PETALING JAYA: The sale of two land parcels totalling 20 ha in Kulai, Johor, underscores property developer Eco World Development Group Bhd
’s (EcoWorld Malaysia) strategic role in Malaysia’s industrial expansion.
The deal, located within the Quantum Edge industrial park, taps into the rising growth of the southern region.
Analysts pointed to the RM280.8mil sale to KNBDC Malaysia Five Sdn Bhd, a regional hyperscale data centre (DC) specialist.
They noted that this transaction cements the company’s focus on transforming the industrial park into a high-technology industrial hub targeting artificial intelligence, cloud computing, high-tech manufacturing, and research and development tenants.
CIMB Securities Research – which maintained a “buy” call and an unchanged target price (TP) of RM2.60 – said the latest sale highlights the industrial park’s position as one of Malaysia’s largest privately developed digital and high-tech clusters.
The research house has adjusted its earnings forecast for EcoWorld Malaysia for the financial year ending Oct 31, 2026 (FY26) to 0%. It expects FY27 earnings growth of 6%, followed by a contraction of 7% in FY28.
This outlook factors in margin compression from escalating costs linked to Middle East tensions. Additionally, the forecast accounts for incremental earnings from the RM2.4bil 50:50 joint venture with Johor Land Bhd and the DC sale recognition in FY27.
Meanwhile, CGS International Research said the land sale would accelerate the company’s earnings growth from FY26 to FY28. This supports earlier findings that key developers have seen a pick-up in enquiries from regional DC players, as they increasingly view the country as a strategic alternative amid shifting supply chain dynamics and geopolitical uncertainties.
It has reiterated an “add” call on the stock with an unchanged TP of RM2.62.
“Notably, we gather that these are the last two parcels of industrial land in Quantum Edge, which suggests that the project has been fully monetised within two years from its launch in June 2024. We see this as a strong testament to management execution and demand visibility.”
The research house also noted the company’s ability to monetise the industrial land at attractive spreads despite a more cautious macro environment.
The land was sold at RM130 per sq ft compared to a purchase price of RM12 per sq ft, aligning with DC land transactions of RM75 per sq ft to RM160 per sq ft over the last two years.
