This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 29, 2016.
KUALA LUMPUR: Tropicana Corp Bhd has appointed Japan-based Panasonic Group’s subsidiary PanaHome Malaysia Sdn Bhd as its turnkey contractor to build smart homes for the third phase of the property developer’s RM12.4 billion Tropicana Aman township in Selangor.
Tropicana group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Yau Kok Seng said the RM168 million turnkey contract involves the construction of 272 semi-detached houses. Under the contract, PanaHome will also be providing smart home technology to these residential units, said Yau.
The third phase of the 345ha township near Kota Kemuning is known as Cheria Residences, which has a gross development value of RM358 million. Expected to be launched next month, the project is scheduled for completion by 2019, said Yau.
“PanaHome Malaysia aims to make a difference by creating an EcoNation where one can work, live and play in a healthy environment. We share the same vision to create a better community with our future smart homes, thus this is a very strategic partnership,” he told reporters at the signing ceremony of the turnkey contract with Panasonic here yesterday.
Cheria Residences will make up part of Tropicana’s RM1.5 billion worth of projects lined up for the second half of the year, said Yau.
“We have to be very careful in today’s market environment. If you noticed, we did not launch anything in the past six months. The timing is very important because that will affect our cash flow. Property development is not just about sales. How we manage our cash and credit is also very crucial,” he explained.
Yau added that the group was focused on selling its existing projects prior to this.
“Now, we are starting some launches, but we have to be different from our peers, especially in times like this. That is why we sign our collaboration today (yesterday) to create value for homebuyers,” he added.
Tropicana shares settled unchanged at RM1 yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM1.43 billion.