Not resting on its laurels, the medium-sized developer with a big vision is continuously striving to do better by coming up with better offerings. We talked to its Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer Dato’ FD Iskandar to get the latest updates.
iProperty: How has the response been for your current projects?
FD Iskandar (FDI): Glomac Damansara Residences, which is within our Glomac Damansara mix development project, has 356 units of apartments ranging between 876 to 2,000 sq ft – 70% of the first tower has been sold. We saw an encouraging take-up rate for the second tower during its preview. Bandar Saujana Utama, our thriving and self sustained township has also seen very good sales. Each year, we usually see between RM90 -RM100 mil, but for this financial year (ending April 30), we’ve sold about RM151million.
The demand for landed properties is great now. In 1997 when we first started Bandar Saujana Utama township in Sungai Buloh , we sold double-storey terrace houses for RM90,000. Today we’re selling them above RM300,000. So for Bandar Saujana Utama,I expect to sell at least another RM100 million this year. I think we’ll do better than the current RM77 million for Saujana Rawang , too. All of these are made possible by better roads and amenities that have come up in this area.
iP: What new offerings can we expect for 2011?
FDI: We started Glomac Damansara about a year ago and it remains one of our main projects that will keep us busy. The GDV is around RM900 million and to date we’ve sold about RM350 million, with RM550 million still to go. Within Glomac Damansara, we are developing a second tower and retail units and of course, we’ve got 2 more office towers there.
The last phase of Plaza Kelana Jaya will consist of a neighbourhood mall and an office block. When we launched Suria Stonor in 2006, we sold some 42 units to a property fund. When the 5-year life cycle ended last February, we bought back 18 units. In addition to 3 duplex units, we’ll be repackaging and reintroducing these 18 back into the market by the end of June.
 As for Suria Residen in Cheras , the first section in phase one has been fully taken up, completed and handed over. By the end of May 2011, we will be launching the final section of this phase, which consists of 16 semi-d units. In the future, we will be developing bungalows across the 42 acres of land. We have another development planned between Bandar Utama and Damansara Utama. We bought two pieces of land last year, the first piece is about 3.8 acres and by February 2012, we plan to launch commercial units of 2 ½ storey shop offices there.
Another exciting development that buyers can look forward to is the Glomac Mutiara Damansara Residences, right at the heart of Mutiara Damansara. This 35-storey apartment will hold close to 300 units. It’s within walking distance to Tesco, Ikano and The Curve. We’re hoping to launch this freehold development, with GDV of approximately RM260 million, in January 2012.
When we bought the land (close to 3 acres), we initially wanted to build office blocks. But looking at the area today, it already has a lot of office buildings. We feel that it’s high time Mutiara Damansara sees an iconic luxury condominium/apartment, as there’s currently only one apartment in the area.
I think ultimately this is where our strength lies, our small size makes it possible for us to listen to the market, look into details and move much faster as there are fewer red tapes to deal with. These are some of the offerings we have for the next 12 months or so. This is an exciting year for Glomac, now it’s a matter of implementing and delivering our products. We still have GDV worth about RM3.5 billion to go. So if every year we can sell about RM500 - RM600 million, that will last us about 5-6 years. But of course, we are not stopping there; we are always aggressively looking for land.
iP: What are the updates on Glomac Cyberjaya?
FDI: We entered Cyberjaya with the belief that every neighbourhood must have an SS2 or Seapark, this was our original concept. The response to our Glomac Cyberjaya shop offices has been overwhelming; we saw banks and food outlets snapping up units because they want to capitalize on the 300,000 residents living there.
So we bought another 8 acres of land, where we are building 68 units which will be launched this August. We already have 600 registrants for that. Once the first phase is completed by early next year, it will become the buzz of Cyberjaya/Putrajaya.
We’ve also got a 15-storey tower, with numerous rental requests because there aren’t many office towers for rent in Cyberjaya. Now we’re compiling the list and if we have 70-80 % commitment, we will start building the office tower. We’ve got more than half so far.
iP: What are the special features that deserve mention about your projects?
FDI: I always tell my team, no matter what we sell, whether it’s a RM250,000 terrace house or a RM15 million apartment, put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Property to me is one of the biggest investments you can make in your lifetime, it’s no fun getting the key and you come in all excited only to find leakages around the house.
I think Glomac is one of the few property developers in Malaysia that provides after-sale service. Our maintenance team of over 100 is made up of plumbers, electricians and general workers. We don’t make any profit out of it, but of course we don’t want to lose money. For a small fee, our maintenance team will fix cracks, leakages and so on. At Glomac, we maintain the property for at least 2 years after the project is completed. After this period, you can get somebody else but a majority of them continue with us.
