Sime Darby Property mulls RM2b property trust

SIME Darby Property Bhd (4197), the property arm of Sime Darby Bhd, is building its investment portfolio as it mulls setting up a property trust with assets worth more than RM2 billion, in two to three years.

It also wants to grow its rental income, which now contributes some 10 per cent to its bottom line, group managing director Datuk Tengku Putra Badlishah said.

"Property development is very cyclical while asset management provides regular income and we want to grow that.

"We have assets that give us good rental but more is better. We are building three towers in Ara Damansara and have a few more coming up in the Klang Valley," Tengku Putra Badlishah said.
With an interview with Business Times recently, Tengku Putra Badlishah said the company has several assets suitable for a real estate investment trust (REIT).

"We have reached there as far as a REIT is concerned but we want to set a target. We will launch the REIT if we think it makes sense to do one. For now, we don't require any fund raising," he said.

Sime Property may buy or build new properties in Malaysia, Australia, China, Indonesia and Vietnam. It will ride on the success of its parent which operates in over 20 countries.

Sime Property's assets, including its 14,800ha of land in the greater Klang Valley, are worth RM4 billion.

The company has several wholly-owned assets under management. They include Sime Darby Pavilion, Kompleks Sime Darby and Wisma Guthrie in the Klang Valley, as well as Performance Centre, Sime Darby Centre, Sime Darby Enterprise and Vantage Automotive Centre in Singapore.

Its hospitality assets are Sime Darby Convention Centre and Genting View Resort in Malaysia, Darby Park Executive Suite in Singapore, Randong Orange Court in Vietnam, as well as three resorts in Australia which are Quest Margaret River, Quest Subiaco and Karri Valley.

Sime Property's award-winning leisure properties include the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club and Impian Golf & Country Club in Kajang.

"All these properties are doing well with most of them yiel-ding an average 7 to 8 per cent," Tengku Putra Badlishah said.