KUALA LUMPUR: Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd is venturing into hospitality sector with plans to build five new hotels here and in Sabah over the next few years.
Four of the hotels will be managed by Hyatt, while the other one by Marriott, according to subsidiary Hap Seng Land Sdn Bhd (HSK) chief operating officer David Khor.
Khor said three of the hotels would be developed at Jalan Kia Peng, KL Metropolis near the suburbs of Segambut and the newly-bought Wisma KFC building in Jalan Sultan Ismail. The other two will be built in Sabah.
"The hotel will be managed by two brands of international hotel companies namely Hyatt, which will operate four of our hotels and the other one by Marriott. This is our first venture into the hotel business and we believe this will bring us recurring income every year," he said at the Malaysia Book of Records certificate presentation today.
The group has proposed to buy a parcel of vacant leasehold commercial land known as Met 3 in KL Metropolis.
It is the new owner of Wisma KFC after buying it from Singapore-based property developer and manager Royal Group.
Wisma KFC holds a lot of synergy for the group's existing three office buildings namely Menara Hap Seng 1 (formerly MUI Plaza), Menara Hap Seng 2 and Menara Hap Seng 3 (formerly Hap Seng Star), all are adjacent to it.
Met 3, meanwhile, reportedly is the last of a large parcel in the Mont'Kiara area, and is also near affluent neighbourhoods like Damansara Heights, Bukit Tunku and Bangsar.
Khor said HSL also planned to develop three residential property projects this year.
"Two of three projects will be developed in Sabah and Sungai Buloh, Selangor respectively. For the other one, I still can't reveal its location, but it is in Peninsular Malaysia," he added.
The company will soft launch the housing project in Lahad Datu, Sabah on Jan 14, while the other two including one in Sungai Buloh are pending authorities' approval.
Khor said the company was still working out the gross development value.
At the same time, Khor said the company aimed to continue to undertake acquisition activities of either land or existing buildings this year.
"We think this year would be the best time to make an acquisition because of the volatility in the market," he said.
Meanwhile, Hap Seng group chairman Thomas Karl Rapp said it expected 2022 to remain challenging with the ongoing Covid-19 situation.
"However, we are optimistic that the company will continue to grow higher revenue and profits this year with the reopening of the economic sector," Rapp added.
HSL received a certificate from Malaysia Book Of Records today for the "Highest Indoor Green Wall" record at Menara Hap Seng 3.
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the world-class architects headquartered in Chicago, Menara Hap Seng 3 features a 91.55-metre high indoor green wall, spanning vertically across all 20 levels of office space.
Amassing over 27,000 individual pots comprising 10 different plant species, this indoor green wall funnels sunlight into every nook and cranny of the building, thereby creating a lush and invigorating working environment for all occupants of Menara Hap Seng 3.