Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd have signed an agreement with Cititower Sdn Bhd — a joint venture between KLCC (Holdings) Sdn Bhd and  QD Asia Pacific Ltd, a subsidiary of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co — to offer a 20-year syndicated Islamic term financing of RM3.2 billion.

In a joint statement yesterday, the two banking groups — which are the joint mandated lead arrangers and book runners — said the financing is to partly fund a mixed commercial development in Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), which will consist of a Grade A office tower, a luxury hotel, a retail podium and other ancillary facilities.

Spanning 1.62ha of land, the commercial development has a gross development value (GDV) of RM5 billion. It was initially scheduled to be completed by end-2017, but this is now due by mid-2020.

According to Cititower chairman Datuk Hashim Wahir, the project is touted as another iconic landmark in KLCC, which will enhance the overall city skyline while complementing the existing prime commercial developments such as the Petronas Twin Towers.

“These iconic mixed commercial towers developed by Cititower are designed with development components that will increase the vibrancy and value add to the overall commercial branding in the KLCC precinct.

“Both hotel and office towers are fully optimising the beautiful view of the KLCC Park, which is the heart and soul of the integrated KLCC development,” he said in the statement.

The project commenced in January 2012 and will have an estimated total net lettable area of 2.84 million sq ft, consisting of 1.72 million sq ft of office tower, 650,000 sq ft of hotel tower, and 470,000 million sq ft of retail podium.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd group chief executive officer (CEO) Tengku Datuk Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the financing transaction is a testament to CIMB’s proven track record in delivering financing solutions for its corporate clients and also demonstrates the continuing popularity of Islamic finance as a source of funding.

“Leveraging on our strength as one of the top global leaders in Islamic banking, Maybank has ensured that we provide a competitive and innovative financing solution that provides long-term value to Cititower,” said Maybank group president and CEO Datuk Abdul Farid Alias.

 

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 2, 2015.

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