Business

Saturday June 30, 2012

Tradewinds to launch RM6bil project

By YVONNE TAN
yvonne@thestar.com.my


KUALA LUMPUR: Property and hotel group Tradewinds Corp Bhd will launch a RM6bil mixed development project called Tradewinds Centre which will be completed by 2020.

Chairman Tan Sri Megat Najimuddin Megat Khas said construction on a 2.8ha site currently occupied by the Crowne Plaza Mutiara KL and Kompleks Antarabangsa on Jalan Sultan Ismail would start next year.

The two properties, owned by Tradewinds, will be demolished to make way for the new development.

Days numbered: Crowne Plaza will cease operations early next year for Tradewinds Centre, a RM6bil mixed development project.

There will be compensation for unionised employees at the Crowne Plaza. “As for Inter Continental Hotels Group (IHG) which manages the hotel, it has a few years left in its contract and we will negotiate with them,” said group chief executive officer Shaharul Farez Hassan after a shareholders meeting.

He did not elaborate.

Crowne Plaza would cease operations on Jan 2, 2013, he added.

Meanwhile, Megat said Tradewinds Centre would comprise Grade A+ offices, retail offices and serviced apartments, where the centrepiece would be a 65-storey officer tower.

The project would be funded by a combination of debt and equity, he said.

He said Tradewinds was “in discussions” with regard to reports that it had expressed interest to acquire the 38-year-old Bukit Bintang Plaza (BB Plaza), which needed to be demolished in order for a My Rapid Transit (MRT) station to be built.

Earlier reports had noted that Tradewinds had approached the current owner of BB Plaza which is UDA Holdings Bhd to redevelop the complex after the MRT station had been completed, under a 50:50 joint venture.

However, UDA's board had reportedly declined because the returns were not lucrative enough.

“There's nothing concrete with regards to this as yet,” said Megat.

For its first quarter ended March 31, Tradewinds made a net profit of RM13.4mil, or 1.21 sen per share, on revenue of RM127.3mil. This compares with a net profit of RM11.9mil, or 1.08 sen per share, on revenue of RM123.1mil for the same quarter a year earlier.

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