UDA Holdings Bhd will launch a real estate investment trust (REIT) in five years featuring a combination of properties from its Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) development, here.
Chairman Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said UDA may also inject properties from new projects that it plans to develop in the Klang Valley.
He told Business Times that REIT is one of the options that the company is looking at to grow its business.
He said the REIT’s size will depend on the yield of the properties that it plans to inject into it, with the value at more than RM2 billion.
“At this stage, we need to beef up the components of BBCC. Right now, we are looking at a five-star hotel with more than 400 rooms, a one million square feet mall, a 40-storey corporate block, an 88-level signature office tower, and up to three condominium blocks.
“We will also have a serviced apartment block operating as a five-star hotel,” Johari said.
BBCC will be developed on a 7.85ha site that once housed the Pudu Jail, which was closed in 1996.
The seven-year development will also comprise a transportation hub and linked to the mass rapid transit, light rail transit and monorail systems.
Work to redevelop the site will start early next year by a consortium that includes Eco World Development Holdings Bhd.
Eco World and UDA will have a 40 per cent stake each in a special purpose vehicle (SPV), while the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will own the balance.
Johari said Phase 1 of development will include the signature office tower and mall, while Phase 2 will consist of the residential towers and office block.
The final component will include the two hotels that will be operated by international players, he said.
“The SPV will retain the mall and anything to do with recurring income, including the hotels and 40-storey corporate block.
“At the end of the day, we want to make sure we make money from the REIT so that we can redevelop other sites and also build affordable homes in Kampung Baru.
“As a consortium, we can look for other pieces of land to develop,” Johari said.