Selangor Dredging on lookout for land

KUALA LUMPUR: Property developer Selangor Dredging Bhd, which has an asset base of RM1.5 billion and RM200 million in cash, is looking to invest in strategically located land.

"We are going to be slightly conservative over the next six to 12 months as demand and (property) sales are slow," chairman Eddy Chieng Ing Huong told a press conference after the company's AGM here on Wednesday. "But we remain opportunistic in our ability to acquire land and we are always scouting around as land prices now have become reasonable."

"The fact that we bought land in Seri Kembangan shows how opportunistic we are," he added.

Selangor Dredging sold 23.9ha in Dengkil for RM32.5 million and currently has only 12.95ha in several locations in the Klang Valley.

"We recycled. We sold our industrial land in Dengkil to buy more strategically located land that we think can be developed in the next two to three years.

"The Seri Kembangan land we just bought is strategically located near the upcoming Bukit Jalil Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station, and is also close to major highways like KESAS, NKVE and LDP," Chieng said.

Managing Director Teh Lip Kim hinted that the Seri Kembangan land could be developed into a high-rise development. "We are still at the planning stage. We need to study the demographics of the area," she said.

For the current financial year, Teh said the company will concentrate on selling the remaining inventory worth RM19 million and launching an office block, "The Cube", and serviced apartments near the Sungai Buloh MRT station worth RM250 million.

"The next land bank we are eyeing could still be in the Klang Valley and Singapore," said Teh.

She said Wisma Selangor Dredging brings recurring income and continues to maintain a high occupancy rate of 94%, with tenants comprising established names such as Al-Rajhi and The British Council as well as foreign embassies. - Bernama