Ken Holdings moving into hospitality business

KUALA LUMPUR: Ken Holdings Bhd plans to go into the hospitality industry to generate recurring income for the group, said its chairman and managing director Kenny Tan.

Towards this end, an initial plan to build 14 bungalows on its 2.53-acres freehold beachfront land in Penang’s famed Batu Ferringgi has been shelved for a boutique hotel instead, Tan told reporters after Ken Holdings’ AGM on April 26.

Details for the planned hotel are not immediately available. Tan said they hoped to start the project next year. This hospitality component will also look into acquiring hotels in Thailand and Bali.

Tan said the group’s Ken Bangsar condominium project has been awarded the Green Building Index (GBI) Gold Mark in conjunction with the launch of the Green Building Index of Non-residential Existing Building rating held here on April 26.

This was the second green award for the 15-storey project – it had been awarded the Singapore Building Construction Authority (BCA) GREEN MARK GoldPLUS Award.

Ken Bangsar has been fitted with energy saving devices like energy saving bulbs and motion sensors. The project has been put on the market although the developer has targeted an official launch only next month. So far, 50% of the 80 units have been sold. Priced between RM800 and RM1,200 psf, the units are sized from 1,928 to 2,673 sq ft.

On the ongoing Ken Rimba project which has a GDV of RM165 million in Shah Alam, Selangor, Tan said he was looking at creating a green township. “The direction of the company is to go green,” said Tan. He hoped more mid-sized developers, like Ken Holdings, would go green to bring down costs due to economies of scale.

As for the group’s 12-storey commercial planned for Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Tan said construction would probably start this quarter.  The group now has a land bank of 138.2 acres.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2009, the group reported RM9.8 million in after-tax project, 57% higher than 2008’s RM6.3 million on a lower group revenue of RM31.2 million (2008: RM39.1 million). This was due mainly to write back of allowance for doubtful debts following a settlement and execution of a consent order.