Scientex strengthens presence in Johor with RM185m landbank buy
PETALING JAYA: Scientex Bhd is strengthening its presence in Malaysia’s affordable housing development market through its 202.2 acre land acquisition in Pulai, Johor for RM185 million.
Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Scientex Quatari Sdn Bhd, Scientex entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Lee Pineapple Company (Pte) Limited for the proposed acquisition of eight parcels of freehold land, which are in close proximity to Scientex’s existing developments.
Scientex CEO Lim Peng Jin said this latest landbanking exercise in Johor would allow the company to deliver more affordable homes to meet the rising demand.
“We are constantly on the lookout for suitable landbanking deals, to ensure we continue building a sustainable pipeline of future launches, as well as further expand our affordable homes footprint across various states in Peninsular Malaysia,“Lim said in a statement.
The new land is situated near its townships: Taman Pulai Mutiara that was launched in 2016, and Taman Pulai Mutiara 2 that was launched in December 2019.
The group plans to launch a mixed development project on the proposed land, where its gross development value (GDV) is yet to be determined.
The proposed acquisition is conditional upon the Estate Land Board’s approval, and is expected to be completed in the first half of the calendar year 2021. This purchase will be financed by internally generated funds and bank borrowings.
This landbanking deal comes on the heels of the group’s recent acquisition of a 1,357.5 acre land in Jasin, Malacca. With this proposed new acquisition, the group’s total landbank would increase to more than 5,700 acres across Johor, Malacca, Selangor, Perak and Penang, which is sufficient for more than 10 years of development activities.
Currently, Scientex has ongoing property developments worth a total GDV of RM1.8 billion, across its developments in Johor, Malacca, Selangor and Perak.