Glomac ... Nov 2008

Its Past …

In 1991, FD Iskandar Mohamed Mansor, then in his 20s, joined property development company Glomac Bhd. Six years later he learnt some crucial lessons during the Asian economic crisis of 1997.

Before the Asian crisis, Glomac’s revenue was flowing in sure and fast. The developer was involved in commercial units like shophouses/offices in Petaling Jaya, Cheras and Shah Alam and was raking in sales of RM15mil-RM20mil a month. When the crisis came, the company sold nothing.

Present … Nov 2008

It will focus on commercial projects in good locations like Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur, compared with large-scale development. The other is extending the duration of these projects to be sold, from three to six years. It still has 10 ongoing projects worth RM3.3bil on 1,000 acres in the pipeline.

It launched its phase one of Glomac Damansara, a 7-acre integrated mixed development. We sold them within weeks. The RM750mil mixed development, Glomac Damansara, will be launched in phases. The first launch comprises five-storey shop offices and an office block. The development of service apartments will come later.

Its second project is in Mutiara Damansara. This comprises a commercial tower and some retail on three acres with a GDV of RM300mil. The third commercial project is in Kelana Jaya on 3.5 acres with GDV of RM300mil and a fourth in Cyberjaya, on 9 acres with RM250mil. All of which are commercial projects, he says.

It still have three townships – Bandar Saujana in Sungei Buloh and two others in Rawang and Johor.

The company sold Glomac Tower which fronts the KLCC at the end of last year (2007) for RM1,160 per sq ft, or RM577mil, to Prestige Scale Sdn Bhd. The transaction was financed by Kuwait Finance House. The sale hit a record price and set a new benchmark for Grade A office buildings for the city centre.

Glomac has a building in the commercial business district of Melbourne, Australia, which it bought for A$30.5mil in 2006. That project has 445 car park spaces and provides a yield of 8% a year.

Its second foray abroad is in Bangkok, where it bought a warehouse which is currently tenanted to a pharmaceutical company.