News On WCT (NOW) | Quarterly

News On WCT
in the news
Business News
The Star Online | Thursday, 6 August 2015
“The gross development value of the project is targeted at around
RM1.5bil, spanning over three years,” Taing said, adding that the
company will have a signing ceremony of its anchor tenants on
Aug 13.
WCT has recently renewed its tenancy agreements for its PJ
Paradigm Mall, which is 93% occupied.
It will also be launching a hotel – to be managed by Hong Kong’s
New World Millennium – at PJ Paradigm Mall.
On its plan to go the REIT way, Taing said the idea is “to get ready
a platform” to list its new malls as and when they are ready and
consistent with their long-term plan of establishing a recurring
income, while maintaining a reasonable gearing at group level.
“From the listing of the REIT, we will be able to reduce our
gearing,” he said.
As at March 31, WCT had a net gearing of 0.7 times. The
firm’s total borrowings was at RM2.4bil, while cash and cash
equivalents stood at RM762.7mil.
bar, a 2,000
square metre
ballroom, an
outdoor rooftop
pool and
gymnasium.
The hotel, which
is an integral
component of
WCT’s Paradigm
integrated
commercial
development,
is expected to
strengthen the
group’s property
development
as well as
investment and
management
divisions.
editorial Team
Koh Boon Teng
General Manager - Sales & Marketing
Klang & Shah Alam
REIT plan for WCT,
likely IPO next year
PETALING JAYA: WCT Holdings Bhd plans to launch a real estate
investment trust (REIT) next year to unlock the value of its assets
and pare down debts.
It will firm up plans by year-end and if it does go ahead with the
fund-raising event, the initial public offering (IPO) is likely to be
towards the end of next year.
The company will have four malls by then with a total net lettable
area (NLA) of 3.3 million sq ft. The plan is to list a REIT that
comprises purely its malls in the initial stages because the hotel
business is still in its infancy.
“We may consider injecting our hotel business when it is
mature,” WCT managing director Peter Taing Kim Hwa told
StarBiz.
The plan is to REIT its PJ Paradigm and Bukit Tinggi AEON malls,
with a combined NLA of 1.68 million sq ft, next year and inject
Gateway@klia2 and JB Paradigm, with a combined NLA of 1.61
million sq ft, two to three years later.
PJ Paradigm Mall and the Bukit Tinggi Aeon Mall are more
mature, with an estimated total asset value of RM1.2bil.
If WCT’s plans were to take off, it would join the likes of
CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust, IGB, Pavilion and Hektar REIT, which
are all focused only on malls.
Taing said the eventual plan was to have a total of five million sq
ft of NLA in its REIT.
The JB Paradigm Mall, among the largest in Johor, will have an
NLA of 1.25 million sq ft. It will be operational by September
2016. Located on 13 acres fronting the Skudai Highway, the
project will comprise residential towers, offices and a hotel with
a development cost of RM1bil.
Said Taing: “Our plan is to swap all our current investment in the
malls with new shares in WCT REIT, which is consistent with our
long-term plan to grow our property investment business and
unlock value.”
He said the company hoped to retain about 40% in the REIT, as
it would allow WCT to remain as the controlling shareholder and
property manager of these assets.
On the potential rise in interest rates (in the US), which may be a
dampener for valuations of REITs, Taing said interest rates were
a macro-economic factor.
He said interest rates may affect REITs in the short term, but
WCT’s objective is to establish a long-term recurring income
from the property investment business.
“We reckon that the other industrial players are strong and
we will face stiff competition from the day we enter the mall
business. But we believe we have the capability and resources to
compete and achieve our long-term plan on property investment.
To date, our mall business is stable and generates commendable
returns to the group and we will stay focused on achieving our
goals,” he said.
The sun daily
20th January 2015
New World Hotels to
manage WCT’s asset
in Petaling Jaya
PETALING JAYA: WCT
Holdings Bhd has picked
New World Hotels & Resorts,
one of the region’s leading
hospitality groups, to manage
its soon-to-be completed
hotel in Petaling Jaya, Selangor and is expected to sign an
agreement 23rd January 2015.
To be named New World Hotel Petaling Jaya, the “deluxe hotel”
is expected to offer 316 guestrooms and suites with the brand’s
signature Residence Club Living Room, a restaurant and rooftop
The hotel will
occupy the
top 12 floors
of the dualuse
30-storey
tower of The Paradigm, a RM1.8 billion integrated commercial
development in Kelana Jaya.
The Azure makes up the residential component of the 30-storey
tower. Paradigm Mall, which is owned and managed by the
developer, is also part of the integrated commercial development.
According to WCT Holdings’ website, the hotel is scheduled to
open at the end of 2016.
The hotel will be New World Hotels & Resorts’ first hotel in
Malaysia. The operator has presence in China, Hong Kong,
Vietnam and the Philippines, catering to business travelers.
According to its website, a hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah is in its
Malaysian pipeline.
WCT Holdings currently operates Premiere Hotel in Klang.
Located in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, it is a business hotel offering 250
rooms and suites.
Opened in October 2010, Premiere Hotel is the group’s first foray
into the hospitality business. It also owns three shopping malls
namely Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre in Klang, Paradigm Mall in
Petaling Jaya and gateway@klia2 in Sepang.
It is currently developing its fourth shopping mall, Paradigm Mall
in Johor Bahru.
The group is involved in property development, engineering and
construction as well as investment and management.
The company’s property development and investment and
management portfolio includes townships, luxury homes, highrise
residences, industrial properties, offices, mixed commercial
developments, concessions, hotels and shopping malls.
It has projects located in Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang, Kuala
Lumpur, Johor and Sabah. The group currently has a landbank of
about 770 acres in Malaysia.
Madeline Soo
Marketing Manager
Petaling Jaya
Chee Sue Anne
Asst. Sales & Marketing
Manager
JB & outstation projects
Nancy Chuah
Marketing Manager
Chong Chin Soon
Asst. Sales Manager
Mandy Wong
Asst. Marketing
Manager
Sik Kian Chung
Marketing Manager
26 27