Bina Puri unit buys land in KK for RM4.5m

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KUALA LUMPUR: Bina Puri Holdings Bhd said its wholly owned subsidiary, Bina Puri Properties Sdn Bhd has acquired a parcel of land in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah of about 1.95 acres for RM4.5mil.

Group managing director Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng said in a statement yesterday that the land would be developed into a serviced residence, with an estimated gross development value of about RM60mil.

The land will be used for the development of one block of service apartments consisting 100 units with sizes ranging from 1,500 sq ft to 4,500 sq ft.

The land will be developed into a serviced residence, with an estimated gross development value of about RM60mil.

By The Star

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Karambunai Corp: No notification from govt to develop eco-nature resort, no MoU signed with SPV

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KUALA LUMPUR: Karambunai Corporation Bhd (KCB) has clarified that it has neither received any notification from the government nor has it signed any agreement with or have shareholding in special purpose vehicle (SPV) originated by its controlling shareholder, together with a Beijing-based contractor, to develop an integrated eco-nature resort in Karambunai.

Karambunai Corp's controlling shareholder is low-profile tycoon Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong.

Karambunai Corp is one of the largest resort operators in Kota Kinabalu with its Nexus Karambunai Hotel resort in Sabah. The Main Board-listed company has 600ha of land in the Karambunai peninsula. About 130ha have been used to build the five-star Nexus Resort Karambunai, Nexus Golf Resort Karambunai and 200-odd units of luxury beachfront villas.

The company came under the spotlight after it was mentioned in the 2011 Budget Speech that there were plans to develop an integrated eco-nature resort in Karambunai.

The government announced in its Budget 2011 on Oct 15 that it would allocate RM100 million to part finance developer and resort operator Karambunai Corp’s integrated eco-tourism resort in Kota Kinabalu.

The RM3 billion project is slated to start next year and is expected to take about five years to complete.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Friday, Oct 22, KCB said the promoter was a SPV specifically incorporated to assess the feasibility of investing in the Karambunai Peninsula.

“Together with its local and overseas consultants, including its financial consultant China Construction Bank International, the SPV aims at bringing in foreign direct investments to Malaysia and has presented proposals to the Malaysian government to assess the relevance and importance of developing Karambunai, Sabah to spearhead the growth of tourism in the Eastern corridor of Malaysia.

“Up to date, Karambunai Corp has no shareholding in the SPV, nor has it received any official notification from the government or signed any MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) or agreement with the SPV to develop Karambunai yet,” it said.

However, both the management of Karambunai Corp and SPV have concrete, specific, clear time-line plans and commitments to the Malaysian government to attain the desired results under Economic Transformation Programmes as envisaged by the Government, it said.

The company said its board of directors was of the opinion that there were not yet corporate developments which merit disclosure.

By The EDGE Malaysia (by Surin Murugiah) (Posted on 22Oct2010)

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Karambunai in the limelight after budget

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PETALING JAYA: Sabah-based Karambunai Corp seems to have received more than its fair share of attention in the past month.

More recently, it hit the limelight when recently-revealed Budget 2011 stated that Nexus Karambunai – a renowned resort in Sabah – had committed to develop an integrated RM3bil eco-nature resort.

Under the Karambunai integrated resort plan, there are plans to develop a 150ha eco-nature resort at Karambunai alongside a mangrove centre, water theme park and waterfront properties to push for higher return on investments. It is understood that the RM3bil investment will be privately funded, although there are yet to be any concrete details on how this funding will be raised and by whom.

The budget stated that the project would commence next year. In the same paragraph on the Karambunai initiative, the budget proposed that “to support the tourism industry, the Government will allocate RM100mil.” However, it is not clear if this means that the Government will actually invest that money directly into the Karambunai project.

The major shareholder of Karambunai is its president, Tan Sri Chen Lip Keong, who owns 43.9% stake in the company. The 62-year old also owns gaming company NagaCorp, which is listed in Hong Kong and operates a casino in Cambodia.

Having long languished as a penny stock, Karambunai Corp’s shares have been on an uptrend in recent weeks, recording its 52-week high yesterday at 26.5 sen. This stands in stark contrast to four months ago, when the stock price was hovering at a meagre 5 sen.

Still, scepticism abounds on Karambunai’s ability to execute this grand plan, not least because of its weak financial status. The company has been in the red for the past three financial years.

For the quarter ended June 2010, the company continued to remain in poor financial health, suffering losses of RM14.39mil from a previous loss of RM14.62mil. Revenue was up 7.78% to RM24.03mil. As of the period, the company had cash amounting to RM7.29mil. In addition, it has piled on huge debts with short-term borrowings of RM192.07mil and long-term borrowings of RM283.77mil.

