PENANG: Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) is expected to begin work on the first phase of the integrated transportation hub at the Penang Sentral in Butterworth by the end of the year, and as soon as efforts to relocate hawkers to a new site are completed.
Its director, Datuk Ahmad Ibnihajar, said at present, more than 50 hawkers conducting business in the vicinity of the express bus station, near the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal, had to be relocated to enable the work to begin.
He said a new hawker’s complex with more than 60 stalls had been completed and would be handed over to the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP).
The stalls will be allocated to those hawkers who previously traded at the bus terminal complex which was razed by fire a few years ago.
“We will begin work on the hub as soon as the MPSP finishes allocating the stalls to the hawkers concerned. If the MPSP concludes this task quickly, we will expedite the work planned and the first phase is expected to be completed in 2013,” he told reporters after presenting the MRCB Student’s Leadership Excellence Award 2008 here yesterday.
Ahmad, who is also the managing director of Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB), admitted that work on the project had been delayed due to the problem of relocating the hawkers who did not want to be far from the present bus station, as well as delays in taking over some parcels of land.
Apart from relocating the hawkers, he said that the present express bus operations would also be moved to the temporary bus terminal currently used by RapidPenang, by the middle of next month, to enable work to commence.
The Penang Sentral is a component of the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER), with an estimated gross development value in excess of RM2 billion, and it covers a land area of 557,418 sq metres (six million square feet).
The Penang Sentral project has four phases which integrate all land and sea services — the ferry, bus, taxi and rail. It is a joint venture between MRCB and Pelaburan Hartanah Bumiputera Bhd. — Bernama
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
S'pore in talks with Sands to 'facilitate' resort's success.
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Tourism Board is in talks with Las Vegas Sands Corp, the developer of the city’s US$4 billion (RM14.28 billion) downtown casino-resort, to “facilitate the success” of the project.
The casino operator said last week it hired an investment bank to raise more capital with the help of billionaire chief executive officer Sheldon Adelson, driving shares lower. The stock has fallen 95% this year, compared with the 36% decline in the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index.
“The Singapore Tourism Board is monitoring the situation and is aware that the current uncertain economic climate may give rise to concerns,” the tourism board said in an emailed statement. “We are therefore working closely and are in dialogue with” Las Vegas Sands’s Singapore unit, Marina Bay Sands.
Casino cash flow is dwindling amid an economic slump and financial crisis, just as the Las Vegas-based casino operator undertakes its biggest expansion. The owner of the Venetian and Palazzo casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip is building a US$12 billion complex in Macau in addition to projects such as the US$800 million Sands Bethworks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Las Vegas Sands said in an emailed statement in Singapore it’s in a “quiet period” ahead of its earnings announcement, and reiterated that the development of its resort in the city-state “remains on track.”
Earlier this month, Adelson and his family invested US$475 million in the company to strengthen its capital and help prevent it from tripping a US loan covenant.
“We have an agreement with Marina Bay Sands that takes into account various eventualities but it is premature to speculate at this stage,” the Singapore Tourism Board said.
The Sands’s resort is scheduled to open late in 2009, while a unit of Genting Bhd, Asia’s biggest publicly traded casino operator, will open its gaming project on the resort island of Sentosa in 2010. Both companies will be the city’s only two casino operators for 10 years. — Bloomberg
The casino operator said last week it hired an investment bank to raise more capital with the help of billionaire chief executive officer Sheldon Adelson, driving shares lower. The stock has fallen 95% this year, compared with the 36% decline in the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index.
“The Singapore Tourism Board is monitoring the situation and is aware that the current uncertain economic climate may give rise to concerns,” the tourism board said in an emailed statement. “We are therefore working closely and are in dialogue with” Las Vegas Sands’s Singapore unit, Marina Bay Sands.
Casino cash flow is dwindling amid an economic slump and financial crisis, just as the Las Vegas-based casino operator undertakes its biggest expansion. The owner of the Venetian and Palazzo casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip is building a US$12 billion complex in Macau in addition to projects such as the US$800 million Sands Bethworks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Las Vegas Sands said in an emailed statement in Singapore it’s in a “quiet period” ahead of its earnings announcement, and reiterated that the development of its resort in the city-state “remains on track.”
Earlier this month, Adelson and his family invested US$475 million in the company to strengthen its capital and help prevent it from tripping a US loan covenant.
“We have an agreement with Marina Bay Sands that takes into account various eventualities but it is premature to speculate at this stage,” the Singapore Tourism Board said.
