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| JH Italia Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Marcus Chye (left) and Chan with the Lamborghini Gollardo
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KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 3): Luxury lifestyle developer Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) is partnering Lamborghini Malaysia to provide buyers of its St Mary Residences super-penthouses the option to purchase a Lamborghini Gollardo at a special price. The car is currently priced at about RM1.6 million on the market.
According to E&O deputy managing director, Eric Chan Kok Leong, this is a market first. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is a market first, and another way E&O is setting benchmarks for luxury living in the city,” he said during a showcase of the developer’s recently completed St Mary Residences in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
The super-penthouses have built-ups of 6,759 sq ft. One of the four super-penthouses has been sold so far. They are priced from RM10 million to RM12.8 million. Only 20 Malaysian Limited Edition (MLE) Lamborghini Gollardos have been manufactured, and three will be allocated for St Mary Residences. JH Italia Sdn Bhd is the local distributor for Lamborghini cars.
St Mary Residences, developed in partnership with The Lion Group, is a 28-storey serviced apartment built on 4.04 acres (1.63ha) of freehold land comprising 457 units of luxury apartments.
St Mary commands a gross development value (GDV) of RM780 million. There are three blocks — tower A, B and C.
Tower B will be returned to the Synod of the Diocese of West Malaysia, the original owners of the land. Built-ups range from 1,131 sq ft to 6,759 sq ft while prices range from RM1.5 million to RM12.8 million.
Facilities within the development include a 1.2-acre central park, clubhouse, jacuzzi pavilion, lap pool, wading pool, fitness centre, meeting room, function room and a retail annexe.
Currently, 95% of its units have been taken up. The remaining 5% (super-penthouses) will be launched in two months.
Chan said that 70% of the buyers for St Mary were locals while the remaining 30% were foreign buyers including those from Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
Chan said the developer will introduce the E&O rental programme designed to help St Mary Residences buyers and investors better realise their investment in the development.
According to Chan, the Malaysian property rental market is much better than that of neighbouring Singapore, for instance. “Singapore may get tenants fast, yet the rental yields are mostly negative.
For the Malaysian rental market, the speed of rental is slow, however, once rented, 95% of the time the yield is positive,” he said. Chan expects a rental yield of between 5% and 7%, or RM5.50 psf to RM8 psf, for its St Mary units.
He added that the developers are currently busy with three developments, in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng in Kuala Lumpur, in Medini Iskandar within Nusajaya in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, and the Andaman at Quayside within its Seri Tanjung Pinang township in Penang.
The Jalan Yap Kwan Seng development will be launched at the end of the year, while the second condominium block of the Andaman at Quayside will be launched at the end of August or early September.
The Andaman at Quayside (first block) was launched in February this year. The development in Medini Iskandar is set to be unveiled in the first quarter of 2013.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on Aug 3, 2012.
