Sime Darby Property eyes RM3 Billion sales for FY2013

Sime Darby Property Bhd expects to achieve sales of between RM2.8 billion to RM3 billion for the 2013 financial year, said managing director Datuk Abdul Wahab Maskan.

"We expect sales of RM2.8 billion to RM3 billion this year, which account for 80-90 per cent of total sales. Including RM1.2 billion-RM1.3 billion from Battersea, we expect about RM4 billion in billings for the year," he said.

Sime Darby Bhd is part of the consortium including SP Setia Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) that is involved in developing the Battersea Power Station project in southwest London as part of the regeneration of the Nine Elms district.

Sime Darby and SP Setia each hold a 40 per cent share with EPF the remaining 20 per cent in the project, which will have an eventual gross development value (GDV) of 8 billion pounds sterling and which had seen 97 per cent of its 866 apartments in Phase One being sold out.

Speaking to reporters after the recent groundbreaking ceremony by the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Britain, Abdul Wahab said Battersea is the highest impact project for Sime Darby Property and the company would pursue such opportunities in the future through strategic partnerships.

"Battersea is our first major project development in a destination that we wanted to be in. London has been identified as a global zone, it is the address of the world," said Abdul Wahab, who is also the Chief Operating Officer of the Sime Darby Group.

Similarly things are also well back home as Sime Darby Property has a total project GDV of RM42 billion, accounting for 60 per cent of its landbank.

The cream of its development will be the Subang Jaya City Centre (SJCC) project, with a GDV of RM4 billion, to transform Subang Jaya into a vibrant city.

"The plan has been approved and the project is expected to be coming in this year and will become a major contributor to profits in the next two years," he said.