了解，莺罗茶室历史悠久，为三层楼建筑，楼下为莺罗茶室，楼上第二及第三层楼为莺罗经济型旅社；其中楼下茶室约有6个各类熟食摊口，包括果条汤、印度饭、云吞面、炒面线、炒果条等。该茶室也服务该区一带的上班族，所以平时早上及中午都是客满，展现了乔治市的新与旧的活力一面。

据了解，子女有成的莺罗产业业主是在约两年前将莺罗茶室转租他人，租金高达7000令吉，而楼上旅社同样也是在约数年前转租他人，租金为3000令吉，这也意味业主每月坐收上万令吉的租金。

两年内不会大变动

据了解，茶室才在今年6月与业主续约，租约为两年直至2014年，因此预料茶室料在两年内不会有太大变动。

本报在走访茶室时，小贩们都表示有听闻莺罗有意转手他人，唯一般相信出价太高，相信找来买主不易。

其中茶室摊主更表示，业主也一直要他继续好好做下去，所以不相信有关产业将能如此高价转手他人。

被炒高近

产业界消息说，莺罗以550万转手是市场炒作情况，这也是乔治市入遗后面对的代价。他说，其实莺罗是被炒高，实际上在乔治市入遗前，即是3、4年莺罗当时也值200万令吉，然而今天却高涨至550万令吉，起了近200巴仙。

产业界认为，这种老屋的炒作方式是极不健康的，政府有必要及早介入，防止情况进一步的失控。

胡栋强：政府应拟长远之计

巴当哥打区国阵协调员胡栋强也对莺罗易手外国一事，感到无奈，他表示，政府有必要眼光放远，拟定长远之计，避免更多的乔治市产业落入外国人手中，造成原有租户及传统商业活动变调。

他相信在乔治市有80多间的建筑物已成为外国人的产业，唯目前我们手中只持有约30间产业易主的证据，他说单在南华医院街即有不少产业易主。

他认为，政府有必要管制私人或政治产业，包括收购拟转手的产业，以免乔治市面对“沦陷”。

陈耀威：担心茶室变调

槟城文化遗产谘询委员会（CHAT）成员陈耀威建筑师表示，莺罗建筑为三层楼建筑，相信始建於1930年，迄今有逾80年历史，它也是典型的装饰艺术建筑（Art Deco）。

他说，莺罗建筑座落路口，其转角顺着路面作出弧型墙面，屋顶也出现台阶式女儿墙，最上面尚有旗杆，此外建筑以当时流行的洗石子作为墙面，有不少灰塑纹饰。

他表示，莺罗作为一家茶室其楼上也是旅社，展示了当时的建筑物作为茶室旅社的流行。他发现建筑的墙上柱子有不少灰塑，其中被发现的灰塑即有蝙蝠咬钱，有“福在眼前”的寓意。

陈耀威说莺罗也有一个精致小阳台，建筑上垂直式的柱子也表现强劲节奏感。对于莺罗的高价交易，他担心楼下的茶室可能变调，又成为另一家精品型酒店，“我们更希望看到莺罗继续发挥原有楼下为茶室的原始功能，以免乔治市又再丧失一间传统茶室。”

'PR1MA can take back houses if owners don't abide by regulations'

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians who buy affordable homes under the 1Malaysia People Housing programme (PR1MA) may be forced to vacate the homes if they do not abide by regulations.

Chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias said among the actions that would see ownership revoked was illegally renting out the house to third parties.

“These houses are meant to be owner-occupied unless they have a good reason of leaving the house.

“If we receive reports of abuse, PR1MA can buy the house back from the owner and ask them to leave,” he said during a briefing yesterday.

He added that the company had “compulsory acquisition” powers, as provided by the PR1MA Bill 2011.

However, he said the owner would be given several notices and warnings before any such action is taken.

PR1MA would exercise this power when house owners are found to have submitted false or misleading statements in their application, cease to be Malaysian citizens or for other reasons as provided in the Act.

The compensation to be paid by PR1MA for any property compulsorily acquired will also be determined by it.

Abdul Mutalib said Malaysians can begin submitting their applications online at the end of the year.

PR1MA targets to build houses priced at between RM100,000 and RM400,000, depending on location.

He said they were also looking at compiling a “reserve list” to notify interested house buyers whenever a house was vacated or became available.

Besides first-time house buyers, he said single property owners were also eligible, depending on the type of property.

Those with a combined household income (husband and wife, not inclusive of children) of between RM2,500 and RM7,500 each month are eligible.

Only house buyers who live or work in the respective cities where the houses are built, or those who plan to move to those cities, will be eligible. - The Star

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Finally, affordable homes for middle-income earners

PETALING JAYA: Affordable housing will be available to all middle-income earners, even those who have a total household income of RM7,500 per month under the 1Malaysia People Housing programme (PR1MA).

The houses will be sold without any ethnic quota but will be available at special discounted rates through a transparent balloting method.

“Even those who are not married would be entitled to apply,” said PR1MA chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias yesterday. “The houses will range from studio apartments to landed properties depending on location.”

Stressing that these units were not low-cost houses, Abdul Mutalib said PR1MA is about solving housing needs as well as addressing lifestyle wants of the middle-income group.

“Originally, when PR1MA was announced, the scheme was only open to a narrow joint-salary band of RM3,000 to RM6,000. There is a problem of a sandwich group'.

