KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): SP Setia Bhd, the country's biggest-listed developer by sales, has acquired its fourth piece of land in Melbourne, Australia, which it intends to develop into a high-end residential project with a gross development value (GDV) of A$38 million.

In a statement today, SP Setia said the land is located in a highly sought-after site in Prahran, which was purchased for A$10 million.

The group has a permit approved for an eight-storey building with 47 apartments and an office, and retail outlets on the ground floor.

"(It) is expected to be a popular high-end boutique project, which will have wide appeal to a broad range of purchasers," said SP Setia.  

"Located at 103-105 High Street, this 850 sq m land sits on a prized location between Chapel Street and Greville Street and is only 4.5km southeast of the Melbourne central business district (CBD).

"Prahran offers truly inner suburban living and is quintessentially Melbourne, with a range of public transport, retail amenity, schools and parks, while being a stone’s throw [away] from the CBD and major arterials," it added.
 
SP Setia said the site is flanked by nearby expensive and exclusive suburbs of South Yarra, Armadale and Toorak.

The latest acquisition follows that made in November last year, when SP Setia bought a parcel of land in Melbourne for A$6.68 million RM20.84 million, to be developed into a 48-unit four-level apartment complex with a GDV of A$34 million, as part of its growth strategy in Australia.

SP Setia made its maiden foray in the Australian property market in 2009 with the purchase of a 0.2ha Fulton Lane site for A$30 million, and constructed 778 luxury apartments on the site with a GDV of A$470 million.
 
The developer later purchased a 0.9ha site at Parque and is in the midst of constructing 332 units, with a GDV of A$247 million.

Both projects have been fully sold.

Apart from Australia, SP Setia's international reach includes Vietnam, Singapore, China and the United Kingdom.

As of Dec 31, 2015, the group has 27 ongoing projects, with an effective stake of 3,907 acres in undeveloped land bank remaining, and RM70.6 billion in GDV.

SP Setia shares closed one sen or 0.31% lower at RM3.20 today, bringing it to a market capitalisation of RM8.41 billion.