SHAH ALAM: Fresh off its listing success, Eco World International Berhad (“EcoWorld International”) today announced the proposed acquisition of an 80% stake in Salcon Australia (“Proposed Acquisition”) which owns a 2,128 m2 parcel of prime land located in South Yarra, approximately 5.3 km south-east of Melbourne’s central business district (“CBD”).

“Melbourne is a market which we are very familiar with and also a preferred investment destination for many of our Malaysian and regional customers. It was crowned the world’s most liveable city for the sixth year running according to the Economist’s Global Liveability Survey. This is a well-deserved reputation which the city takes great pride in and works hard to preserve, as attested by the excellent quality of life, plethora of amazing cuisine, world class educational institutions, good employment opportunities and wide-ranging recreational amenities it offers its residents,” said Dato’ Teow Leong Seng, President and CEO of EcoWorld International.

“We are therefore delighted to be offered the opportunity to work with Salcon Berhad to craft an outstanding residential-led development in South Yarra that will meet the lifestyle needs of discerning locals whilst offering a sound investment proposition for international buyers seeking to own an exclusive property just outside the fringe of Melbourne CBD,” he continued.

The proposed development is located in South Yarra, one of the most popular upmarket residential suburbs of Victoria, and is strategically positioned within close proximity to Chapel Street and Toorak Road. Chapel Street is famed as a vibrant and cosmopolitan shopping and entertainment precinct with over 1,000 shops offering a wide range of international and home-grown Australian branded fashion and retail, trendy eateries, fresh food and specialty stores as well as a host of other commercial facilities.

It also enjoys excellent connectivity to public transportation serviced by regular tram operations along Chapel Street and Toorak Road and bus routes via Punt Road nearby. The South Yarra Station is also located within ready walking distance about 300 m southwest of the project land.

To be named Yarra One, the project will comprise a 27-storey tower with 268 residential units complemented by a retail and office podium with the potential to deliver about AUD218.0 million (equivalent to *RM728.3 million) in GDV. Eco World Sydney Development Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EcoWorld International, will also be appointed as the development manager for the project thus generating a new fee-based income stream for the EcoWorld International group.

“Yarra One will have all the distinctive hallmarks of an EcoWorld International development – great location, superb connectivity and access to wide-ranging amenities nearby – to complement the unique selling points we will be incorporating into the project to appeal to our target customer base of local and international purchasers. It is indeed a fitting addition to our current portfolio of projects which include London City Island, Embassy Gardens and Wardian London in the United Kingdom and West Village in Parramatta, Sydney,” Teow said.

EcoWorld International’s existing four projects involve the development of close to 3,200 units of apartments with a total GDV of RM12.96 billion. As at 31 January 2017, the EcoWorld International group has recorded sales of RM6.49 billion which is approximately 50% of its total GDV.

The Proposed Acquisition therefore enables EcoWorld International to increase its development pipeline and also break into a new target market by extending its geographic footprint thus broadening its product range to cater to a wider customer base. This is consistent with the EcoWorld International group’s strategy to seek good opportunities in mature international markets for growth, in line with its ambitions to become a prominent global property player.

*Based on an exchange rate of Australian Dollar (“AUD”) 1.00 : Ringgit Malaysia (“RM”) 3.3408, being the middle rate quoted by Bank Negara Malaysia at 5:00 p.m. on 7 April 2017.