KUALA LUMPUR (July 14): Jiankun International Bhd has received shareholders' approval for the acquisition of RM22.5 million worth of freehold tracts. The sites at Ulu Langat district has been earmarked for landed-residential properties.

Jiankun (fundamental: 0.6; valuation: 0.9) had received the approval at the company's extraordinary general meeting (EGM) here today. According to Jiankun shareholders' circular, the 93 sites are currently vacant.

Speaking to reporters after the EGM, Jiankun's executive director Datuk Donald Lim said 30% of the land cost would be paid via internally-generated funds, while the rest would be financed through bank loans.

Lim said the tracts with a combined area of 5.8ha (101,517 sq feet) would be used for the development of 84 three-storey terrace houses with a gross development value of RM71 million.

He said the units would be priced between RM700,000 and RM800,000 each.

"At the moment, we know that the property market is a bit soft, but we know that land never increases, while the population is increasing. People are also moving from rural areas to the city.

"We intend to launch the development in the fourth quarter this year, and to complete the project in 18 months," Lim said.

Today, Jiankun shares rose one sen or 4% at 12:02pm to 27.5 sen, for a market capitalisation of RM41.72 million.

The share price compares to its latest reported book value of 30 sen a share.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)