KUALA LUMPUR: The terms of the proposed strategic partnership between newly listed Eco World International Bhd (EWI) and Singapore's Guoco Group, which may potentially include the redevelopment of Guoco's properties in London, are still under discussion, said EWI's president and CEO Datuk Teow Leong Seng.
“We think the (Guoco) assets are ripe for redevelopment. Some of the assets are basically old and needs a new master plan. We have been engaged in informal discussions, but there has been no definitive agreement on this yet,” he told reporters following EWI's listing ceremony on Monday.
Guoco Group's unit GuocoLand Ltd is a strategic investor in EWI with a stake of 27%. At EWI's IPO price of RM1.20 per share, the investment amounted to RM777.6mil.
Teow points out that Guoco's assets in London were primarily comprised of hotel assets. However, he declined to provide a concrete timeline as to when the discussions would be concluded, citing the lengthy nature of the planning process.
“The intention is to explore whether they can be redeveloped into multi-use properties. We can retain the hotels and have residential and retail components, for example,” he said, adding that while the discussions are made GuocoLand, the assets are currently held within the Guoco Group.
In a separate statement, GuocoLand's group president and CEO Raymond Choong said that EWI's listing marked an important milestone for the former's aspirations to grow its business beyond Asia. The investment in EWI also provides GuocoLand with immediate exposure to the global gateway cities of London and Sydney, Choong said.
EWI is currently developing three projects in London and one in Sydney with a total estimated GDV of RM12.98bil. As at Jan 31, the total contracted sales from the four projects are approximately £1.2bil.
EWI made a firm debut on Main Market at RM1.31, which was 11 sen above its retail offer price of RM1.20. The warrants surged to 30.5 sen, up 30 sen with 4.57 million units done.
* See also Eco World International stages firm debut, warrants surge
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