IJM Land Bhd ... May 09

IJM Land Bhd should see a boost in income with the launch of its flagship project, The Light Waterfront Penang, in the third quarter 2009.
The project has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM5.2bil. It has been scheduled for launch in the first quarter 2009 but was deferred when the property market softened under the pressure of the global recession
Located on 61.5ha just off the Penang Bridge on the eastern coastline of Penang island, it will be developed in three phases over 12 years.

For the project’s construction, IJM Land will leverage on its parent IJM Corp Bhd’s construction expertise.

IJM Corp is a contractor for several high-end condominium projects in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) area such as The Binjai and Commerce Asset’s headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut.

IJM Land had the attributes of a blue-chip proxy to the listed property sector. This is given the potential enlargement of its market capitalisation and gradual improvement in its free float from future placements by parent IJM Corp.

IJM Corp plans to gradually trim its holding in the property vehicle to 60% from the current 77% to promote greater institutional shareholding. The move would promote greater trading liquidity in IJM Land’s shares.

Also planned for launch in the third quarter 2009 is the Nusa Duta development on 127 acres in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor. The RM320mil project will comprise mainly landed properties priced from RM300,000.