Business

Thursday June 25, 2009

MK Land ventures into India property

By LEE KIAN SEONG


Affordable housing and retail stores in Bangalore

PETALING JAYA: Developer MK Land Holdings Bhd has ventured into the property market of India in a project worth RM3bil in gross development value (GDV) through a joint venture with Embassy Group of India and MKN Embassy Development Sdn Bhd.

The project will be under Milan Gateway Sdn Bhd where MK Land holds 47.5%, Embassy Group 47.5% and MKN Embasssy 5%.

MK Land’s executive chairman and chief executive officer Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar said the project involved building affordable housing on a 300-acre land in northern Bangalore.

“We plan to develop 16,000 affordable homes and approximately 560 retail shops,” he told reporters after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MK Land, Embassy Group and MKN Embassy Development Sdn Bhd.

Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar (left) exchanging the MoU documents with the chairman of Embassy Group Jitendra Mohandas Virwani at the signing ceremony. Witnessing the event is Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir

“The demand for affordable homes in India is huge with the rising levels of urbanisation and this is a good start for our company (in expanding) to India.”

The Embassy Group is involved in building information technology and business parks, as well as commercial and residential development.

Mustapha said it was too early to make a projection of the cost involved, but noted that such projects in India required a start-up capital of at least US$10mil, which would be shared by the three parties.

He added that the project would last more than five years with a year needed to obtain all the relevant approvals for the development.

The selling prices of units will be between RM100,000 and RM150,000.

This is MK Land’s second overseas venture after South Africa, according to Mustapha.

Mustapha also said the company was currently considering disposing some of its land bank, particularly in the Klang Valley area.

“This will help to improve our cash flow and we can reinvest the capital,” he said, but added that the company was not in talks with any parties currently.

MK Land has a total landbank of about 7,000 acres.

Meanwhile, when asked about the further liberalisation of sub-sectors by the Government, International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir said the Government was looking at sub-sectors which had very little involvement by Malaysian companies and in need of new capital injection by foreign companies.

 
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