Mah Sing founder and group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum
GEORGE TOWN: Mah Sing Group Bhd
is reviewing its mixed-development master plan for its remaining 17.4-acre landbank in Batu Maung, Penang.
Group founder and managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum told StarBiz the plan initially focused on a premium range of residential and commercial properties.
“The post-pandemic period requires us to re-evaluate the scheme because the global and local economies have slowed down.
“We now want to develop a wide range of residential and commercial properties with different price tags and innovative features.
“We should be ready to implement our development plans for Batu Maung in one or two years,” Leong said.
Leong still believes property prices in Penang, particularly Batu Maung, will surge once interest rates drop.
“Batu Maung is close to the Penang Bridge, Penang International Airport, schools, shopping malls and healthcare facilities.
“We developed our Southbay project in Batu Maung, and it sold well because of the infrastructure and amenities,” he said.
The light rail transit project, currently planned to connect Bayan Lepas and George Town, would boost the property value in the area, he added.
“This is why we don’t want to switch entirely to an affordable range of properties in Batu Maung, preferring to develop a mixture of medium and high-end properties with different prices and innovative features instead,” Leong said.
Mah Sing’s current emphasis is on affordable residential properties such as the M-Series houses, which have performed well.
He said the group will continue to focus on affordable homes, targeting first home buyers and the genuine buy-to-own middle-class young buyers.
Since January this year, Mah Sing has acquired 589 acres of land in Puchong, Semenyih, Johor and Kepong for its M Terra, M Hana, M Tira, Glengowrie Estate and M Zenya projects.
“These projects have the potential to develop about RM5bil worth of properties,” Leong said.
The group also has a good track record with industrial projects.
“We see potential in industrial properties.
“Demand for industrial properties is mainly driven by Chinese manufacturers’ relocation of operations to counter the United States-China trade war, the eCommerce boom driving logistics and distribution business, expansion of the electrical and electronic sector and data centres demand surge,” he said.
Branded as Mah Sing iParc, the group has completed five such projects in the country.
Even though the current development focus is on affordably-priced residential properties, Leong said Mah Sing is looking for suitable industrial land to continue its good track record in developing industrial projects.
He added the group remained optimistic about the housing market fundamentals backed by growth in Malaysia’s economy, which is forecast to grow by 4% to 5% in 2023.
“Healthy local employment conditions with unemployment rates well below 4% will help ensure strong buying momentum from the young buyer groups,” he said.
