- The Edge Malaysia reported that Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd is keen to rekindle its plans for a mixed use project on a prime parcel of land in Bangsar, which used to house the former Unilever Malaysia headquarters and factory. PHB is seeking Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur's (DBKL) planning permission to commence work on the 19.6-acre parcel near the intersection of Jln Bangsar and Jln Maarof.

- PHB is wholly owned by Yayasan Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera. It was set up in 2006 to boost Bumiputera ownership of prime commercial real estate in Malaysia. As at 2014, its property assets are worth over RM3.5bil with ownership of 13 properties with a total floor area of 5.2mil sf. Its assets include Menara Bumiputera Commerce, Menara Sapura Kencana, Menara 1 Sentrum, DEMC Specialist Hospital, Logistic Warehouse, Tesco Setia Alam, Peremba Square, Wisma Consplant and Jaya 33. More recently, PHB purchased The Shore Shopping Centre in Malacca (RM212mil) and bought out the remaining 51% stake in Nu Sentral from MRCB (RM120mil).

- PHB bought the ex-Unilever land from Railway Asset Corp in 2011 for RM150psf. Land values within the area are currently between RM700psf and RM800psf. According to The Edge Malaysia, reports from early 2012 revealed that developers such as SP Setia, Mah Sing and MRCB had submitted bids to participate in the project.

- PHB had reportedly then shelved the project. We however understand that it had since submitted a fresh proposal in June. The project's approved plot ratio had earlier been set at six times with a corresponding Gross Floor Area (GFA) of approximately 5 mil sf. While nothing is concrete for now, The Edge Malaysia report indicated that PHB could be focusing on developing a small amount of office space on the said land. This may come with supporting real estate and amenities targeted at near-term occupational demand.

- If this project takes off, it will be PHB's second major development in KL. Just last month, digitaledge Weekly reported that PHB had submitted a proposal to DBKL to develop a 6.8-acre parcel on Jln. Conlay that had previously been occupied by the KL Regional Centre for Arbitration. PHB had bought the land from the Federal Lands Commissioner for RM163mil (or RM549psf) back in 2012. PHB's plans for the Jln Conlay land is said to include a 50-storey serviced apartment block and two blocks of 37-storey office suites atop an eight storey retail podium.

- Should PHB decide to rope in partners, it will provide more development opportunities for select Malaysian developers with good track record and balance sheet. Despite its prime location and good connectivity, we nevertheless believe the project’s take-off could be a tad more challenging in view of the current property sentiment and upcoming new supply within the vicinity (e.g. SP Setia’s Vogue Suites@KL Eco City and Hap Seng Land’s Nadi Bangsar – due to be completed in 2017) as well as at nearby Bangsar South.

Source: AmeSecurities Research - 12 Oct 2015