This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 17, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway Bhd is jointly acquiring a 4.34-acre (1.76ha) piece of freehold land in Wangsa Maju for RM51.07 million to undertake a mixed development project.

The acquisition was made from Setapak Heights Development Sdn Bhd by Sunglobal Resources Sdn Bhd, in which Sunway owns a 55% stake with the other 45% held by Huatland Development Sdn Bhd.

Sunway said the development — comprising two blocks of serviced apartments with some lifestyle units on the podium — is expected to be completed over a five-year period, and will have a gross development value (GDV) of RM500 million.

“The proposed development will have products with average pricing of approximately RM550,000 which would fulfil the needs of affordable housing customers,” the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Currently, Sunway’s land bank in the Klang Valley stands at 3,325 acres, carrying an overall GDV of RM5.5 billion. Over the last six months, the group has acquired five plots of land with a total GDV of over RM5.5 billion.

“We will continue to [acquire] land bank in good areas given the opportunities in the market currently, supported by our healthy balance sheet,” said the group’s property division managing director for Malaysia and Singapore, Sarena Cheah.

“Particularly in the Klang Valley, we will be on the lookout for land banks which are ideal for transit-oriented developments where we can leverage our prior experience of building integrated and mixed-use developments,” she added in a statement.

Sunway shares closed three sen or 0.72% lower at RM4.15 yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM9.05 billion.