SHAH ALAM: I-Bhd will ramp up its property development to achieve annual revenue of RM500mil from the segment in five years in order to support its newly announced 30% dividend policy.
“We also hope to generate revenue of RM100mil per annum from our leisure segment, all of which will bring our property portfolio to breach the RM1bil mark,” said deputy chairman Datuk Eu Hong Chew.
He said the group’s current business plan was to ensure that in five years it had half of the group earnings coming from recurring income in the leisure and property investment segments.
He also said the group had obtained development approvals to proceed with its plans to make I-Bhd a strong dividend player.
The group’s investment property portfolio includes the regional retail mall CentrePlaza@i-City, hotels, data centres and carparks.
“We expect a double-digit growth every year until we reach RM500mil in five years. Last year, revenue from the property development sector was RM90mil. We aim for an additional RM100mil every year,” Eu said at a press conference after the company’s AGM yesterday.
Results for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2013, showed its property development segment had overtaken the leisure segment, contributing between 70% and 75% to group performance. As of last year, its property investments contributed less than 10% to group performance. “We are filling up our property pipeline fast, with unbilled sales last year amounting to RM400mil,” Eu said.
In line with this plan, I-Bhd has also been building up its investment property portfolio concurrently with various property launches. The 216-room Best Western @i-City hotel will be ready by September, while 6,000 new carpark bays will cater to the Leisure Park visitors next year.
Construction of the CentralPlaza @i-City shopping mall and CentralTowers will begin in the first half of 2015.
“The RM700mil corporate exercise that we are currently undertaking is geared towards supporting our investment property growth plans,” said I-Bhd group executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong.
The developer will also be launching RM1.6bil worth of properties, most notably the Grand i-Residence @Kia Peng and the next phase of i-Suite in i-City.
I-Bhd expects its upcoming 70-storey tower, The Jewel, which will comprise a five-star hotel with over 400 rooms, a connecting residential tower as well as offices and retail units on the lower floors, to attract foreign interest.
The Jewel, which will be launched next year, will raise the gross development value of i-City from RM7bil to RM9bil.
~ By THE STAR
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