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DATUK Chee Hong Leong, the executive director of SYF Resources Bhd, is all pumped up as he believes that his company has a first mover advantage in developing the new frontier in the Klang Valley.
"The once quiet place of Semenyih is now appearing on the radar screen of investors and buyers, as it is an integral part of the Klang Valley southern corridor," Chee told Business Times in an interview.
He said the shift to Semenyih is largely because land prices in Klang Valley proper has gone up significantly, and is out of reach for the layman.
"When land prices go up, prices of property shoot up the roof .... it's a question of affordability," said an excited Chee.
Indeed, since 2010 there has been a rush by the bigger property players to acquire land in Semenyih, which has long been the stronghold of Metro Kajang Bhd, a mid-sized property developer.
Among the tier-one developers that have acquired land in the Semenyih/Kajang corridor in Selangor are SP Setia Bhd, UEM Land Holdings Bhd and Dijaya Corp.
Last October, SP Setia entered into an agreement to buy 272.5 hectares of freehold land in Semenyih for RM381.26 million, or RM13 psf.
A year earlier, UEM Land Hol-dings Bhd bought two parcels of freehold agricultural land totalling 187.6ha for RM268.5 million, or RM13.30 psf.
Meanwhile, Dijaya Corp entered into a conditional agreement to acquire 80.3ha of freehold land at RM228 million, or RM26.36 psf, in Kajang Hills.
The push factors for Semenyih are the completion of the Kajang-Seremban Highway (Lekas), and pent-up demand for affordable housing.
Chee, who owns about 12.5 per cent of SYF, is one of the key people who have pushed SYF from being a furniture maker to diversify its business into the property sector.
"I'll be honest with you. When we first came out with the announcement that we were venturing into the property sector, many people thought that it was merely a pipe dream. Now that we have got the regulatory approval to go ahead with the plan, perceptions are changing. SYF is no longer seen as a one hit wonder," said Chee.
The next step for SYF is to get its shareholders' approval for the venture, which will allow SYF to collectively help in commercial development on some 17.4ha land in Semenyih.
"Our special shareholders meeting is on March 1 this year. We are confident of getting shareholders' approval," said Chee.
Chee's confidence partly stems from his role in helping turn around SYF, since he emerged in the company, as a dominant force.
SYF had suffered losses for five straight years, but Chee and his team have come in and restruc-tured the company.
For the first quarter ended October 31 2011, the company posted a pre-tax profit of RM39.24 million versus a loss of RM626,000 in the same period a year ago.
Market banter is that SFY will post a pre-tax profit of between RM45 million and RM50 million for the financial year ending July 31 2012.
"For 2013 and 2014, we are expecting double-digit earnings per share, but I believe that the most important thing we have achieved in this company is to give it two core businesses, that will act as a natural hedge," said Chee.
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