‘White knight investors entering Johor real estate market’

Making Forest City an SFZ will create jobs and bring people to stay, work and shop there.

SAMUEL TAN KGV International Property Consultants Sdn Bhd executive director

White knight investors are entering the Johor real estate market, particularly to save distressed shopping malls, said KGV International Property Consultants Sdn Bhd executive director Samuel Tan.

Some malls, like Lot 1 Waterfront City Mall, needed a new lease of life, he said.

The deserted five-storey mall was now an eyesore, said Tan.

It was constructed for more than RM100 million in 2000 as part of the Johor Baru Waterfront City floating project launched in 1996.

Tan said to bring people into the city centre, the mall would need to be upgraded into a town square and have a broadwalk featuring a revolving tower.

He said a number of malls in Johor Baru were considering big upgrades or redevelopments.

The ideal course of action, he said, was for investors to take the properties with government support.

Tan urged mall owners to plan for modifications to their properties, given that a bigger portion of Johor Baru was expected to benefit from significant developments like the special financial zone (SFZ) and special economic zone (SEZ), as well as infrastructure improvements.

“Making Forest City an SFZ will create jobs and attract people to stay, work and shop there,” he said, adding that improved connectivity from Singapore would turn this duty-free island into a shopping paradise. He expected this destination would be revitalised with more meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (Mice) activities.

“It is feasible to have Forest City serve as a transport centre and have a high-speed rail train pass through it, even though it would cost more to build.

“Nonetheless, it is valuable to have it there if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.”

Tan said suburban malls, including Midvalley at Southkey, Paradigm Mall, Aeon Tebrau, Aeon Bukit Indah, and Sutera Mall, would also experience the spillover effects.

These, he said, were models of proper mall management.

“They frequently relocate their tenants to provide customers with a novel experience. To set the malls apart from the competition, new brands are added.”