We acknowledge the fact that Glomac is a medium-sized company; our paid-up is only RM300 million and our market cap is less than RM600 million. We are in an industry where there are bigger-sized developers, so we must be more innovative.
 This is our 23rd year, we better be good at it. Of course we strive to be the best but we can’t afford to be mediocre. iP: What can we expect to see in terms of your landbank acquisition this year? FDI: About 3 months back, we’ve managed to buy a 200-acre piece of land in Puchong. It’s behind Tesco so it’s a very good location. We are still at the planning stage for this.
We’re definitely on an acquisition trail; we’ve got a small war chest so we’re in a very good position to acquire today. Our focus would be more on Greater KL. This is because we are very familiar with the area and we’ve already got a brand name here – people know Glomac.
We’re also looking at the trend of urban migration and the government’s projection that by 2020, 7 out of 10 Malaysians will live in urban cities. When you look at the sales trend last year, no matter how well Penang and Iskandar did, the bulk of it is still in the Greater KL. That doesn’t mean that if we get a good deal in Penang, we wouldn’t go. We’re already in Johor and Malacca, but again, the concentration is here.
iP: How do you foresee the property market outlook in the 3rd Q of 2011?
FDI: Property depends on the economy, so as long as the economy is doing well, I think the property market will do well. As it is, property in Klang Valley/the Greater Kuala Lumpur is still hot today. With the recent increase in interest rates, people will hedge their portfolio to property. And property is your safest bet against inflation. Other things may go up and come down, but property will stabilize in the worst possible scenario. In most instances, it goes up.
Property will continue to do well in Malaysia; we’re a nation of 27 million people, of which 69% are below the age of 35. With a steady population growth of 2.5%, residential, commercial and industrial properties will always be in demand.
I don’t think there’s a property bubble in Malaysia, unlike in Singapore where your property price doubles in 6 months. We have a steady rise here, and even when they said we rose by 10% in Klang Valley last year, it was an organic growth. When you compare us to Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok, we are still the lowest in terms of increase in percentage growth.
iP: What sort of appreciation can investors expect from your latest projects?
FDI: We expect good appreciation for our Glomac Damansara and Glomac Mutiara Damansara Residences, because in these areas, there is no more land available. So far most of our buyers have been lucky; they’ve managed to get capital appreciation. This is why we have repeat buyers, especially for our commercial properties.
We’re also quite fortunate to have a few MRT stations within walking distance to our projects. There’s one just next to Glomac Damansara and in Mutiara Damansara, it’s about 100m away from us. They’re still finalising between building a station next to Tesco or IOI Mall. Either way, it will benefit our project. Having said that, everything depends on the economic situation of the country. About 3 - 4 years ago, there were concerns on where the economic situation was headed but now I am much more confident. The ETP (Economic Transformation Programme) and GTP (Government Transformation Programme) will definitely help our developments.
Our hope is that government servants will rise to the occasion when it comes to implementing these policies efficiently.
Taking into account any unforeseen circumstances, I think domestically within the country, we are on the right track.
Enviable track record
Dato’ FD Iskandar : “Since 1988, Glomac Berhad has grown from strength to strength. Our experience and proven track record in developing homes, commercial centres and townships has solidified Glomac’s reputation as a progressive and trusted property developer. Today, Glomac Berhad comprises more than 40 subsidiaries with involvement in property development, property investment, construction, property management and car park management.
To date, the Group has completed more than 15,000 residential and commercial units. Apart from the residential development, the Group has also successfully completed over 5.5 mil sq ft of commercial space. Glomac is entering a new phase of growth as it targets to launch more than RM1bil worth of properties. Property development remains the core focus of the Group since its inception. We are a long term player committed to escalating our presence in the real estate market particularly focusing in the prime area of Greater KL, where the Group is well established. Glomac is continuously planning and designing new projects for our existing landbank, and we are constantly evaluating and looking out for new landbank opportunities in the country.
From managing just over 3 projects a year, Glomac now has 15 on-going projects including 3 well-received townships and various residential and commercial developments focused in Greater Kuala Lumpur.
In the late 2007, we caused quite a stir in the market by setting a record price when we acquired a 1.3 acre land opposite the Petronas Twin Towers, KLCC. This site became Glomac Tower, an A-Grade commercial building sold en bloc for a record price of RM1, 120 per sq ft. To date, it still holds the highest commercial transaction cost in town.” |
