KUALA LUMPUR: Increasingly, the trend seems to be for foreign missions to dispose of their land. The French Embassy is the latest to do so, the third in the last two years.
But prices are lower in the Jalan Ampang-U Thant area here – known as Embassy Row – compared with those closer to the Petronas Twin Towers.
Speculation has been rife in the last couple of months about the French mission giving up its Jalan Ampang site. This transaction is expected to create interest for a few reasons.
"The size is considerable. At 3.23ha, it will be one of the largest – if not the largest – parcels to be transacted among foreign mission land thus far," a source said.
While about half of the British High Commission land was zoned for commercial and the remainder for residential, the French site comprises a residential and an institutional portion.
French Embassy first secretary Damien Syed confirmed that the land was "in the process" of entering the market.
He told StarBiz that it would take some time to sell as the incoming French ambassador, expected to arrive in October, has been tasked to take charge of it. Current French ambassador Martine Dorance completes her Kuala Lumpur posting next month.
Although land deals have been described as "slow" the last two to three years by a property valuer based in Jalan Ampang, the several deals that have successfully gone through "were significant", both in terms of pricing and their future use.
In late 2012, SP Setia Bhd paid RM294.97mil, or RM2,200 per sq ft, for the 1.22ha British High Commission land in Jalan Ampang, opposite the current French Embassy. It plans to build commercial and residential properties on the site.
In July 2013, the German ambassador's residence in Jalan Kia Peng was put on sale with an indicative price of about RM2,500 per sq ft, valuing the site at about RM200mil. The German government has yet to give a directive for an open tender for this 0.74ha site, a source said. Since then, a couple of other land deals have taken place closer to the Petronas Twin Towers, which continues to be used as a focal point in land transactions in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) area.
Khong & Jaafar group of companies managing director Elvin Fernandez says: "Using the Jalan Tun Razak-Jalan Ampang intersection as a guide, land value is higher closer to the Petronas Twin Towers because of the zoning factor. Land value is dependent on the plot ratio and land use.
"Land closer to the KLCC area has a plot ratio of 10. This may be increased on application. After Jalan Tun Razak, the plot ratio dips to four for commercial land."
Earlier this year, it had been reported that Magna Prima Bhd had secured a plot ratio of 1:12 for the 1.1ha former Lai Meng school opposite the Malaysia Tourist Centre. This means the company can build up to 12 times the size of the land. It had bought the parcel in 2010 for RM148.2mil and plans to build a 60-storey twin towers on it. The vendor was Lai Meng Girls' School Association.
One of the highest land transactions was completed last year when Oxley Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, a unit of Singapore-based developer Oxley Holdings Ltd, purchased 1.3ha in Jalan Ampang. It is separated from the Petronas Twin Towers by Wisma Central.
Oxley paid RM3,300 per sq ft, with an absolute price of RM446.7mil. It plans to build a mall, two luxury hotels, serviced residences, offices and a theme park on it, with a gross development value of between RM2.5bil and RM3.5bil.
Earlier this year, KSK Group Bhd paid RM3,299 per sq ft for a 1.6ha parcel in Jalan Conlay, with an absolute price of RM568mil. The vendor was Suasana Simfoni Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Singapore-listed UOL Group Ltd.
Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2014/08/06/Embassy-land-sale/
