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KUALA LUMPUR: Paramount Corp Bhd remains bullish on the property sector’s prospects in emerging markets, especially in Malaysia, for the second half of the year, despite the uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

Group chief executive officer Jeffrey Chew Sun Teong said the property take-up rate is expected to recover in later this year due to the gradual reopening of the economy since the implementation of the recovery movement control order (MCO).

“Our employment market is very stable, if compared with the United States, and that is just for government services.

“We also have a number of government-linked companies in the country, which makes it a bit harder for retrenchments because the government wants to preserve employment, ” he told a media briefing on the company’s first-half financial performance 2020 yesterday.

Besides the employment market, he said, Malaysia also has other strengths to support its economic recovery, including its status as a commodity-based country.

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PETALING JAYA, 16 July 2020: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) is acquiring for redevelopment 4.54 acres of prime freehold land with buildings at Jalan Ampang Hilir, Kuala Lumpur, in the vicinity of what is popularly known as the Embassy Row. A 20-storey building with service suites and 132 units of low-rise condominiums are situated on the land.

Paramount Property (Cityview) Sdn Bhd (PPCV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount, today entered into sale and purchase agreements with the subsidiaries of Singapore-listed Wing Tai Holdings Limited (WTHL), Seniharta Sdn Bhd and DNP Jaya Sdn Bhd, for two pieces of contiguous land measuring 0.95 acres and 3.59 acres for a total purchase consideration of RM243.8 million.

Paramount Group Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Chew said, “This is Paramount’s first venture into property development in Kuala Lumpur and we are very excited about the prospects. This acquisition will enable Paramount to enhance our property development profile at a prime location in the heart of KL.”

He said Paramount intends to redevelop the properties into a premium high-rise residential development consisting of about 650 units of condominium.

“The estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM863.0 million to be generated from the proposed development over a period of five years is expected to further strengthen Paramount’s current total expected GDV of RM6.8 billion to RM7.7 billion, and contribute positively to future earnings,” he said.

The site located at the prestigious U-Thant enclave of Kuala Lumpur is surrounded by foreign embassies, high commissions, high-end residences, international schools and medical centres.

“The market prices for condominiums in the area are about 30% to 40% lower than those at the KLCC area. As such, Paramount’s proposed premium residential development would be an attractive address in the KL city and an alternative to properties at KLCC,” he said.

Chew said the development will have easy access to a catchment of expatriates in the area as well as the larger population of the Klang Valley which is expected to surpass 10 million by 2035.

“The acquisition is in line with our strategy of replenishing land bank at strategic locations with strong growth potential and to scale up our property development activities to generate long term sustainable income.

“Demand for housing in the Klang Valley remains resilient due to population and economic growth. The value of residential property transactions in the Klang Valley was RM33.9 billion in 2019, accounting for nearly half the total of RM72.4 billion transacted in Malaysia that year,” he said.

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Paramount Corp Bhd’s Bukit Banyan township in Sungai Petani, Kedah is set to add more properties in the coming years as it acquires land to expand the development by some 25 per cent.

The group’s subsidiary Paramount Property (Utara) Sdn Bhd had planned to build a total of 4,480 properties in the 208ha township over eight to 10 years, with a gross development value (GDV) of RM700 million.

Of the total number of units, 1,680 are in the affordable category comprising 1,000 low-cost apartments, 280 low-medium cost townhouses, and 400 medium-cost single-storey terraced house, priced respectively at RM45,000, RM90,000, and RM200,000.

Launched in 2012, Bukit Banyan is Paramount’s third township development in Kedah, after Bandar Laguna Merbok and Taman Patani Jaya.

As at March 31, Bukit Banyan had 72.03ha of undeveloped land and a remaining potential gross development value (GDV) of RM498 million.

On Monday, Paramount said its subsidiary Paramount Property (Utara) Sdn Bhd will buy more land to expand the township development.

Paramount Property has entered into a sales and purchase agreement with BDB Land Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Bina Darulaman Bhd (BDB), to buy two parcels of freehold agriculture land with a combined size of 55.48ha for RM24.02 million.

The market value for both the parcels of land is RM23.3 million to RM22.9 million, based on the valuation ascribed by two separate independent market valuers.

Paramount told Bursa Malaysia that it took into consideration the market value and development potential of the lands before entering into an agreement with BDB Land.

It said with the proposed land acquisition from BDB Land, the township will have 126ha to be developed from now until 2030.

The group chief executive officer Jeffrey Chew said the expected GDV for the two land parcels is RM400 million from both residential and commercial properties to be built after the conversion of the land status.

The purchase will be funded by proceeds received from the divestment of Paramount’s pre-tertiary education business earlier this year, he said.

BDB, the largest developer in Kedah said it is selling the land as the group has no immediate plan to develop the lands.

It said the sale is in the best interest of BDB Land and will enable the company to repay borrowings and raise funds for the working capital requirements.

BDB Land is expected to make a RM9.6 million disposal gain, which will increase the group’s consolidated earnings per share by three sen for the financial year ending December 31, 2020, and also reduce its gearing ratio from 0.28 times to 0.25 times.

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PETALING JAYA, 7 July 2020: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) is expanding its Bukit Banyan township in Sungai Petani by 26% with the purchase of 137.1 acres of freehold agriculture land, contiguous to its existing 520 acres.

Paramount Group CEO Jeffrey Chew said its subsidiary Paramount Property (Utara) Sdn Bhd had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with BDB Land Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of Bina Darulaman Berhad) yesterday to buy two parcels of land (62.6 acres and 74.5 acres) for a total consideration of RM24 million. The purchase will be funded by the proceeds received from the divestment of Paramount’s pre-tertiary education business earlier this year.

Chew said Paramount expects a Gross Development Value (GDV) of RM400 million from both residential and commercial properties to be built after the conversion of the land status.

As at 31 March 2020, Bukit Banyan had 178 acres of undeveloped land and a remaining potential GDV of RM498 million. With the acquisition of the 137.1 acres, Bukit Banyan will have 315.1 acres to develop from now until 2030.

“Bukit Banyan is Paramount’s star project in the northern region, one of the hottest housing projects in Kedah in 2019, and a winner of multiple awards,” said Chew.

Bukit Banyan is Paramount’s third township development project in Kedah after Taman Patani Jaya and Bandar Laguna Merbok. Four phases with a GDV of RM165 million was launched in 2019. Another two phases with a GDV of RM59 million are being launched this year, with house prices ranging from RM390,000 to RM565,000.

The gated and guarded Bukit Banyan has won numerous awards including an Honour Award at the Malaysian Landscape Architecture Awards in 2018, and the StarProperty 2018 Awards for Best Family Centric development from RM350,000). It is home to Wisma Paramount, Kedah’s first Platinum-rated green building which is GreenRE and Green Building Index (GBI) compliant.

Bukit Banyan was launched in 2012. Twenty-five acres out of the 520 acres was set aside for a hill park. With the new 137.1 acres, Bukit Banyan will span 657.1 acres. Today, Bukit Banyan Hill Park has eight themed gardens and a multipurpose open plaza, home to more than 25 species of plants. In 2016, Paramount added a Promenade Park to transform a retention pond area into a 820-metre jogging and cycling track complete with landscaping, gazebos, and a host of water features. In 2019, a new Tecoma Park was being planted at the location of another retention pond. At the same time, a new Elderly Park is also in progress.

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