PETALING JAYA: Eco World Development Group Bhd, which is selling 16.32 acres of industrial land at its Eco Business Park V (EBP V) to Baosteel Can Making (M) Sdn Bhd (Baosteel Malaysia) for RM53.3mil, is seeing expression of interest from both local and foreign investors.
Eco World president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah said the group has received enquiries from logistics, distribution, food packaging and other businesses that have benefited from the huge growth in online retail brought about by the movement control order (MCO).
“EBP V’s excellent location and great connectivity, along with the substantial investments in infrastructure improvements that have been and continue to be made has led to more enquiries from international players being received, particularly after the Penjana incentives were announced for foreign direct investments (FDIs).
“In recent months following the MCO, we have also seen a very encouraging pick-up in expressions of interests from local players as well, ” he told StarBiz in an e-mail.
Based on the enquiries received so far, Chang observed that the nation’s shift towards e-commerce will continue to grow from strength to strength, as both businesses and consumers become accustomed to the convenience and security of purchasing online.
Paragon Pinnacle, the developer of EBP V, had entered into sale and purchase agreement with Baosteel Malaysia for the sale of the land. A virtual signing ceremony was held concurrently in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, yesterday.
Baosteel Malaysia is owned by Shanghai Baosteel Packaging Co. Ltd, a company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is in turn, a subsidiary of China Baowu Steel Group Corp Ltd.Chang said Eco World would be utilising the proceeds from the sale of the land to further develop EBP V, where the group has a wide variety of business park products to suit all types of businesses, from small and medium enterprises to multinational corporations and global players, such as Baosteel Malaysia.
“Phase one which was launched in September 2017 is more than 80% sold and will be handed over in 2021. It comprises cluster, semi-dee and detached factories alongside smaller service factories set within a beautifully landscaped gated and guarded environment which is ideal for small to mid-sized industries.
“The industrial units can be used by a wide variety of businesses involved in light manufacturing and assembly, warehousing and even as a showroom or office for the service and support industries.”
Chang said phase two, where Baosteel Malaysia’s factory would be located, involves larger-format factories also set within a gated and guarded environment.
“We only started marketing phase two late last year and Baosteel Malaysia is one of our first customers here. The business model for the phase involves both land sales and customised built-to-suit factories.”
Chang said Eco World is seeing growing demand for industrial properties not just in the Klang Valley, but also in Iskandar Malaysia where the group has three business parks.
“We will definitely be actively promoting our products to both local and international players and we are confident that once the borders open, demand will further increase as more players realise the inherent attractiveness of Malaysia as a location for manufacturing FDIs.
“We look forward to working closely with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, who have long been supportive of our efforts to promote our business parks overseas, as well as the various other government agencies at both state and federal levels, to grow this segment of our business strongly over the next few years.”
As a global Fortune 500 company, Chang said Baosteel Malaysia’s decision to choose EBP V as the location where they are looking to grow their South-East Asia business is a strong endorsement for the project, particularly as Eco World continues to market its business parks to other Chinese industrialists.
“Manufacturing is also a highly integrated business where supply chains are closely connected and inter-dependent on each other. The presence of a big player such as Baosteel Malaysia will definitely help to attract other upstream and downstream industries that are part of their supply chain network into EBP V.
“This will add towards the business and commercial vibrancy of the location, which will also generate positive spillover effects for our Eco Grandeur township, which is located next to EBP V.”
In a statement, Baosteel Malaysia director Zhu Wei Lai said he is eyeing more tie-ups with Eco World.
“The collaboration with Eco World marks Baosteel Malaysia’s ’s further investment in South-East Asia and we look forward to further cooperate with Eco World in more areas”.
Located in Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, the 518-acre EBP V is Eco World’s fourth business park development.
With a total gross development value of RM2.8bil, EBP V is planned to be the largest single-project development powered by forward-thinking, world-class industrial facilities and intelligent, environmentally-friendly features designed to help businesses save on energy and resources while reducing the park’s overall carbon footprint.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2020/08/18/growing-demand