By: WONG WEI-SHEN

KUALA LUMPUR: SBC Corp Bhd is looking to launch projects worth RM500mil in gross development value (GDV) and is targeting to achieve between RM150mil and RM200mil in sales next year.

The company is currently working on getting the final approvals for its flagship RM1.8bil Jesselton Quay project in Kota Kinabalu.

“Once you sub-divide the land, that part is the last piece of the approval before you can launch or do anything.

“We have already submitted, so that’s the cause for the delay,” said managing director Sia Teong Heng.

He added that it should be cleared within the next few months.

“Because we have been working so closely with the authorities for so long, more or less everything is ironed out, in our opinion.

“Hopefully we will have some good news soon,” he said.

It has been two years since SBC Corp signed a joint venture agreement with Sabah Ports operator Suria Capital Holdings Bhd to develop 16.25 acres of coastal land in Kota Kinabalu, initially targeted for launch in the first half of 2014.

“We are a private sector developer so maybe we underestimated the amount of agencies involved in the approval process,” he said.

Sia hopes to start construction works at Jesselton Quay, a waterfront mixed development, by the end of the year.

“We need to get the construction permit, which is also linked to building approvals, which in turn is dependent on sub-division. It is all sequentially interrelated.

“We hope can get going as soon as possible.

“We are very excited by it,” he said after the company’s annual general meeting yesterday.

SBC Corp is also working on the Kiara East project, a mixed development in Kuala Lumpur, which would be finishing towards the end of this year.

After which, Sia hopes to get approvals for the subsequent phase to start.

“There is no shortage of activities. Kiara East is ongoing phase, JQ (Jesselton Quay) is a new project to start and Batang Kali is ongoing,” he said.

SBC Corp is also awaiting approvals from authorities for new residential projects in Titiwangsa and Bangsar.

“Hopefully six months from now we will get it,” said Sia.

SBC Corp has six projects ongoing at any one time in different stages. It starts, finishes and plans two projects for each year, Sia added.

The company’s unbilled sales currently stands at about RM100mil.

It is also looking out for joint venture opportunities, rather than to land bank.

“There is a fair amount of opportunity right now.

“To do development these days, you need to raise a fair amount of financing,” he said.

He added that joint venture partnerships were getting quite common.

“Opportunities now are opening up for joint ventures because people don’t mind sharing the burden of the development effort,” he said.