KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Sunrise Bhd plans to further explore the property market in Australia to strengthen its presence there.
Managing director cum chief executive officer, Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib (pic), said the group’s Australian operations contributed between 20% and 30% to earnings in the second quarter ended June 30, 2017.
He said the company was also looking to increase its landbank in Australia and was open for acquisition in other parts of that country, such as Sydney.
“We are not limited to Melbourne; we are eyeing a few tracts of land there (Australia) but in terms of land size, it is not big because most of the projects are high-rise project,” he told reporters after opening the Zaha Hadid Architects exhibition entitled Zaha Hadid Architects: Reimagining Architecture in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
UEM Sunrise has three projects in Melbourne currently, of which two - Aurora Melbourne Central and Conservatory - are worth an estimated RM3.19bil.
It is expected to launch its third Australian venture, the ultra-luxurious high-rise residential project, dubbed Mayfair, at St Kilda, Melbourne, in August this year.
UEM Sunrise is 66.06%-owned by UEM Group Bhd.
The group is expected to launch five projects, one in Australia and four local developments, in its current financial year.
This exhibition is the first collaboration between UEM Sunrise with Zaha Hadid Architects, which has also been commissioned to design Mayfair.
As at July 2, 2017, the company’s landbank stood at 5,260ha with a gross development value of RM108bil to last for the next 30 years. - Bernama