The Sands’s resort is scheduled to open late in 2009, while a unit of Genting Bhd, Asia’s biggest publicly traded casino operator, will open its gaming project on the resort island of Sentosa in 2010. Both companies will be the city’s only two casino operators for 10 years. — Bloomberg
YTL takes control of S'pore MP REIT for RM675m
KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Corporation Bhd is buying a 26% stake in Singapore-listed Macquarie Prime REIT (MP REIT) and a 50% stake in Prime REIT Management Holdings Pte Ltd (PRMH) from Macquarie Bank Ltd for a total of S$285 million (RM675 million) cash.
YTL Corp will acquire 247.1 million MP REIT units at S$0.82 each or a total of about S$202.6 million, representing a sharp discount of 49% to the REIT’s net asset value of S$1.62 but a 17% premium over its 30-day volume weighted average price. MP REIT has tumbled to S$0.54 from a high of S$1.27 in February amid the collapse of equity markets worldwide.
It will pay another S$62 million cash to acquire the 50% stake comprising 1.5 million PRMH shares and all its redeemable preference shares (RPS) comprising one class A RPS and one class B RPS.
Additionally, YTL Corp also agreed to pay S$20 million for services to be rendered by Macquarie Bank until the completion of the proposed acquisitions by the first quarter of next year.
PRMH is the holding company of Macquarie Pacific Star Prime REIT Management Ltd, which is the REIT manager of MP REIT, and Macquarie Pacific Star Property Management Ptd Ltd — the property manager of MP REIT’s properties in Singapore. The acquisition of the 50% stake in PRMH will enable YTL Corp to gain control of the REIT.
The acquisitions, which will be funded by proceeds from the US$300 million (RM1.06 billion) five-year guaranteed exchangeable bonds issued by YTL Corp subsidiary YTL Corp Finance (Labuan) Ltd on May 15, 2007, may mark the start of YTL Corp’s shopping spree for attractively priced properties during the current economic downturn.
YTL Corp is currently sitting on a cash pile of over RM11 billion.
Speaking to The Edge Financial Daily yesterday, YTL Corp managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, said: “It is rather rare to get such attractive price for a REIT that owns S$2.2 billion worth of properties.”
He said MP REIT, which will be renamed Starhill Global REIT, would be a vehicle for YTL Corp to establish its presence in Singapore as well as internationally.
“We are always on the lookout for value acquisitions to add to our portfolio, and believe that the combined experience and connectivity of YTL Corp and MP REIT will provide the opportunity and platform to realise greater synergies and create further value for these landmark assets,” said Yeoh.
He added that YTL group’s experience in setting up and managing Starhill REIT would come in handy.
MP REIT is expected to offer an attractive yield of 9.4% based on Bloomberg market consensus on a distribution of 7.7 Singapore cents per unit next year. Its distribution policy is to distribute to unitholders at least 90% of its taxable income.
For the six months ended June 30, MP REIT recorded a net income available for distribution of S$34.2 million while revenue came in at S$60.6 million. Last year, it posted an annual net income available for distribution of S$59 million on revenue of S$103 million.
MP REIT’s asset portfolio now comprises 10 properties in three countries, valued at about S$2.2 billion. Its borrowings amounted to S$655.1 million as at June 30.
It invests primarily in real estate used for retail and office purposes. The listed entity has two landmark properties in Orchard Road, Singapore’s premier shopping and tourist precinct. Its portfolio includes a 74.23% strata title interest in Wisma Atria (Singapore) and a 27.23% strata title interest in Ngee Ann City.
MP REIT also owns seven properties in the prime areas of Roppongi, Shibuya-ku, Minato-ku and Meguro-ku in Tokyo, Japan and a premier retail property in Chengdu, central China.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Yeoh will be appointed as the REIT Manager’s executive chairman.
Other YTL Corp developments in Singapore include the Sandy Island and Lakefront developments, which are part of the Sentosa Cove project, and the Westwood Apartments, situated in Orchard Boulevard, which was acquired in November 2007.
By The Edge Daily
YTL Corp will acquire 247.1 million MP REIT units at S$0.82 each or a total of about S$202.6 million, representing a sharp discount of 49% to the REIT’s net asset value of S$1.62 but a 17% premium over its 30-day volume weighted average price. MP REIT has tumbled to S$0.54 from a high of S$1.27 in February amid the collapse of equity markets worldwide.
