NAJIB BETRAYAL OR NOT, AT LEAST FOREST CITY ‘PUT US ON THE MAP’: UEM SUNRISE GRATEFUL FOR LIMELIGHT FROM CONTROVERSIAL JOHOR PROJECT

While the influx of major home builders from China has rattled some local developers in Johor, Malaysia, UEM Sunrise is thankful that this has boosted the popularity of its brand.

“You have to look at the positives of it, in the sense that they have put us on the map,” UEM Sunrise’s CEO Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib told The Straits Times earlier in May.

“Because of Forest City, people know about UEM Sunrise – I look at it from that angle,” he said, referring to China-based Country Garden’s US$100 billion (RM429.80 billion) project in Johor consisting of four man-made islands.

Such massive investment has alarmed some Malaysian property players, who are worried that the large-scale project would result in a supply glut in Johor and drag down residential prices, impacting developers with sizeable developments in the state.

UEM Sunrise could be among those at risk as it is the master developer of Iskandar Puteri, previously known as Nusajaya, one of Johor’s five flagship zones. But instead of worrying, Anwar revealed that inquiries from Chinese nationals regarding its developments have risen by more than two-fold since 2014.

He also highlighted the strong buying power of this group, narrating that a Chinese investor had recently requested to purchase around 250 homes at the 350-unit Estuari Gardens that was launched two years ago. At its project, two-storey link houses measuring 2,709 sq ft are priced from RM1.4 million (S$450,700).

“To the Chinese, 250 is a very small number,” he explained. However, he did not agree to the purchase. “I didn’t want the easy way out; I want to make sure that we have a good mix of international population at Estuari Gardens.”

Given Malaysia’s sluggish real estate market at present, UEM Sunrise has adopted a more conservative stance when it comes to selling houses since Anwar was appointed as the CEO in September 2014.

Although the firm sold 1,300 units at Teega Residences in Puteri Harbour in only two weeks in late-2012, it now shuns large-scale launches in favour of selling by 100s or 200s amidst the weaker market sentiment.

In 2016, UEM Sunrise prioritised low-cost and mid-market projects like Melia Residences in Gerbang Nusajaya. It rolled out 100 units there in three batches and found buyers for 78 to 95 percent of the launched units.

Anwar is also confident on Iskandar Puteri’s most important development, Puteri Harbour, which is conceived as the Sentosa Cove of Malaysia. The developer even appointed the marina operator of Singapore’s Sentosa Cove to build the public and private marinas there.

“It’s only about 20 to 30 percent complete. We plan to build a convention centre, more hotels and retail malls. There is a lot planned to build up this community.”

Furthermore, he pointed out that the development of the entire Iskandar Puteri is still ongoing.

“If you look at gross development value (GDV), the estimated target is more than RM30 billion, and we have invested only about RM10 billion. It’s going to take another 30 years,” Anwar added.

Among developments by UEM Sunrise are:

1. Radia Residences

2. Residensi Sefina

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