Developer MK Land is in talks with potential buyers for some of the properties and
hopes to seal deals next year, says its chief executive officer Tan Sri Mustapha
Kamal.
MK LAND Holdings Bhd (8893), a property developer, aims to sell non-core assets
worth up to RM400 million to fund new projects that will be launched from next year.
The developer also plans to sell 9.2ha at its Damansara Perdana township in Petaling Jaya for RM200 million and pockets of land elsewhere to pare debt.
"This is all part of our reorganisation strategy to turn around MK Land," chief
executive officer Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar told Business Times in an interview
in Damansara Perdana yesterday.
Mustapha Kamal, who returned to helm the company in June after a brief spell with
his private companies, outlined the details of his three-year plan to rejuvenate
MK Land last week.
Central to the plan is the sale of assets. They include properties under its leisure
and education divisions, such as the Bukit Merah Laketown Institute of Allied Health
Sciences, Taiping Golf Resort and Bukit Merah Laketown Resort in Perak and the Langkawi
Lagoon Resort in Kedah.
MK Land is in talks with potential buyers for some of the properties and hopes to
seal deals next year, Mustapha Kamal said.
As for new launches next year, it has lined up the Northwest project in Damansara
Perdana comprising hillside semi-detached homes. It will also relaunch Armanee Terrace
Block B. Both are worth some RM250 million collectively.
MK Land has eight current projects in Kedah, Perak and the Klang Valley worth more
than RM10 billion.
Since Mustapha Kamal took over on June 25, MK Land has returned to profitability,
after losing money in 2007 and 2008.
In the first quarter to September 30 2008, it posted net profit of RM4.9 million
while revenue more than doubled to RM77 million as it sold 240 completed units between
June and October.
MK Land has appointed Lau Shu Chuan, Balasundram R., Fatimah Wahab and Yusof Abu
Othman as chief operating officers to handle specific tasks.
The four were roped in from Emkay Group and its associate firm, Setia Haruman Sdn
Bhd, the master developer of Cyberjaya.
Emkay Group is controlled by Mustapha Kamal.
Besides developing low-, medium- and high-end properties, MK Land will also develop
purpose-built office buildings to enhance profit margins.
It also plans to venture into India and Brunei.