Kulim

[shadowmoon]

Originally Posted by zack firque

ni sumber yg kate jusco kulim xdak

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jusco...343446?fref=ts

:facepalm:

why so delusional and desperate for aeon?

[dean87]

Hektar REIT will upgrade malls
By CHOONG EN HAN
han@thestar.com.my

Group will also look out for more takeover targets to boost asset base

PETALING JAYA: Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) will continue with its asset enhancement initiatives (AEI) on its two recently-acquired malls in Kedah, while still on the lookout for more targets to add on to its burgeoning asset base.

Neighbourhood mall specialist Hektar Asset Management Sdn Bhd executive director and chief financial officer Zalila Mohd Toon said the company would emulate the AEIs executed in Wetex Parade, Johor, which had seen a rebranding success for the mall.

“Based on our research, Central Square, Sungai Petani comes with a population catchment of about 400,000, half the size of Wetex. The Johor mall will be our case study as we have succeeded in doubling our average rental in Wetex after our executing our AEIs,” she told StarBiz.

She said, at the same time, Hektar was looking at enhancing Landmark Central by expanding its net lettable area, as the three-year old mall was still relatively new compared with the aging 13-year-old Central Square.

“The next seven months of the year will be gone in a flash as we keep ourselves busy with the AEIs. But, at the same time, we have met a few brokers, and we are continuously looking at potential new malls to add to our portfolio, in line with our RM2bil asset expansion target,” she said.

She said the company had already firmed up refurbishment plans for the two malls, and physical work would be starting soon.

Yesterday, it released results for its first quarter ended March 31, with net profit climbing by 13.7% to RM11.06mil from RM9.725mil, while revenue expanded by 23% to RM30.07mil from RM24.45mil previously.

The improved performance was due to the addition of the two new Kedah malls that the company had acquired end-September last year. However, its net income per unit had dropped by 9.2% due to the enlarged number of units issued to fund the acquisition.

In a statement, Hektar chief executive officer Datuk Jaafar Abdul Hamid said the AEIs would include interior refurbishment and repainting works, upgrading of equipments and toilets, addition of mother's room for shoppers' convenience, re-flooring and lighting improvement.

It would also entail a remix of tenants and also re-zoning activities to increase its shopper traffic and improve the mall's visibility.

[dean87]

Saturday May 18, 2013
Hektar REIT quietly carving a niche market
By CHOONG EN HAN
han@thestar.com.my

Speaking to StarBizWeek recently, executive director and chief financial officer Zalila Mohd Toon says it is just the starting point for Hektar although it has recorded a set of improved numbers for its first quarter, after recognising the additional rental rates from its newly-acquired two Kedah malls, namely Central Square in Sungai Petani and Landmark Central in Kulim.

“The bumped up revenue are based on legacy rental rates and the rental rates would definitely be higher after we complete our asset enhancement initiatives (AEI),” she says.

Looking at a timeframe of one-and-a-half years to complete its AEIs, she says the rental rates could be bumped up significantly like how the company had rebranded the relatively small Wetex Parade mall in Johor.

“Currently, the majority of tenants in the two Kedah malls comprises of mom and pop retailers, and our ambition is to replicate the success of our earlier malls. We plan to attract more international and national retailers who have the appetite for higher rentals,” she says.

Taking a feather out of its earlier success like Wetex Parade, she says Wetex was among the smallest out of its five malls, but it has been a case study for the company.

“Wetex is like a baby to us, and when we bought it in 2008, it was already 10 years old. It was pretty runned down and filled with tenants like bootleg DVD operators, but once we conducted our AEI, the rental rates had gone up substantially,” she says.

She says with capital expenditure of about RM25 per sq ft for its AEI, it is the optimal amount for the company to create the essential positive spillover effects that would generate shopper traffic and also attract international and national retailers to the malls.

Based on the net lettable area (NLA) of 300,046 sq ft and 281,716 sq ft of Central Square and Landmark Central, it would entail the company to fork out about RM15mil to conduct its AEIs.

“Once we conduct our AEIs, we believe we can double up the rental rates from the existing rates we are collecting right now. The previous owners were mostly just property developers with no experience in handling a mall. For us, we have the network, expertise and the value added advantage to turn these malls around,” she says.

Specifically for Central Square, she says the AEIs would entail the remixing of tenants, and also to upgrade the mall's facilities and infrastructure due to the age of the mall, while the focus on Landmark Central would be to expand its NLA as the mall is still new.

According to her, getting the right tenant mix is fundamental in attracting shopper traffic, which for instance, the aging Central Square has a cinema with just three screens, and expanding it to nine screens would pull shopper traffic similar to its flagship mall Subang Parade that has doubled its shopper traffic after the introduction of cinema operator MBO.

“The population catchment for Central Square is about 400,000, while Landmark Central is similar to Wetex Parade with a catchment of about 200,000. We are positive that these two malls would fly just like what we have done in Muar,” she says. Although the company is pumping more cash to transform its malls, it has pledged to shareholders that it will at least maintain its dividend per unit, as there are concerns that the company would encounter some sort of income disruption with the downtime in the malls and also its high gearing ratio.

[dean87]

jom main...sapa paling cepat



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