Plaza Damansara units sold en bloc for quicker disposal: PNB

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 19): Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) said it sold its units at Plaza Damansara en bloc when presented the opportunity to do so, as selling the units individually would have taken a longer period of time.

During a press conference yesterday, PNB group chairman Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the disposal was part of the fund’s strategy to recycle its capital, which will allow it to reinvest in other assets to generate higher returns.

“Rather than selling off parts of [Plaza Damansara], we were able to sell it off as a block — it was an opportunity for us to do so. It would take a longer time if we liquidated bit by bit,” she said.

PNB president and group chief executive officer Jalil Rasheed, meanwhile, said occupancy for the units at Plaza Damansara was very low, at about 60%, and that the stratified nature of the multiple management corporates that were managing the shop lots made things complicated.

“We are not talking about one or two shoplots — we are talking about over 100. This made it very difficult for us,” he said.

He added that PNB has also decided it does not want to be involved in holding shop lots and managing multiple tenants.

“Our real estate strategy is very focused in terms of what kind of buildings we want, and shop lots did not fit that,” said Jalil.

The Edge Malaysia reported in its publication for the week of Dec 9-Dec 15 that some of the units were sold above their asking prices, while others of similar size were sold at below the asking price, based on a list that details the units available for sale and sales data obtained from the National Property Information Centre.

The paper was able to obtain the transaction figures for 130 of the 137 units, where 54 units were sold for more than the asking price, while 76 were disposed of at below the asking price.

For example, the asking price for Block 15 comprising five floors — 15-G, 15-M,15-1,15-2 and 15-3 — was RM4.77 million, but Sycamore Holdings Sdn Bhd purchased it for RM6.03 million. The company also purchased Blocks 17 and 21 for RM5.82 million each.

The asking price for the ground floor of Block 39 (tenanted by hairdressing salon Shawn Cutler) was RM1.389 million, but the unit was sold for RM1 million to a Thevandran Ragavan.

Two units on the ground floors of Blocks 63 and 67 were also sold at a discount of over 40%. The asking price for 63-G was RM1.34 million, but it was sold for RM700,000 while the asking price for 67-G (occupied by Esteel Metal Industries) was RM1.36 million, but PNB sold it for RM700,000 — both also to Thevandran.

PNB’s asking price for four floors of Block 50 — 50-G, 50-M, 50-2 and 50-3 — was RM3.73 million but they were sold for RM2.5 million to Safeguards Properties Sdn Bhd.

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