It will pay another S$62 million cash to acquire the 50% stake comprising 1.5 million PRMH shares and all its redeemable preference shares (RPS) comprising one class A RPS and one class B RPS.
Additionally, YTL Corp also agreed to pay S$20 million for services to be rendered by Macquarie Bank until the completion of the proposed acquisitions by the first quarter of next year.
PRMH is the holding company of Macquarie Pacific Star Prime REIT Management Ltd, which is the REIT manager of MP REIT, and Macquarie Pacific Star Property Management Ptd Ltd — the property manager of MP REIT’s properties in Singapore. The acquisition of the 50% stake in PRMH will enable YTL Corp to gain control of the REIT.
The acquisitions, which will be funded by proceeds from the US$300 million (RM1.06 billion) five-year guaranteed exchangeable bonds issued by YTL Corp subsidiary YTL Corp Finance (Labuan) Ltd on May 15, 2007, may mark the start of YTL Corp’s shopping spree for attractively priced properties during the current economic downturn.
YTL Corp is currently sitting on a cash pile of over RM11 billion.
Speaking to The Edge Financial Daily yesterday, YTL Corp managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, said: “It is rather rare to get such attractive price for a REIT that owns S$2.2 billion worth of properties.”
He said MP REIT, which will be renamed Starhill Global REIT, would be a vehicle for YTL Corp to establish its presence in Singapore as well as internationally.
“We are always on the lookout for value acquisitions to add to our portfolio, and believe that the combined experience and connectivity of YTL Corp and MP REIT will provide the opportunity and platform to realise greater synergies and create further value for these landmark assets,” said Yeoh.
He added that YTL group’s experience in setting up and managing Starhill REIT would come in handy.
MP REIT is expected to offer an attractive yield of 9.4% based on Bloomberg market consensus on a distribution of 7.7 Singapore cents per unit next year. Its distribution policy is to distribute to unitholders at least 90% of its taxable income.
For the six months ended June 30, MP REIT recorded a net income available for distribution of S$34.2 million while revenue came in at S$60.6 million. Last year, it posted an annual net income available for distribution of S$59 million on revenue of S$103 million.
MP REIT’s asset portfolio now comprises 10 properties in three countries, valued at about S$2.2 billion. Its borrowings amounted to S$655.1 million as at June 30.
It invests primarily in real estate used for retail and office purposes. The listed entity has two landmark properties in Orchard Road, Singapore’s premier shopping and tourist precinct. Its portfolio includes a 74.23% strata title interest in Wisma Atria (Singapore) and a 27.23% strata title interest in Ngee Ann City.
MP REIT also owns seven properties in the prime areas of Roppongi, Shibuya-ku, Minato-ku and Meguro-ku in Tokyo, Japan and a premier retail property in Chengdu, central China.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Yeoh will be appointed as the REIT Manager’s executive chairman.
Other YTL Corp developments in Singapore include the Sandy Island and Lakefront developments, which are part of the Sentosa Cove project, and the Westwood Apartments, situated in Orchard Boulevard, which was acquired in November 2007.
By The Edge Daily
Guan Eng to promote Penang in Korea.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang is marketing itself as an ideal place for second home by setting up a pavilion at the Asia Pacific Tourism Investment Conference and Expo (Aptic) in Seoul, Korea.
Property developers Eastern & Oriental Bhd, SP Setia Bhd, Hunza Properties Bhd, Ideal Property Intelligence Sdn Bhd and the Penang Health Association are among the participants of the Penang Pavilion, whose objective is to promote Penang as an ideal home for Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.
Participation in the expo is part Penang’s trade and investment promotion mission to Korea from Oct 28 to Nov 1. The mission’s 52-member delegation will be led by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. He is scheduled to present a paper at Aptic entitled Sustainable Tourism Development in a Heritage Environment — the Penang Story tomorrow.
Lim is expected to hold business meetings with companies and potential investors from various sectors.
By The Edge Daily
Property developers Eastern & Oriental Bhd, SP Setia Bhd, Hunza Properties Bhd, Ideal Property Intelligence Sdn Bhd and the Penang Health Association are among the participants of the Penang Pavilion, whose objective is to promote Penang as an ideal home for Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.
Participation in the expo is part Penang’s trade and investment promotion mission to Korea from Oct 28 to Nov 1. The mission’s 52-member delegation will be led by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. He is scheduled to present a paper at Aptic entitled Sustainable Tourism Development in a Heritage Environment — the Penang Story tomorrow.
Lim is expected to hold business meetings with companies and potential investors from various sectors.
By The Edge Daily
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