Tycoon Ng buys another property in Australia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian tycoon Ming Ng, well known for his investment foray into Australian properties, is believed to be on another buying spree.

This time, Ng, via his family-controlled company Dradgin of Singapore, is said to have purchased a landmark commercial property, 502 Hay Street, in the suburb of Subiaco, the central business district (CBD) of Perth, at an undisclosed price.

The Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday that Ng had acquired the building from beleaguered Perth-based developer Luke Saraceni, who had to offload the property because of mounting debts.

Dradgin was unavailable for comment at press time.

Ng and his family is said to own several other prime properties in Western Australia, including 168 St George's Terrace in the CBD.

It has been a trend of sort for Malaysia companies to purchase land, develop or acquire prime properties down under.

This include Mulpha International Bhd, which owns Sanctuary Cove, a 474-ha residential and lifestyle property development in Queensland Gold Coast.

Other Malaysian tycoons chose to venture into Britain and they include YTL Corp Bhd, which carries out its utilities activities via subsidiary YTL Power International Bhd.

YTL Power wholly-owns Wessex Water, one of the most efficient water and sewerage operators in Britain.

This acquisition represents YTL's first major foray into Europe and marks the beginning of another exciting chapter in the growth and development of the YTL Group.

However, Ng's property purchase is an interesting one the acquisition was done when the Aussie dollar was almost at its all-time high against the ringgit (A$1: RM3.084).

Ideally, acquisitions are best done when the exchange rate is in favour of the buyer.

A local property analyst said the “right” price to buy could lead to an opportunity gain.

He said this might well be the case with Ng's recent acquisition of 502 Hay Street.

“The acquisition may be a situation of striking or buying when an opportunity arises, despite the high price of the asset, because of future earnings potential,” he said.

However, the analyst said the situation remained speculative as it was difficult to assess the reason for Ming' purchase, especially with so little information provided by the company.

He said it was generally uncommon for local tycoons to acquire prime property, especially in the developed world, when the exchange rate was not to their favour.

The analyst said it was also a risky decision as the stronger currency might suddenly fall.

“There must be a catch somewhere to compensate for buying a property against a stronger exchange,” he noted.

By The Star

Properties worth A$850m sold at Sanctuary Cove

SANCTUARY Cove is one of Australia’s most successful resort-styled residential projects which Mulpha Australia acquired in 2002 for about A$208mil (RM640mil).

Located on the northern end of the Gold Coast and a 40-minute drive from Brisbane, the more than 2,000-resident estate boasts two golf courses, four harbours, 15 restaurants and harbourside cafes. It still has homes and land for sale ranging from just under A$500,000 (RM1.5mil) up to A$8mil (RM25mil).

Mulpha had acquired Sanctuary Cove from its previous Japanese owners who had collapsed into receivership in the early 1990s. The Japanese were intent on making it a big success and are said to have pumped in some A$1bil (RM3.1bil) into infrastructure at Sanctuary Cove.

However, due to overcapitalisation, the Japanese had faced financial troubles and had to sell it. When Mulpha bought Sanctuary Cove, only under a third of it was developed, with only 600 houses built on the site.

Since then, Mulpha has sold about A$850mil (RM2.6bil) worth of properties at Sanctuary Cove, says Alison Quinn, Sanctuary Cove executive general manager. She says that in the first half of this year alone, more than A$60mil (RM186mil) of property sales were achieved.

Since acquiring it, Mulpha has also invested as much as A$250mil (RM773mil) into the infrastructure of Santuary Cove, focusing on its golfing facilities, creating a retail precinct and expanding its marina.

Sanctuary Cove has a total capacity of 1,922 lots, with more than 800 individual titles yet to be developed including waterfront blocks, golf course and hillside land.

In January this year, as a move to provide more variety into its offerings, Sanctuary Cove released the first homes as part of a joint venture with Australia’s Sunland Group.

The joint venture will involve 117 new luxury homes and duplexes with golf and lake views.

Sunland is the developer of Q1, a tall skyscraper located in Surfers Paradise, on the Gold Coast. It is the world’s tallest residential tower, and the tallest building in Australia.

Last year, more than A$100mil (RM310mil) worth of properties were sold on Sanctuary Cove. It had been reported that this was made up of at least 50 properties, including a large waterfront block that went for A$7.2mil (RM22.2mil) to a Hong Kong-based businessman.

Sanctuary Cove is one of the few property projects in Australia with the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) exemption status, meaning that foreigners can buy and sell properties there without restrictions.

Quinn believes that the company is well-placed to hit the A$100mil mark of sales again this year.

She says a recent A$20mil (RM62mil) investment on Sanctuary Cove’s golfing facilities, including the construction of an A$13mil (RM40.2mil) golf clubhouse followed by an overhaul and redesign of its golf course, has enhanced the community’s appeal.

“We are in the midst of very exciting times at Sanctuary Cove,” Quinn says.

“As a result of this strategic investment, Mulpha now has one of the largest and most diverse property portfolios in the country, and a level of infrastructure and lifestyle facilities that is unrivalled by any other residential community.”

By The Star