PETALING JAYA: Shares of companies with land in south Johor rose in active trading on market talk of interest in land purchases by Middle Eastern investors, and as condominium prices in Singapore set record prices week after week.  

UEM World Bhd jumped 28 sen as a major gainer and among the most active stocks to RM2.65, Tebrau Teguh Bhd, the second most active stock, was up 7 sen to 59.5 sen and Mulpha-W increased 3 sen to 30.5 sen. The warrants' mother share, Mulpha International Bhd, was also actively traded, moving up 10 sen to RM1.50.  

All three companies were among several analysed in UOBKayHian's report last year on the super-cycle potential of the South Johor Economic Region, since renamed Iskandar Development Region (IDR).  

Tebrau, UEM World and Mulpha-W were among the six most active stocks yesterday amid market talk that Middle Eastern investors were willing to pay record prices for thousands of acres in south Johor.  

“Discussions with Middle East investors are advancing from the time Khazanah Nasional executives made a marketing trip there last year,” dealers said.  

So far, land transactions in the IDR had involved local developers. There is anticipation that foreign investors, in particular those from Middle East, would soon enter the scene at much higher prices.  

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported in its weekend edition that petrodollar-rich Middle Eastern investors had spent a lot on initial public offerings in China in the past year, and were now acquiring strategic stakes in high growth business sectors in the rest of Asia.  

These acquisitions into businesses represented a shift from traditional assets in treasury and portfolio investments, the WSJ said.  

There was also talk of foreign fund managers buying south Johor stocks. “Their interest could be due to the continuous increase in condo prices on a per sq ft basis in Singapore. That's been setting record prices every week,” said Lim Beng Leong, head of UOBKayHian's Malaysian research.  

Prices of condominiums in the Thomson Road suburban area have risen to S$1,000 per sq ft from about S$600 per sq ft a year ago. In the prime Orchard Road area, prices have gone up to S$2,000 per sq ft,” he told StarBiz yesterday.  

UEM World is the biggest landowner in the IDR with 15,340 acres while Mulpha is developing its 1,765-acre Leisure Farm bungalow project near the Second Link.  

Tebrau owns 1,012 acres, the last piece of large undeveloped land near the Johor Baru city centre. The land is five minutes from the city and it has 26km of water frontage, the brokerage said in its report.

Source : 6/2/2007