JAKARTA: Three Malaysian companies, namely Sime Darby Bhd, I&P Group Sdn Bhd and SP Setia (Indonesia) Sdn Bhd, have teamed up with Indonesia’s PT Hanson International Tbk to jointly develop an affordable housing project here.

The project, with a gross development value of RM3.5bil on 500 ha, is situated in Maja, Tangerang, about 80km from Jakarta.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed yesterday between the companies on the sidelines of the 12th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) here.

The signing was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak and WIEF chairman Tun Musa Hitam.

The four companies in a joint statement yesterday said the proposed project was next to an existing township called Citra Maja Raya, which started development in 2015.

Citra Maja Raya is being developed by PT Hanson in partnership with Ciputra Group, one of Indonesia’s largest developers.

Sime Darby is Malaysia’s biggest conglomerate by market value with operations in more than 26 countries.

SP Setia (Indonesia) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SP Setia Bhd.

I&P Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd.

Meanwhile, under the MoU, the companies have proposed to enter into a joint venture, whereby the Malaysian entities will have an equity interest of 20% each, while PT Hanson holds the rest.

The parties will continue negotiations to finalise the details and work on an agreement within three months, said the statement.

“As Malaysias biggest property developer by land, Sime Darby is keen to share its experience in developing sustainable communities,” said Sime Darby president and group chief executive Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh. – Bernama