BBCC inks MoU with Sony Japan’s Zepp Hall

KUALA LUMPUR: BBCC Development Sdn Bhd, developer of the RM8 billion Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Zepp Hall Network Inc to develop a live event hall in the first phase of the project.

Zepp Hall is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc and its core business is venue operations. BBCC Development is a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by UDA Holdings Bhd (40% equity interest), Eco World Development Group Bhd (40%), and the Employees Provident Fund (20%).

UDA Holdings chairman Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani told reporters at a briefing yesterday that under the MoU, Zepp Hall would conduct a feasibility study before confirming — within two months — if they would participate in the entertainment component of the BBCC project.

“Right now we are in the final stages of our submission to Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. However, we expect to get the development order to begin construction of the first phase within six months,” he said.

Apart from the live event hall catering for performances, Johari said the first phase of the BBCC project would comprise a lifestyle mall, an office block as well as one or two blocks of residential units.

Earlier, BBCC Development also signed a MoU with Mitsui Fudosan (Asia) Pte Ltd to explore opportunities for parties to work together on the development and operation of the lifestyle mall.

Johari also said since the signing of the joint development agreement among UDA, Eco World and the EPF last week, several foreign parties had expressed their interest in participating in the BBCC project.

“There have been a few investors who have enquired, especially those who have a brand. One of these [investors] is a hotel, but I can’t say who it is at the moment, but we have received two or three proposals from investors who want to get involved by investing in a hotel within the project.”

To recap, earlier this month, Eco World Development Group (fundamental: 0.95; valuation: 0.3), UDA Holdings and the EPF signed a joint development agreement to redevelop the former Pudu jail site into a mixed residential and commercial project through BBCC Development.

The gross development value of the project is RM8 billion and the development period is eight years.

The proposed development will comprise a retail mall, an entertainment block, strata offices, office towers, a five-star hotel, and serviced residences.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 11, 2015.