Malaysian developer with a huge property development in London with financings from Malaysian banks in Pound Sterling. Yes, I am proud, as a Malaysian. We are talking about Eco World Investment Co Ltd which announced that it has secured major approvals for three London property projects with a gross development value (GDV) of £2.257bil (RM13.33bil). In terms of financing, a total of £1.1 bil will come from CIMB Bank and Maybank Investment Bank. The launch is slated for launching within the next 2 years.
Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said that most of these units are expected to be sold prior to the launches. This is because they are already building up their customer base as well as momentum even before they launch their projects. In its latest launch, London City Island Phase 2 has already achieved an 84% take-up rate within weeks after its official May 30 launch. 25 percent of the firm bookings were by Malaysians while another 25 percent was booked by Singaporean buyers. London has always been an international property market favoured by many, especially the super-wealthy.
On its direct IPO listing into the main board in Bursa Malaysia, the target set by Liew is first quarter of 2016. In future, Eco World Development Group Bhd would focus on projects within Malaysia while Eco World International would be focussed on overseas projects. Both would share the same Eco World brand. Quite a clever move as branding is not easy to achieve and sharing a familiar good brand meant less marketing and branding associated costs too.
Personally, there’s no way that I would be buying any of the London units. Just too far away from the super-wealthy category. I have been to London twice and after my Perth trip, I have to say in terms of retirement, I certainly prefer the Perth city with more greenery compared to London. For excitement and entertainment though, I think London has much more to offer while Perth is more subdued. Then again if I am super-wealthy, of course I would buy both. Haha. Happy investing in London.
written on 3 July 2015
next suggested article: Batu Kawan’s RM10 billion GDV by Eco World
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