KUALA LUMPUR: Property developer Tropicana Corp Bhd is in discussion with China Metallurgical Group Corp (MCC) for a township development.

Tropicana group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Yau Kok Seng said the discussion is still at the preliminary stage and did not elaborate further.

“Indeed we are exploring a few other major projects and investment with MCC. But at this stage, it is premature [to give details],”  Yau  told reporters after the topping-out ceremony of the W Kuala Lumpur Hotel and Tropicana Residences yesterday.

The group CEO of MCC, Zhang Zhao Xiang, concurred and said the construction group welcomed further collaboration with Tropicana.

 MCC is Tropicana’s construction partner and main contractor for the project.

“We hope our collaboration is not limited to construction, but on project development and  township development. We will expand and enhance our collaboration as the group expands its footprint here,” Zhang said.

He pointed out that the W Kuala Lumpur project, which has a gross development value of RM1.1 billion, is the second collaboration between Tropicana and the China state-owned construction group.

“In 2015, we had successfully delivered our first project, Tropicana Avenue with praises. We are exploring  further opportunities. We are willing to support Tropicana’s property development projects in Malaysia and become its long-term strategic partner,” he said.

Responding to questions on the rumoured sale of W Kuala Lumpur Hotel, Yau said the group is “flexible” and will look into several options, including getting a strategic partner for the hotel.

“We are flexible. At this stage, it is too early to comment. We haven’t concluded,” he added.

He did not rule out the possibility of disposing more non-strategic assets, although the net gearing of the group has been trimmed to 0.32 times, a level he deemed to be comfortable.

The take-up rate for the serviced apartment stood at 55% and Yau is confident of selling the balance by the end of 2017. The 55-storey tower, which consists of 150 hotel rooms and 353 serviced apartments, is slated to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

He said the group is on track to achieve its sales target of RM1.2 billion in financial year ending Dec 31, 2016, adding that the group is changing its strategy by launching more landed properties.

Forming strategic partnerships are also one of the ways to further strengthen the group’s balance sheet, he noted.