Mah Sing confident of achieving Rm1.6bil target

KUALA LUMPUR: Mah Sing Group Bhd is optimistic of achieving its sales target of Rm1.6bil for this year despite the current challenging market environment.

Group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum said the company derived such optimism from its planned launches of residential properties in the second half of this year, with 84% of residential properties priced below RM700,000.

“The latest high-rise residential development, M Luna in Kepong, has garnered 90% take-up rate for its first 200 units during its weekend launch. Other than M Luna and M Adora, we are also planning to launch the fifth tower, M Vertica in Cheras.

“The take-up for the first three towers is over 90% and the fourth tower (take-up) is also picking up.

“For M Arisa, 640 units have been launched since January 2020 and take-up has been very strong at 73% with more units expected to be launched in the remainder of the year,” he said in a statement yesterday.

On the company’s prospects, he said Mah Sing would maintain selective balance sheet expansion by focusing on strategic landbanks which are suitable for affordable products in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Klang Valley and Johor.

“Our primary focus would be to acquire lands within strategic locations with good connectivity and accessibility that are ready for immediate development as we believe the demand will persist for the right products in the right location, at the right pricing,” he said.

As of end-march this year, the group had a total of 808ha of remaining landbank, with about Rm24.9bil worth of remaining gross development value and unbilled sales. “This will provide the earnings visibility for the group for at least the next eight years,” Leong said.

On the demand side, he said the market appetite for properties remained resilient despite prevailing market conditions.

“Despite the challenging market environment and the uncertainties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to the unprecedented movement control order, and the tight lending environment and cooling measures implemented since 2014, demand for properties continues to be resilient driven by Malaysia’s strong fundamentals and domestic demand.

“The mid to long-term outlook remains positive as Malaysia’s population is still very young with 66% of the population below 40 years old and as such, household formation continues to be strong,” he said. —