'UEM Land to gain most from Nusajaya'

UEM Land Holdings Bhd is expected to be the biggest beneficiary if Singaporean investments surge as a result of the recent swap of the Tanjong Pagar railway station land with Singapore, says HwangDBS Vickers Research.

Malaysia agreed to swap the railway land, which it owned, in exchange for six parcels of land with a permitted gross floor area of up to 501,020 square meters.

UEM owns 4,208.7 hectares of land in Nusajaya, a key component of Iskandar Malaysia.

In a note today, it said the completion of major catalyst developments such as the Coastal Highway, Legoland, Newcastle University and Johor Premium Outlet by next year would transform Nusajaya into a hive of activity.

"We expect Eastern & Oriental Bhd's 85 hectare Resort Wellness development in Medini Central to do well given its strategic location near the second link.

"Singapore's stamp of approval should see strong interest from Singapore buyers," it said.

Hwang DBS also said Genting Plantation Bhd's land bank of 2,226 hectares in Kulai, Johor, was poised to ride on Nusajaya's success.

"The increased activities in Johor will benefit MMC Corp Bhd, a premier utilities and infrastructure company.

"This could take the form of more investments at its land in Tanjung Bin and Senai, more passenger travel and cargo movements at Senai Airport, higher throughput in Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port and expansion of Tanjung Bin's power plant by 1,000 megawatt," Hwang said.

The developments at Nusajaya would also be driven by the partnership between WCT Construction Sdn Bhd, a construction and property development company, with Iskandar Investment Bhd to develop 1Medini.

The first phase will consist of 300 units of condominiums slated for launch in 2013.

"We understand that Iskandar Investment is in talks with several local and foreign investors to build a three-star resort hotel, four-star business hotel, a retail mall and a high-rise tower in Medini worth RM1 billion," it added. -- Bernama