Malaysia's Newest Billionaire : Datuk Lim Kang Hoo

The man of the moment in Malaysia is newly minted billionaire Lim Kang Hoo, whose Iskandar property play and an investment in construction firm Ekovest, has catapulted him to a berth in the billionaires’ club.

Lim Kang Who? That’s the reaction most Malaysians, even in the business media, would have to the man who is a rank outsider in the world of movers and shakers. “Fifteen years ago, no one wanted to lend me a dollar and people used to laugh at me when I showed the concept of creating JB (Johor Bahru) into a waterfront city like Hong Kong-Shenzhen. They thought I was crazy,” he said in an interview for StarBizweek, a local financial weekly, in 2012. Then last year, he shared the stage with both the prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, and prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, for  launching a new  township in collaboration marquee names like CapitaLand and Temasek . His smile did little to hide the smugness of a man who gets the last laugh.

Lim Kang Hoo owns 4,000 acres in the Iskandar region, one of the hottest property destinations in Asia.  Other investors there include billionaires of all shades, from Robert Quok to Peter Lim and Jeffery Cheah, as well as some of the best names in property development in China and Australia, and sovereign funds in  Singapore and Malaysia wanting a stake. The land Lim bought for MYR1.5 – RM 3 ($0.47- $0.95) a square foot in 1997 is now selling between MYR 350-500 ($110-170).  And he also owns the right to reclaim many more acres to build a new waterfront lifestyle hub, Malaysia’s first.

Lim ranked No. 18 on Forbes’ list of Malaysia’s 50 richest in February this year, with a net worth estimated at $975 million. Since then, a rise in the stock price of civil engineering firm Ekovest Berhad, of which he owns about 33%, and a slight strengthening of the Malaysian ringgit have lifted Lim’s fortune just over $1 billion.

Ironically, Lim’s foray into Iskandar began during the depths [of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 when he assumed RM 200 million ($62 million) debt in state investment agency Kumpulan Praserana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) and received land reclamation rights in exchange. (KPRJ is now a partner in his Iskandar Water Front Holdings with a 40% stake). Since then, he has been investing and working on reclaiming land, building shoreline protection, deepening existing rivers and relentlessly working to convince all of the potential of Johor Bahru, a once sleep town across the border from Singapore with a population of  1.4 million, now a part of the expanding Iskandar population

Lim has a grand makeover plan for Johor and Iskandar. He has been buying abandoned shops and plots occupied by squatters, often tracing owners who had migrated in order  consolidate his holdings in the Johor Central District and plans to make it a world-class heritage city. It will have a China Town, Little India, Malay Street and nightlife attractions. Both the state and central government are funding this.

On the west side of Iskandar,  Lim has plans to make Danga Bay into a premier waterfront destination with cruise terminals, marina, fisherman’s wharf and tower to house residences, offices, hotels and convention centers. Here he has sold land to China Garden, one of the top developers in China, but most of the current projects are being developed in a joint venture with his Iskandar WaterFront Holdings, in which he holds 60%. Forbes estimates his stake in Iskander WaterFront Holdings to be worth roughly $925 million.

 

In the eastern corridor, Tebaru coast will replicate the Gold Coast mode of lifestyle developments as he reclaims more land to attract expatriates who will work at the oil and gas hub in neighboring Pengerang.

To detractors, Lim’s plans are too ambitious and they warn of a glut with too many players and too high a cost of reclaiming land in the region. But Lim has been selling land in stages. He says he is looking at decades for full realization of his dream and wants to work with developers from China, India, Europe, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore to de-risk his investments and not put all his eggs in one basket. This patient man is unlikely to kill his golden goose.

Source: Forbes Asia;
Neerja Jetley

SULTAN OF JOHOR BUSINESS EMPIRE

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar

The Sultan of Johor’s administrative decisions and his business forays are much talked about by people both within and outside the corporate circles.

In the past six months alone, he has forged business alliances with the biggest of Malaysian corporations owned by local tycoons who normally shy away from doing business with royalty. He has also cut some large land and property deals that have attracted more than their fair share of attention due primarily to their pricing.

In December alone, he sold a parcel of prime land in Johor Baru to China-based Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd for a record price and acquired a 20% stake in Berjaya Times Square Sdn Bhd (BTSSB) in Kuala Lumpur at a steep discount of 37% to its net asset value.

What also caught the attention of the nation was the Sultan’s declaration that Johor’s rest days would be Friday and Saturday.

The Sultan announced that this would be effective from Jan 1, 2014, and that he had made the decision after receiving feedback from various quarters and to allow Muslims to perform their prayers with peace of mind.

This takes the state — which has been positioned to attract international investors from Singapore — back to the days before 1994 when it observed Friday and Saturday as the off days.

However, the move has made national strategic investment company Khazanah Nasional Bhd uneasy because it is targeting the international community for its sprawling development Iskandar Malaysia, which is touted as a cheaper alternative destination to costly Singapore.

Internationally, Saturday and Sunday are the rest days and when the financial system shuts down. So, changing the rest days in Johor is likely to negatively impact the marketing of Iskandar Malaysia.   

But while the new weekend has unnerved the business community, the sale of a prime piece of property at a record price has proved the Sultan of Johor’s prowess in clinching good deals.

