In slamming criticism that the Forest City project is not helping local companies or the locals, Country Garden Holdings revealed that 42.55 percent (or RM2 billion) of the RM4.7 billion capital expenditure (capex) spent from early 2015 to December 2016 had been spent on the services offered by local consultancy companies and construction materials, reported The Star.
“Cement, sand and other materials were bought locally. We did not import them from China,” said Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd president Yu Runze.
The Chinese developer also engaged the services of consultancies like planners, law firms and architects.
“So, it is untrue to say that Forest City has not benefited Malaysia or its people,” said Yu.
The company also clarified perceptions that it is mainly depending on the sale of residential units for revenue, saying that Forest City involves the building of an entire township with amenities and facilities to create a new destination.
“Forest City is a project that spans 20 years or more. It is more than just the selling and marketing of residentials. We are managing the landscape, building management, sewage, utilities and every component that goes towards building a township. We are essentially the builder and operator,” explained Yu, who also serves as chief strategy officer.
In fact, the group eyes to diversity its revenue streams to include property management, leasing and pre-fabrication, he said.
Yu also revealed that its duty-free area – which will be unlike other duty-free areas such as Labuan, Langkawi and Stulang in Johor – will be operational by end-2017.
Moreover, he also disputed claims that the company was in fire-fighting mode, after Beijing’s capital controls affected sales.
“The number of withdrawals is about 60, compared with the 15,000-unit sales by the end of 2016, the bulk of which were sold to Chinese buyers. We have to look at the issue in perspective,” said Yu.
“If we are not confident about Forest City, we will not be investing some RM470 million to build a factory to manufacture ready-to-assemble concrete structures like staircases, beams and columns.”
Nonetheless, he revealed that the company is shifting its focus to target Malaysian buyers with the setting up of 20 sales galleries across Malaysia and other Asian cities and the Middle East.
Image sourced from The Star
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email Editorial-MY@propertyguru.com.my
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