 Pacific Star Development's Puteri Cove Residences at Puteri Harbour Iskandar is only a 10-minute drive from Singapore via the Tuas Second Link. Apartment unit prices start from about S$290,000. Expected TOP: 3Q2017. (Artist's Impression: 3 bedroom unit)
Pacific Star Development, which has two on-going property development projects in Iskandar Malaysia and in Bangkok, began trading on 16 February via an RTO of LH Group.
At Iskandar Puteri, the Group is developing Puteri Cove Residences at Puteri Harbour overlooking the marina. Towers 1 and 2 are 32-storey blocks with a total of 658 luxury private residential apartments units. |
Jakarta JV in the pipeline
“We are talking to an Indonesian party about jointly developing a land parcel that he owns in Jakarta’s city centre,” said CEO Glen Chan in an exclusive interview with NextInsight. Mr Chan was based in Jakarta for more than 4 years when he was the managing director and CEO of CBRE Indonesia from 1995 to 1999. CBRE is one of the world's largest real estate investment managers.
Pacific Star Development |
Southeast Asia has good market potential because its population of over 630 million is huge and income levels are rising. We think ASEAN nations will continue to outstrip global growth. Mr Chan expects the property market in Greater Jakarta to do well over the next two to three years.
“Jakarta is transforming rapidly. The greatest impact will be felt when its Light Rail Transit becomes operational," he said.
Phase I of the Jakarta LRT has 18 stations over 42.1 km. This is under construction and is expected to be opened to the public by the first half of 2018.
Indonesia’s tax amnesty from July 2016 to March 2017 will also provide a stimulus to the property market.
Around 60% of funds repatriated via the program is expected to be invested in the property sector, according to Indonesian Property Watch CEO Ali Tranghanda.
The Group posted a net profit of S$6.0 million for the first half of FY2016. Net margin was 23.3%.
| ♦ ASEAN Strategy | |
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“Developments become valuable when there is certainty of project completion. Even if they are unsold, completed units improve our balance sheet. “We have had property investment management and real estate development experience in Malaysia and Thailand for more than 10 years. “We intend to leverage on our strong relationships with real estate players as well as with banks to expand our property development business in ASEAN countries, where there is a growing middle income population. We form joint ventures with locals who own land parcels in key gateway cities. “Our projects target the middle- and upper-income groups. We are focusing on Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia because these are the most populous ASEAN nations. Asians love to save, and they love to invest in property,” said Mr Chan. |
The key risk for developers to mitigate is selling enough units to at least cover construction cost.