On Dec 2, Guangzhou R&F Properties announced to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it was acquiring 116 acres in Johor Baru from the Sultan for RM4.5 billion, which represents about RM890 psf — a new benchmark for waterfront land in a city closest to Singapore.

By comparison, China-based Country Garden Ltd had paid Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd RM363 psf for 57 acres of waterfront land in Johor Baru.

Guangzhou R&F Properties named the Sultan as the vendor in the exercise. The exact location of the land has not been disclosed, but it is believed to be the area where the old Customs, Immigration and Quarantine centre was sited.

Located next to the Causeway, the land faces Singapore and was eyed by many players.

When the CIQ was moved to its new location, the entire area it occupied, which included a customs and excise building and a yard to facilitate the parking of heavy vehicles, was said to have been taken over by the state.

There are no details on how the land came to belong to the Sultan or how much he had paid for it. But the valuation of the transaction has stunned the Johor property market as a whole because it comes at a time when there is a softening in asset prices.

Whether the Sultan will hold an interest in the development is also not known.

Ten days later, the Sultan acquired the 20% stake in BTSSB from Berjaya Assets Bhd — a company that is controlled by Tan Sri Vincent Tan of the Berjaya group — at a 37% discount to the latest net asset value of the Berjaya Times Square building.

Tan, a tycoon whose businesses range from gaming to property development and telecommunications services, is not the kind who would give up a stake in prime properties that easily.

So, the deal raised a number of questions.

Berjaya Assets has clarified that the discounted price was due to the stake being a minority interest in an unlisted company. It was also because of the “Sultan’s stature and business acumen”, it said in an announcement to Bursa.

Nevertheless, the deal has stirred talk that bigger things are in store for Berjaya Assets, which has 18 acres of prime land on the Johor Baru waterfront. The speculation is that a sizzling entertainment centre that would match the casino and resorts in Singapore will be built on the land.

In fact, in its latest annual report, Berjaya Assets alluded to the land being earmarked for a large entertainment centre.

Apart from property, Sultan Ibrahim has also stamped his authority on the power sector.

In August this year, SISP Power Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture company between the Sultan and YTL Power International Bhd, submitted the lowest bid for an Energy Commission (EC) job to build a 2,000mw, coal-fired power plant.

SISP Energy Sdn Bhd, a private company controlled by the Sultan, has a 30% stake in SISP Power while YTL Power International holds the rest.

SISP Power’s bid was marginally lower than that of 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The EC has yet to announce the winner of the tender but the mere presence of the Sultan as a partner in SISP Power has sent the message that the joint venture is no pushover and a strong contender for future power projects.

While making waves in the corporate world, Sultan Ibrahim continues to stay in touch with his people. When Johor was hit by floods, he was there on the ground before the politicians came.

 

In June 2012, when Sultan Ibrahim caused a controversy by paying RM520,000 for the highly sought-after number plate WWW 1, 30,000 people turned up at his palace in a show of support. To them, he unveiled an orange custom-made Proton Hatchback bearing the number plate.

As Johor moves forward, its Sultan will continue to be the person to watch in 2014.

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on December 23, 2013.

6 STEPS TO A PROFITABLE PROPERTY INVESTMENT

According to Chris Gray, property expert and author of The Effortless Empire - Building wealth from property, investing in Real Estate.

6 Steps To A Profitable Property Investment

If you’re thinking of investing in property, these six steps will help you invest in the right property that delivers profits now and in the future.

Real estate is a fantastic vehicle for building and holding wealth – provided you invest in the right types of property, that is.

1. Choose property that’s attractive to tenants.
It should be clean, have good-sized bedrooms, ideally with off-street parking, and good positioning away from noise and main roads.

“You’ve got to buy something that suits the majority of tenants in that particular area,” Gray says. “Features such as these will ensure your property is attractive to renters and will guarantee your income stream.”

2. Choose property that will grow in value.
Sounds like a no-brainer, but it can be easy to mistake a lemon investment for a good value prospect.

"If the property is close to a major CBD, beaches, schools, public transport and leisure facilities, it’s more likely to grow by more than the average in a good market and is more likely to hold its value in a down market," Gray explains.

Keep in mind that if you buy around the median price, then more people can afford to rent it and more people can afford to buy it, if you were put into a forced sale position.

3. Buy blue chip.
“Cheap properties are cheap because they’re not in great demand and there’s plenty to choose from,” he says. “It’s often worth paying market value for a good property in a top suburb than it is to get a discount for something that no one else really wants.”

4. Create instant equity.
Do some quick renovations such as a paint job, re-carpeting, tidying the garden, painting the fence, installing new curtains or blinds and replacing the kitchen-cupboard doors. “For every dollar you spend on renovating you should be aiming to get at least $1-2 back in the value of your property,” Gray says.

5. Refinance your property to create a buffer.
When your property grows in value, refinance to create an emergency cash buffer zone. “You don’t want to find yourself in a forced-sale position, as you won’t get the best price and it may trigger capital gains taxes and other expenses,” he warns. A cash buffer will ensure you can continue to make mortgage repayments even if you lose your job.

6. Re-sign your tenants.
It’s so important that you hire a professional property manager to ensure you get reliable tenants and that they pay a good market rent. “Aim to tie your tenant down to 12 month agreements, to help guarantee your rental income,”