KUALA LUMPUR: The move by developers from China to turn to Malaysia to expand their businesses reflects their confidence in the country’s administration and its sound economy, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.
He said that apart from eyeing Iskandar Malaysia in Johor, they were also exploring various development opportunities nationwide, adding that the latest signing by three property developers from China for a development project in Nilai proved Malaysia’s attractiveness.
“Of late, we are witnessing many developers from China investing in Malaysia. This is a sign that they have full confidence in the country and we hope to see more coming,” he said.
The Minister witnessed the signing of a joint-venture agreement between local developer GD Development Sdn Bhd and three Chinese property developers – Fugland Group, Debao Group and Suzhuo Zhengyuan Landscape Group.
Dr Wee described the joint venture as timely as Malaysia and China celebrated 40 years of ties.
The two countries, he said, could look forward to even stronger relations, adding that the good ties between the governments had spread to the business communities.
He cited the joint venture between the Malaysian and Chinese companies as an example of the strong relations between business communities in the two countries.
Malaysia and China had agreed to boost trade to US$160bil (RM512bil) in 2017, said Dr Wee, who is confident that this target could be achieved “simply because of the interaction between the two business communities”.
GD Development has wooed RM150mil worth of investment from its China partners to partially fund the second phase of its township development in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.
Under the joint venture, the three China partners will be the primary contractors for the 8.09ha Green Beverly Hills II development and will contribute their expertise and technology to GD Development.
GD Development founder and chief executive officer Datuk David Yeat Sew Chuong said the investment would cover part of the estimated RM450mil gross development cost for this phase. The gross development value is RM950mil.
“China developers and construction companies have a lot to offer in terms of construction technology. They can build a 20-storey building in about eight months which we take around two years to complete,” Yeat said.
With completion targeted for 2018, Phase 2 of the entire 142ha freehold township will consist of 68 shoplots, 180 superlink houses and 1,000 serviced apartments in four blocks. The apartments are priced from RM500,000.
“We hope to hit the 70% sales target within 15 months for this phase. We expect the occupants would largely be students and KL International Airport (KLIA) or aviation staff,” Yeat added.
Green Beverly Hills I, which features mostly landed residential units, has a 95% take-up rate, including 40% by foreigners mostly from Taiwan, Indonesia and China.
“We are also continuously looking to accumulate land. Right now we have another 81ha south of the KLIA and we are looking at some 283ha around Malaysia,” Yeat said, noting the group targeted to have a land-bank of about 405ha nationwide.
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