Havelock City...
By June 30, 2018, 56 percent of the construction of phase three was completed and will be over by mid-2019.
Meanwhile, phase four, which is also under construction, comprising two more towers with 340 Luxury apartments, is expected to be launched to the market in August and completed by mid-2020, the company said in an earnings release.
Until recently, the market was abuzz with the fear of oversupply of luxury apartments but the sentiments have now improved.
But the lenders maintain cautious approach to both property developers and buyers as they are trimming their exposure to the sector, which is mostly susceptible to the change of governments and policies and lending conditions.
The Havelock City project also consists of a commercial complex, which comprises an iconic 50-storey office tower and a shopping mall. Sri Lanka’s Damro group this week opened its Marino Mall, a 150,000 square feet mega shopping complex.
Meanwhile, the Mall at Colombo City Centre, another mega shopping centre project by the Abans group, is set to open this month.
With the rapid increase in office and commercial spaces in Colombo and suburbs, the shopping spaces could face downward pressure on rate per square and hence the viability of these projects could become problematic unless the business and consumer sentiments improve, lifting the dampened prospects for retailing in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, for the six months ended on June 30, 2018, the Overseas Realty group reported earnings of Rs.1.68 a share or Rs.2.1 billion, up 29 percent from the same period last year.
This is on a total revenue of Rs.2.6 billion, up 118 percent from the same period, last year.
As of June 30, 2018, Singapore-based Shing Kwan Investment Company Limited held a 38.43 percent stake in the company.
The Jiangsu Tao Shing Pee Education Foundation, an entity established by Overseas Realty Chairman S.P. Tao, held another 24 percent stake being the second largest shareholder.
Unity Builders Limited held another 18.66 percent in the real estate group.