Iskandar now poised to roll in the money
Posted on January 3, 2013 - Investment.
By Chee Su-Lin |
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With most projects now broken ground or operating, Iskandar Malaysia is in position to rake in the value from investments made
L-R: Wan Abdullah, Ismail and Syed Mohamed
Was it a rebranding, the entry of the Singapore government’s own investment vehicles, improved bilateral relations, or the entry of crucial names like Pinewood Studios (of James Bond fame), Legoland, Marlborough College (of Kate Middleton fame), Traders Hotel and the Hello Kitty theme park? Or was it the attractive tax and government incentives, the heating up of the Singapore property market, or just timing in its serendipitous mysterious way? Whatever it is, it seems like the Iskandar Malaysia economic region in southern Johor, since its grand scheme was announced as the South Johor Economic Region about seven years ago, is coming together.
With several new projects announced recently, the master developers of Nusajaya (where much of the development is taking place)—UEM Land and Iskandar Investment Bhd—are poised to reap the rewards of their investment.
The Legoland Hotel is under construction.
“Whatever that was planned in 2006 and 2007, we have together delivered what was promised,” said Iskandar Investment Bhd CEO Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim at the recent “Living Nusajaya” media tour. “Now, we will embark on the next stage of growth or what we call the value creation stage to leverage on what we have achieved.”
UEM Land CEO Dato’ Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim expected Iskandar and Nusajaya to “make a lot of money for a long time” for UEM Holdings. “Already, you hear from our financial announcements, year on year, that we have been growing quite fast.”
Much of the revenues will come from increased property sales at prices that have appreciated significantly. There has been a steep rise in demand in UEM Land’s Nusajaya properties by various buyers, said Wan Abdullah. These buyers range from Singaporeans to Malaysians and expats working in Singapore as well as regional buyers (see the five categories at right).
While committed investments in Iskandar have increased from about RM11bil in 2006 to about RM100bil this year, according to Iskandar Regional Development Authority CEO Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, 37% of that RM100bil has come from foreign investors, with the balance coming from Malaysians. When it comes to the high-end properties, however, the proportion of foreign investors rises to 50% or even 70%, said UEM Land representatives.
A recent phenomenon has been the launch of UEM Land’s Teega condominiums in Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya. “At its recent launch, we put on the market two towers, about 900 units, and 750 units were sold within two days,” said Wan. “I had no choice but to put a stop to it.”
“In Singapore, properties are reaching S$1,000 per sq ft, so even if properties in Iskandar are RM1,000 per sq ft, that’s still cheap to them,” explained Rahim & Co (Johor) executive director Loo Kung Hoe. “Like in Puteri Harbour, there is now a ferry going across and it’s so easy. All these projects, they grab! And the shop office launches, they are selling like hot cakes!”
Notable educational facilities also help attract residents into Iskandar. “A lot of parents are contemplating relocation into the Iskandar region,” said Bob Pick, master of Marlborough College. “A lot of people have not bought a house here until they were offered a place in the school. Horizon Hills, East Ledang, Leisure Farm, Ledang Heights, have all benefited from the presence of the school.”
Newly launched properties in Iskandar appreciated 20% to 30% last year, added Loo, while the secondary market appreciated by 10%. Indeed, he says that he expects 2013 to see more appreciation of about 10% to 20%.
Horizon Hills is a golf resort development with some property phases yet to be launched.
The Horizon Hills bungalows for example were launched three years ago at approximately RM1.8mil. “Now it’s already increased to nine units on the right hand side selling at RM3.2mil,” said Horizon Hills Golf and Country Resort’s senior club manager Alan Kee. Kee related that he has even heard of offers at RM5mil for these houses, which are currently in the process of being handed over.
Together with this increased demand has also been an increase of interest in Iskandar land by Malaysian property developers from Kuala Lumpur, from Sunway and Dijaya to Mah Sing and SP Setia. “Earlier there was not much interest coming from local investment,” said Ismail. “They took this ‘wait and see’ attitude. Today, 63% of the total RM100bil of committed investment is coming from local investors.”
Of course, this slew of activities has been catalysed at some cost to the government, which has utilised resources from Khazanah Nasional as well as EPF, among others. Also, many companies were offered attractive packages, including tax breaks, to establish themselves in Iskandar. Companies carrying out a range of promoted activities are accorded pioneer status which offers tax exemption for five to ten years, while knowledge workers receive a maximum tax rate of only 15%.
On the other side of the coin, valuer Dr Ernest Cheong would like to counsel caution amongst all this real estate euphoria. “If the recession in Singapore gets worse, properties in Iskandar may remain unsold. Malaysians, either in Johor or from other parts, cannot afford to buy these high-priced properties. Remember what happened to Johor and Johor Bahru during the 1997/1998 Asian Crisis, and to a lesser degree the global banking crisis in 2008? At that time there was a glut of properties in Johor Bahru that were meant for Singaporeans that went unsold.
“When a detached house increases in ‘value’ in three years from RM1.8mil to RM3.2mil or even RM5mil (about twice within three years) I see alarm bells ringing… We saw the same kind of hype surrounding property investments in Ireland and Spain.”
This would especially be true if a significant amount of buying activity in Iskandar has come from speculators, developers and investors parking their “flight money” (money avoiding taxes, law enforcement detection or economic instability) there, as Cheong suggests.
Either way, several projects in this part of Johor have certainly materialised, from the stage of building plans and ground breaking to handover and occupation. From the days when the Tuas Second Link first opened in 1998 next to hectares of tiger-inhabited oil palm plantations, mangrove swamps and villages famous for otak otak, these hectares now see multinational companies, global brands, international schools and cosmopolitan residents. And slowly, this expanse of land is filling up.
Artist’s impression of the Puteri Harbour catalyst development
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Iskandar Malaysia: Full steam ahead
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