Thursday, April 6, 2017

OSK buys Melbourne property for AUD 145 Million, promises gardens in the sky,and gets EPF to pay AUD 154 Million for 49% in a market that is expected to collapse

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

The provident fund is paying A$154mil for a 49% stake in Yarra Park City Pty Ltd (YPC), which holds the rights to a five-acre mixed-use development worth over RM9bil in Melbourne.  The remaining 51% interest in YPC is held by PJ Development Holdings Bhd (PJD), which is a subsidiary of OSK.  The Melbourne project also marked the fund’s second development venture overseas after the Battersea project in London. (Picture shows: Ong (second from left) exchanging documents with Shahril. With them are OSK deputy group managing director Ong Ju Yan and EPF head of private markets department Rohaya Mohammad Yusof.)
The provident fund is paying A$154mil for a 49% stake in Yarra Park City Pty Ltd (YPC), which holds the rights to a five-acre mixed-use development worth over RM9bil in Melbourne. The remaining 51% interest in YPC is held by PJ Development Holdings Bhd (PJD), which is a subsidiary of OSK. The Melbourne project also marked the fund’s second development venture overseas after the Battersea project in London. (Picture shows: Ong Leong Huat (second from left) exchanging documents with Shahril. With them are OSK deputy group managing director Ong Ju Yan and EPF head of private markets department Rohaya Mohammad Yusof.)

The AFR reported in February this year:

Malaysia's OSK Property has won approval for the first stage of a $2.8 billion mixed-use project in Melbourne's Southbank, one of the largest single development proposals ever put to the state's planning authorities.

To be known as Melbourne Square, the project will transform a city-fringe block into a vertical village with six towers linked by a network of elevated gardens.

Then known as PJ Development, the Malaysian developer paid a record $145 million to acquire the city fringe site in June 2014 from interests associated with the Mario LoGiudice's Banco Group.

Today ,Thursday, 6 April 2017 The Star reported:


The Employees Provident Fund  is paying A$154mil for a 49% stake in Yarra Park City Pty Ltd (YPC), which holds the rights to a five-acre mixed-use development worth over RM9bil in Melbourne.
The remaining 51% interest in YPC is held by PJ Development Holdings Bhd (PJD), which is a subsidiary of OSK.


“The disposal and YPC subscription are expected to increase the net earnings of the OSK group by A$38.2mil (RM129mil) and a foreign-exchange gain on the total investment in YPC of RM49.2mil, which was previously recorded as foreign-exchange reserve; or a total increase of 12.86 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017,” said OSK.

In essence OSK;s PJD makes a profit of AUD 38.2 million ((RM129mil)  upfront, enjoys a forex gain of RM 49.2 million, and gets the EPF to pay for the entire purchase cost, while still controlling the development company.

As for the AUD 2.8 Billion Gross Development Value (GDV)?Recall that it does not mean anything to the EPF until and unless the project makes a profit, and that profit is paid over to the EPF in dividends. 

To make matters worse, unlike 2014 when Ong Leong Huat bought the property, the market today is fragile.
END 

See also
Aussie Banks: Property Bubble Fears Raise Alarm
Barron's-4 Apr. 2017




Thursday, 6 April 2017
EPF buys stake in OSK’s Aussie project



BY EUGENE MAHALINGAM

  • Updated Feb 23 2017 at 12:15 AM

  • Malaysia's OSK gets OK for massive 

    Melbourne project

    The first stage of Malaysian developer OSK's Melbourne Square project.
    The first stage of Malaysian developer OSK's Melbourne Square project. FloodSlicer Pty Ltd
    Malaysia's OSK Property has won approval for the first stage of a $2.8 billion mixed-use project in Melbourne's Southbank, one of the largest single development proposals ever put to the state's planning authorities. 
    To be known as Melbourne Square, the project will transform a city-fringe block into a vertical village with six towers linked by a network of elevated gardens.
    Designed by Cox Architecture, almost a fifth of the huge site will be devoted to public realm with a park, a shopping centre, childcare facility, and specialty stores.
    The overall proposal is to build the six towers, ranging in height from 30 levels to 65 levels with the tallest 226 metres, on a two-hectare car-park site at 93-119 Kavanagh Street.

    It includes 60,000 square metres of office space, a hotel and serviced apartment tower with 687 rooms and four apartment towers with 2610 apartments, and a childcare centre.

    The first stage now approved will comprise the park as well as two upmarket towers with more than 1000 apartments. Pre-sales for the apartments are due to get under way this year.

    Key destination

    "It is our hope that Melbourne Square will be an important destination within the world's most liveable city," said OSK's chairman, Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat, in a statement.
    Cox Architecture worked with landscape architects Rush Wright Associates for the masterplan and Taylor Cullity Lethlean for the first stage. 
    "A deliberate decision was made to significantly exceed the open space area requirements," said Cox director Ian Sutter.
    Then known as PJ Development, the Malaysian developer paid a record $145 million to acquire the city fringe site in June 2014 from interests associated with the Mario LoGiudice's Banco Group.
    The company is controlled by one of Malaysia's richest men, Ong Leong Huat. In December 2015, PJ Development paid $27.8 million to Quintessential Equity for a suburban Sydney office building.
    Melbourne is popular with Malaysian developers, such as SP Setia which has five Australian sites and last year lodged plans for a $640 million twin tower project in central Melbourne.

    Giant Malaysian sovereign developer UEM Sunrise has a substantial pipeline as well, including the $770 million, 92-storey Aurora Melbourne Central residential tower.

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