IOI Properties’Central Boulevard in Singapore to complete only in 2023

IOI Properties Group Berhad’s (IOIPG) $S3.5 billion Central Boulevard development, located at the Marina Bay area in Singapore may only be completed in the next three years.

The company said the development has been affected by the Circuit Breaker imposed by Singapore Government since April 7, 2020, to curb the spread of Covid-19.

It said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia recently that the construction at the site has resumed but the resumption of work progress to pre-Covid-19 pandemic level may take some time.

In November 2016, IOIPG’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Wealthy Link Pte Ltd, had successfully tendered for a 1.09-hectare plot in Central Boulevard for S$2.57 billion from Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Central Boulevard is an office development offering premium Grade A office space and will have a built-up of about 1.5 million sq ft.

It will have two office towers lifted above a podium block, which will house about 1.26 million square feet of office spaces and 30,000 sq ft of retail, food and beverage spaces.

In China, IOIPG expects the demand for residential properties to normalise and consequently, the strong sales performance to moderate during the next few quarters.

IOIPG chief executive officer Datuk Voon Tin Yow said in a statement that the company’s operations in China registered strong sales performance for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2020 (Q4 2020), due to the pent up demand following China’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We expect the demand for residential properties to normalise and consequently, the strong sales performance to moderate during the next few quarters,” Voon said.

For Q4 2020, there was a significant improvement in revenue and operating profit for its property development segment, despite a challenging environment resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

IOIPG recorded total revenue of RM610.5 million, which was RM112.7 million or 23 per cent more than the preceding year corresponding quarter. The net profit for the current quarter was RM49.5 million.

Revenue from the property development segment was RM544.6 million or 53 per cent higher than the preceding year corresponding quarter while operating profit rose 193 per cent to RM314.9 million in Q4 2020.

Revenue from the property investment segment fell by 40 per cent to RM54.4 million in Q4 2020.

IOIPG’s main investment properties include IOI City Mall, Putrajaya, IOI Malls (Puchong, Selangor, and Johor Baru), One and Two IOI Square, Putrajaya, Puchong Financial Corporate Centre, and IOI Boulevard Puchong.

The completion of the 1.5 million sq ft of retail and office area at Central Boulevard, Singapore, and 2.37 million sq ft of retail area in a shopping mall at IOI Palm City in Xiamen, China will add to the investment portfolio in the future.

The hospitality and leisure segment, which consists of hotels, resorts, and golf courses located in the Klang Valley, Johor, and Singapore, reported revenue of RM9.8 million in Q4 2020, which translated to an 80 per cent drop from a year ago.

IOIPG said as the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) is still in place and cross-border travel restricted for some time to come, it anticipates the recovery of the hospitality and leisure segment to take a longer time.

For the 12 months to June 30, 2020, IOIPG recorded a revenue of RM2.12 billion and a pre-tax profit of RM1.01 billion.

IOIPG said it remains optimistic about the longer-term prospects of its projects as its developments and assets are located at strategic locations with good infrastructure networks and amenities.

Source: NST