Artist impression of Savanna Lifestyle Shops.

SELANGOR: Mah Sing Group Berhad (Mah Sing) launched its B.I.G. programme for Savanna Lifestyle Shops in Southville City, Bangi. The B.I.G. programme which stands for ‘Business Incentive Grants’ will see eligible applicants receive business grants up to RM800,000 once they purchase a Savanna Lifestyle Shop. The programme is ongoing until 31 July 2017.

In addition to the business grants, the Group will also be providing 2 complimentary car park bays worth RM25,000 each as well as other rewards.

Mah Sing Group managing director Tan Sri Datuk Sri Leong Hoy Kum shared in a statement, “We wanted to go ‘Big’ and develop a programme that will help entrepreneurs and business owners to own a quality lifestyle shop unit and at the same time have cash in hand to run their business. Our focus is to enhance the lives of our buyers and the B.I.G. programme does this by providing business grants to owners to start up and grow their business.”

Tan Sri Datuk Sri Leong Hoy Kum added, “Our Savanna Lifestyle Shop units are quality developments which will have a ready catchment of 15,800 people from Avens Residence and Savanna Executive Suites. We will be delivering vacant possession (VP) for Avens Residence and Savanna Executive Suites starting from July and September 2017 respectively. In fact, we are also giving move-in rewards worth RM3,500 to the first 1,000 home owners who move into Savanna Executive Suites as a welcome gift to the residents and help start their lives in Southville City.”

Tan Sri Datuk Sri Leong Hoy Kum further elaborated that Southville City’s strategic location next to the KL-Seremban Highway is an added advantage as business owners are able to tap into the nearby communities. “The whole Southville City development will only be 19km from Kuala Lumpur once the direct interchange into the KL-Seremban Highway is completed in December 2017. Shop owners can tap into the Kuala Lumpur population as well as Southville City’s neighbouring communities such as Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Bangi, Kajang, Semenyih, Nilai and Dengkil to build their customer base.”

Applying for the B.I.G. Business Grant

As an illustration, a buyer places a booking fee of RM10,000 for a Savanna Lifestyle Shop unit worth RM1.8 million (Savanna Lifestyle Shops are priced from RM1.8million to RM4.2million). Once the loan has been approved, Mah Sing will provide a business grant to the owner based on the chosen unit.

The Group will also vet through the type of business being operated in order to ensure the business will complement the development and has potential to be successful with the given business grant. The business grants range from RM368,000 to RM800,000 and will be given to the buyer within 3 months from the date of Vacant Possession (VP). The B.I.G. programme is limited to the first 100 successful applicants.

Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong Hoy Kum commented “Being an entrepreneur myself, I understand how difficult it is to start a business and the importance of having working capital. With this programme we hope to ease the burden on shop owners so that they can focus on building their business. Retailers are also a large customer base for Mah Sing as more than 30% of our remaining gross development value (GDV) and unbilled sales are commercial developments, spread across Greater Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor and Sabah. With the retail industry projected to grow at an average of 4.8% this year based on the industry report by Retail Group Malaysia (RGM), we hope that the B.I.G. programme will be able to encourage entrepreneurs and business owners to invest in our Savanna Lifestyle Shops and start their business.”

Malaysia was also ranked 3rd in the 2017 Global Retail Index. Management consulting firm A.T. Kearney highlighted the long term prospects of Malaysia’s retail sector remain strong as the industry grew 3.8 per cent in 2016. “Therefore, we believe that this is the right time for us to offer this business grant to encourage buyers to invest in a quality developement and start their business,” shared Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong Hoy Kum.

Savanna Lifestyle Shops in Southville City

Savanna Lifestyle Shops comprises 208 units of 20’ x 75’ 2-storey lifestyle retail shops with built up from 2,643 sq ft. The lifestyle shops are part of Savanna Executive Suites which comprises 8 blocks of 28 and 30-storey towers with a total of 3,192 units of serviced apartments.

Savanna Executive Suites and Savanna Lifestyle Shops are at average 95% completion and will be handing over with vacant possession starting from September 2017 onwards. Savanna is part of Mah Sing’s 428 acre masterplanned mixed development Southville City@ KL South which has a GDV of RM11.1 billion.