Damansara Realty, China firm in Johor township JV

PETALING JAYA: Damansara Realty Bhd is proposing to form a joint venture (JV) with China’s Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd to develop an integrated township in Johor Baru.

The company said in a statement last Friday that the township, to be known as Central Park, will be developed on 53 acres of freehold land in Tebrau.

The JV, DAC Properties Sdn Bhd, will be 30% held by Damansara Realty’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary Damansara Realty (Johor) Sdn Bhd and 70% held by Country Garden Management Sdn Bhd (CGM), which is wholly owned by Country Garden.

The project will be developed over six to eight years, starting in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Targeted at young home buyers, the project will comprise residential units, commercial shop spaces and various amenities. The first phase will be launched in the first quarter of 2017.

The Central Park site is part of a larger 63-acre land parcel that Damansara Realty will acquire for RM141.53 million, following a development rights agreement signed in 2002 and 2003 with Johor Corp (JCorp).

DAC Properties will pay RM130.3 million to JCorp for the 53-acre site while Damansara Realty will pay JCorp RM11.23 million for the remaining 10 acres of land, which comprises completed shop offices and undeveloped land.

On a pro forma basis, upon completion of the proposals based on the audited accounts as at Dec 31, 2015, Damansara Realty would record an increase in the net asset per share from 37 sen to 51 sen.

Trading in the securities of Damansara Realty was suspended pending the announcement of the JV last Friday. Trading in its shares resumes today.