The property player boasts 2,023ha of land bank at Nusa Bestari, Bestari Indah, Kemas and Taman Daya in Johor; and Shah Alam 2, Selangor

By NUR HANANI AZMAN / Pic By www.kslcity.com.my

JOHOR-BASED property developer KSL Holdings Bhd expects its share performance to improve on the back of its current property projects and other launches.

At 5pm yesterday, KSL’s shares fell 0.7% to 71 sen. Meanwhile for the past 30 days, its shares have fallen 7.2%.

Patrick Khoo — project director of KSL City Management Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of KSL Holdings — said property stocks are undervalued at the moment because of subdued demand in the sector.

“We can’t help it, but these are the impacts on macroeconomy. But what we can do is just focus on our activities. Our net profit is always one of the highest margins in the property sector. It has been affected by the overall market scene,” he told The Malaysian Reserve.

The group posted a net profit of RM47.7 million in the third quarter ended on Sept 30, 2019.

The property player boasts 2,023 hectares (ha) of land bank at Nusa Bestari, Bestari Indah, Kemas and Taman Daya in Johor; and Shah Alam 2, Selangor.

He added that the group will focus on the ongoing KSL Esplanade Mall in Klang, and KSL 18 Madge in Ampang projects — onsen suite developments that are expected to keep them busy throughout this year.

The KSL Esplanade Mall, a project of KSL City Management which commands an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM600 million, targets about 90% occupancy rate when the mall opens at the end of April 2021.

About 65% of the mall’s retail space has been taken up by over 100 brands, international stores and large format retailers, which reflects the confidence the market has in KSL Esplanade Mall.

The anchor tenants of KSL Esplanade Mall are TGV Cinemas, Daiso, EnerG X Park, Loon Sing Restaurant, Houzone, Next Gen, Mr D.I.Y, Happy Fish Swim School, Ashley Furniture Homestore, Tone & Mann, Karaoke Manekineko, F.O.S and ToyWorld.

“Our dedicated team has carried out a detailed research and planning on the right mix responsive to the needs and expectations of the target market. The shopping mall not only gives an impact on socioeconomic, but also on community upliftment perspective, where 1,600 job opportunities will be created to the locals,” he said.

The group also expects to open its Esplanade hot spring hotel, which is located adjacent to the mall with a GDV of RM250 million, in July 2021.

KSL Esplanade Mall also offers efficient access to over 3,000 car parks from the four-storey building, easily connected to nearby roads, towns, major highways and near to the Light Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3) station, Johan Setia.

Embracing a mantra of “More than Just A Mall”, it is implemented and delivered through key components of shopping, dining, entertainment and public park, as well as alfresco dining which connects the mall to the park.

Commenting on the current market challenges, Khoo believes that it is crucial for malls to provide a creative and attractive shopping environment for all types of shoppers. Taking consideration of putting every little thing together, KSL Esplanade Mall will provide immersive retail experience to the shoppers.