Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd director real estate agency Siva Shanker
PETALING JAYA: Wisma Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur has drawn “surprising” interest from potential buyers despite a sluggish office property market, says Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd director real estate agency Siva Shanker.
He said the real estate consultancy firm is currently in talks with several interested parties, although discussions are still in very early stages.
He added that the process is expected to wrap up by the end of the year, with a buyer likely to be identified by then or by January or February next year.
“I would classify the interest as surprising given that the office market is the toughest market right now and the one with the least traction of all,” Siva told StarBiz.
There is about 40 million sq ft of oversupply in the office market right now, he added. Nonetheless, Siva noted that much of the oversupply is in older buildings and those located in the city centre.
“If you look at the suburbs, the occupancy rates for office properties range between 70% and 90%. In contrast, in the city centre, occupancy rates are around 50% to 60%,” he said.
Located in the heart of Mont Kiara, Wisma Mont Kiara is considered a suburban office building. Its owner, 1MK Office Sdn Bhd, is divesting the property for RM130mil, or RM714 per sq ft (psf).
With a net lettable area of 181,992 sq ft and a gross floor area of 241,682 sq ft, the 16 storey freehold, strata-titled office tower was built in 2010 and acquired by 1MK Office in 2017 for RM122mil, or RM670 psf.
Wisma Mont Kiara sits atop the four-storey 1 Mont Kiara Mall. 1MK Office is a company fully held by R J Seven Sdn Bhd, which in turn is wholly owned by the Alrajhi family from Saudi Arabia.
The Alrajhi family, through R J Seven, had acquired Wisma Mont Kiara from Singapore-based ARA Asset Management Ltd via 1MK Office.
The family is connected to the owners of Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corp (M) Bhd (Al Rajhi Malaysia), an Islamic bank operating in Malaysia.
This divestment forms part of the owner’s broader global realignment strategy, aimed at redeploying capital into high-growth sectors such as logistics, infrastructure, and real estate-backed platforms.
“The price of RM130mil, at about RM714 per sq ft is very reasonable. It is not at a premium, it is the market rate. We are not going to sell the property at a premium because we do not believe anybody will buy office space at a premium now.
“The fact that Wisma Mont Kiara is 98% occupied is a key factor in the valuation. Moreover, having some blue-chip tenants makes it better,” Siva said, adding that since many of the building’s tenants are due for rental revisions soon, the new buyer can look forward to a higher yield.
Some prominent tenants in the 15-year old building include the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sportathlon, the co-working operator Common Ground, and Concentrix, a Nasdaq-listed Fortune 500 company.
Current rental rates at Wisma Mont Kiara range from RM4.50 to RM5.50 psf.
It was also reported that the previous asking price for the office building was RM150mil (or RM824 psf) before it was revised to RM130mil.
Rahim & Co has been appointed as the exclusive marketing agent to handle the divestment exercise.
For the first half of 2025, transaction volume of the local property market fell by 1.3% year-on-year (y-o-y), while transaction value rose by 1.9% y-o-y to RM107.68bil.
Siva said any growth in the property market going forward is going to be “a bit more slow and steady”, which he added is good for the long term as it is sustainable over a longer period.
“As I have predicted before, the days of high growth in the local property market are over. Going forward, we can expect steadier single-digit growth, which is good, as we will not have these up-and-down fluctuations that are harmful for the market,” he said.