“We have been able to persuade Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to widen the band to cover more distressed middle-class who are not poor but still cannot afford to buy houses in major cities, especially in the Klang Valley,” he added.

He said PR1MA had studied 20 schemes including the HDB in Singapore before coming up with the programme.

There will be a moratorium of 10 years before the buyers can sell their homes.

“There are circumstances where we might allow an earlier sale and we have a formula about the pricing that will take into account interest and inflation rates,” Abdul Mutalib said, adding that more details would be announced next week.

He also said that Najib would launch PR1MA's 1st housing scheme in Seremban on Saturday.

“The prices will be below market price, and will be the same for everyone, without quotas or discounts of any kind,” Abdul Mutalib said. “There will be a mix of landed and medium-rise properties.”

Abdul Mutalib said the project would be a three-phase programme, with the first comprising about 1,200 houses due in 2015.

He added that PR1MA had decided to carry out the project in Seremban because there was demand for it.

This will be PR1MA's first project since the gazetting of the PR1MA Act in January.

Other PR1MA targets include:

> An online registration system for housebuyers and to assess the demand in town areas; and

> Talks with developers to have the backlanes of houses converted into green community areas. - The Star

Shop owners cry foul over strata titles

GEORGE TOWN: A group of shop owners of Prangin Mall are crying foul over the developer’s failure to issue them with strata titles over the past 12 years.

Prangin Mall Joint Body Management chairperson Terri Yeoh Mooi Sim said the shop owners had suffered great losses as the market value for the 611 shoplots at the mall were all devalued.

“The developer Gerak Unggul Sdn Bhd did not apply for the strata titles from the land office under the Strata Titles Act 1985.”

She added that under the Act, the developer has to apply for the strata titles within six months of the certificate of fitness being issued.

“Without strata titles, we are facing a lot of problems. For example, an owner who bought a unit for RM200,000 in 2000, can only sell the unit for RM80,000 according to market prices three months ago.”

Yeoh was speaking to reporters at a press conference held at the mall in Jalan Lim Chwee Leong here yesterday.

Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik, who was also present, said that the problem started when Prangin Mall land was sold to a company in 1994.

“But the Lebuh Lintang stretch leading to Jalan Lim Chwee Leong in between the mall was not sold so this means the road still belongs to the state government.

“The mall technically ‘belongs’ to two owners, and this is the reason why the strata titles cannot be issued to the shop owners,” he said.

Prangin Mall opened for business in 2001. - The Star

峇都茅马来土地买主 未判案持庭令驱赶居民

（槟城19日讯）在伊斯兰教高等法庭仍在审讯中，但在民事法庭取得一纸庭令下，峇都茅一块马来人土地的新买主，即前巫统雪兰莪州议员拿督阿都华合竟于周二带领疑是巫统党员的为数约30人，前往驱赶居民。

有关涉及驱赶上述地段居民的人士，疑是来自某区部巫统党员，因为除了在场也包括1名前槟州巫青团领袖外，一批人他们身穿的白色T恤，衣服前后都有被黑墨涂黑的部分，但在“隐隐约约”中，仍可看见巫统某区部的字眼。

槟州行政议员兼峇都茅区州议员阿都玛力透露，有关地段的原有地主已数次向警方报案，因为这面积1.6英亩地段是在他们没有同意下转卖，而且至今为止，伊斯兰教高等法庭仍在审讯此案，以及也还没有作出判决，这地段的真正继承者是谁属。

他说，此外，伊斯兰教理事会也于2011年3月3日向警方报案，以便有关方面介入调查，因为它怀疑这涉及某一方面的不法与欺诈行为。光华

Mah Sing on the look out for more land

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): Mah Sing Group Bhd said it is still shopping around to acquire land worth at least RM1 billion in gross development value (GDV) by the end of this year.

"So far we this year we have acquired land worth RM3.62 billion in GDV but we have set a target of at least RM5 billion by the end of the year.  So we're still looking out for more land," said Mah Sing group managing director cum group chief executive Tan Sri Datuk Sri Leong Hoy Kum.

"Our business model is such that we have a quick turnaround so we must keep replenishing our landbank," Leong added.

The group currently has a landbank size of around 1,200 acres with GDV and unbilled sales of RM18.04 billion.

"This is enough to last us another seven to eight years without any land replenishments,"Leong told the media after Mah Sing's extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Wednesday.

Leong said the group will also be looking to tap into the current market demand for more affordable housing.
"We are quite selective when it comes to certain property sectors, right now there is a demand for mass affordable housing," Leong said.

Shareholders unanimously approved the Bangi land acquisition today which the group intends to develop into Southville City, a mix township of residential and commercial properties.

"This will be the biggest township project ever for the Mah Sing group," said Leong.

The group announced earlier this year that it was acquiring the 412 acres of land from Boon Siew Development Sdn Bhd for RM333.04 million.

The freehold land has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM2.15 billion.

"We plan to meet market demand by exploring the feasibility of offering affordable SoHo and lifestyle suites from RM208,000,"Leong said.

Phase one of the development -- which will be launched in the first quarter of 2013-- will comprise of affordable lifestyle suites starting from RM208,000 and double storey link homes starting from RM530,000 onwards.

"This will be on top of our landed units and low rise commercial units, which will create diversity in the groups offering with emphasis on affordability." - The Edgeproperty