This is not the first time the counter has witnessed such exuberance in the absence of any fundamental development. A month ago, the company made headlines when it was speculated that it would start a casino operation in Sabah.

The speculation came about from a proposal of the 500-acre “eco-nature” resort in Sabah by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) at the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) open day a month ago.

This piece of speculation drove the share price from 5.5 sen on Sept 21 to 18 sen in a matter of three days.

On Sept 24, Karambunai informed the stock exchange that it has not submitted any official proposal to the Government, nor had it penned any written documents with any other third parties in respect of any plan to build a casino in Karambunai.

So for now, the company has yet to come up with any concrete plans for the eco-nature resort.

Again this week, on Monday, the company had to clarify to Bursa that it had not signed any understating or agreement with any parties and does not have any corporate developments which merit public disclosure.

The company said its controlling shareholder, in his private capacity, had acted as a promoter to invite interested parties to invest in Karambunai.

Karambunai said its property was included in the Budget 2011 speech after its Nexus Karambunai Hotel general manager attended the Performance Management and Delivery Unit-driven national key economic areas tourism lab together with other members of the private and public sectors.

Incorporated in 1965 as Electrical and Allied Industries Ltd, Karambunai Corp is mainly in leisure and tourism, infrastructure and property development

In 1984, the company announced that it would go into the leisure and tourism market as well as property and construction, manufacturing, trading, infrastructure development, and even aerospace and information technology.

On Sept 13, 1993, the company changed its name to FACB Bhd and later to FACB Resorts Bhd on Sept 30, 1999.

It assumed its present name of Karambunai on Sept 30, 2004. It is now mainly in leisure and tourism, infrastructure and property development

Currently, Karambunai owns about 1,500 acres in Karambunai, a peninsula which lies some 27km north of Kota Kinabalu airport.

Its flagship asset is the Nexus Resort & Spa Karambunai, a luxury 5-star 485 room international-class resort hotel with a world-class 18-hole golf course, combining elements of modern architecture with Borneo design and style.

Its latest development in the area are the beachfront Nexus Residences Karambunai (NRK), which features upmarket beachfront resort villas and will comprise about 2,000 units when completed.

By The Star

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Govt to spend RM100m on Karambunai resort

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Developer and resort operator Karambunai Corp Bhd will build an integrated eco-tourism resort (IR) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, for over RM3 billion.

In unveiling the 2011 Budget yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the government will allocate RM100 million to part-finance the development.

Najib said the project will start next year.

The IR project is now under planning and it will take about five years to complete.

It is learnt that the project, which may look like Singapore's Marina Bay Sands, will be developed over 200ha of land in the Karambunai peninsula.

Karambunai Corp has 600ha of land in the Karambunai peninsula. It has since 1997 used about 130ha to build the five-star Nexus Resort Karambunai, Nexus Golf Resort Karambunai and 200-odd units of luxury beachfront villas.

Company sources said the IR project will have four- and five-star hotels and resorts, waterfront properties and an entertainment centre.

It may also include a museum, cultural villages, a cable car and a theme park similar to the famed Disneyland.

"We have the support of the state-government, which is very pro-active in eco-tourism projects in Sabah. International experts will be roped in for the IR project to ensure that it attracts locals and foreigners, targeting a boost in tourism," one source said.

Sabah-based Karambunai Corp is linked to NagaCorp Ltd, which is listed in Hong Kong and operates a casino in Cambodia.

The two companies' common shareholder is Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong, who founded NagaCorp and serves as its chief executive officer. Chen is president of Karambunai Corp.

By Business Times

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PortCity@POIC set to boost Lahad Datu

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ECONOMIC growth in Sabah's east coast town of Lahad Datu is poised to be boosted with the development of the PortCity@POIC, a commercial project.

To be developed by BriSteel Properties Sdn Bhd, the project covers a 10ha area located not far from the Lahad Datu town centre.

The project involves the construction of a commercial complex with 196 shop and office units as well as 35 detached home units and industrial warehouses.

Launching the project yesterday, Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Sabah chief executive officer Datuk Dr Pang Teck Wai said the project would contribute towards enlarging the business opportunities in Lahad Datu.

"The project will make Lahad Datu even more attractive for investors and I would like to encourage the business community to explore business potential generated by the development of the POIC," he said.

Lahad Datu is also famous for its tourist attractions such as the tabin Wildlife Centre and Danum Valley Conservation Centre.

Pang said if the development in POIC is well planned, it could also become a place that attract tourists.

BriSteel Properties managing director William Chee said the PortCity@POIC project which will be developed in three phases is expected to be fully completed within three years.

By Business Times

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