This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 15, 2017 - May 21, 2017

THE brand new 5-star Sheraton Petaling Jaya (Sheraton PJ) Hotel is said to be on the market via private sale for an indicative price of RM350 million. The hotel is part of the Pinnacle Petaling Jaya (Pinnacle PJ), a 1.73-acre development in Jalan Utara, Section 52, Petaling Jaya.

Sheraton PJ is owned by J&C Homes Holdings Sdn Bhd, the developer of Pinnacle PJ. Its website shows that the company is also involved in other developments such as Pinnacle Kelana Jaya, Pinnacle Bangsar and Pinnacle Seri Petaling.

Pinnacle PJ is J&C Homes’ ­maiden project. Apart from Sheraton PJ, the leasehold mixed-use development also offers offices and loft offices (Tower A), office suites (Tower B) and retail space.

The loft offices have built-ups of between 741 and 1,025 sq ft; the office suites are 329 to 606 sq ft; and the offices, 558 to 1,518 sq ft. Prices start from RM838 psf. The 5-storey retail podium consists mainly of food and beverage outlets.

J&C Homes’ two shareholders are Yong Jian Hoe and Ooi Peng Cuan, who own the company on a 30:70 basis. Both are also directors of the company.

J&C Homes owns Terra Mirus Sdn Bhd, formerly known as Mammoth Empire Property (MEP) Sdn Bhd.

It was reported by The Edge in March 2014 that Ooi is an associate of Datuk Sean Ng of the Mammoth Empire Group, which developed Empire Damansara and Empire Subang, and is in the midst of developing Empire City, near Damansara Perdana, Selangor.

According to the report, Ng’s MEP had planned to develop a project called Pinnacle on the Sheraton PJ site. However, the project was taken over by J&C Homes.

Ng had bought the 1.73 acres ­opposite Asia Jaya from Datuk Mohamad Salim Fateh Din of Gapurna Group and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd for RM35.41 million.

It is not clear when MEP became a wholly-owned subsidiary of J&C Homes.

It is worth noting that in February this year, Mammoth Empire Holdings Sdn Bhd (MEH) sold Empire Shopping Gallery, a shopping mall within the Empire Subang development, to Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd for RM570 million. It was reported then that with the sale, MEH would be able to raise funds to complete the behemoth Empire City development, which had been dogged by delays.

According to information obtained from a broker, the 25-storey Sheraton PJ will offer about 250 rooms with sizes of between 350 and 2,513 sq ft. The gross floor area is 12,904 sq m while the net floor area is 9,668 sq m. Facilities include meeting rooms, a grand ballroom, three F&B outlets, a lobby lounge, a swimming pool and a gym.

Sheraton PJ is next to Armada Hotel and the 4-storey Plaza Armada shopping mall. It is close to the Federal Highway. The development is also near the Asia Jaya light rail transit station.

The Edge reported in September 2015 that the hotel was scheduled to begin operations in January this year. It is now expected to open its doors on Aug 1.

Sheraton PJ is one of at least eight 5-star hotels scheduled for completion this year to cater for high- net-worth tourists, according to CBRE | WTW’s Asia Pacific Real Estate Market Outlook for 2017 presented in February. Currently, the Klang Valley has 185 hotels with 53,202 rooms. It had 172 hotels with 49,508 rooms in 2015.

The hotel occupancy rate in the Klang Valley is between 65% and 68%. The report also states that the average room rate (ARR) in Kuala Lumpur is RM365 or below US$100, which is considered one of the lowest among other cities in the region. The ARR is likely to dip with more hotels being completed in the next three years.

Meanwhile, the hotel sector is expected to remain stable this year, underpinned by growing tourist arrivals in view of the weaker ringgit. ­CBRE | WTW managing director Foo Gee Jen notes that stiff competition is expected with the increasing popularity of alternative accommodations such as Airbnb. In addition, the uncertainty in the global economy could also dampen demand for leisure and travel as ­travellers tighten their budgets.

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