Glomac ponders venture into UAE
By Chan Ching Thut
KUALA LUMPUR: Following an agreement with a
company from the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
to jointly develop Glomac Tower here,
property developer Glomac Bhd may venture
into the UAE.
Group managing director Datuk FD Iskandar FD
Mansor said the company had had discussions
with Al Batha Real Estate Co but it was just
“preliminary”.
“We will continue to explore and see if it
is feasible to go (to UAE),” he said during
a press conference after Glomac and Al Batha
Real Estate signed a joint-venture agreement
yesterday.
Iskandar said Glomac was also considering
markets in India and Vietnam.
“We are in talks with some parties there and
exploring all options, either in commercial,
residential or mixed development,” he said.
Glomac and Al Batha Real Estate had
established Glomac Al Batha Sdn Bhd to
develop the Grade A office tower located at
the corner of Jalan Pinang and Jalan P.
Ramlee.
The 40-storey tower,
including two levels of food and beverage
facilities and four levels of basement car
park, is scheduled for launch next year.
Construction of the tower, which has an
estimated gross development value of
RM450mil, is expected to begin in the first
quarter of 2008 after obtaining the
necessary approvals.
The project will take 30 months to complete.
Glomac has a 51% stake in the joint venture.
Al Batha Real Estate is part of the Al Batha
Group, which has different companies
specialising in a diverse field of sectors.
Al Batha Real Estate vice-chairman Sheikh
Salem Mohammad Sultan Al-Qasimi said he
hoped the relationship with Glomac would
lead to more property developments here.
“We will share our expertise from the Middle
East for this development. This will also
give confidence to investors from the Gulf
region to invest here,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iskandar welcomed the call by
Real Estate and Housing Developers'
Association with Master Builders Association
Malaysia and other industry players to halt
the export of steel bars to ensure adequate
supply of building materials for the local
property market.
“We must look at projects within our own
country, otherwise we will not be able to
move forward if we do not have enough
materials,” he added.