Tropicana gains RM145m from land sale

PETALING JAYA: Tropicana Corp Bhd has sold a 1.3ha piece of land in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, to a joint venture company for RM448.4 million, bringing the total proceeds raised from land transaction over recent month's to RM1.1 billion.
The land will be sold to Offshore Triangle Sdn Bhd, an alliance between Tropicana and Agile Property Holdings Ltd, a leading property developer in China.
"This is in line with our focus to de-gear and strengthen our group balance sheet," Tropicana said in a statement yesterday.
Targetted for completion in the frist half of 2015, the land sale will translate into a cool RM145 million gain or net earnings per share of 11 sen for Tropicana.
Tropicana said it will use the proceeds from the proposed land sale for working capital and to repay bank borrowings of the group.
Tropicana Corp holds a 30% stake in the JV while Hong Kong listed Agile Property Holdings has the 70% stake.
Offshore Triangle will turn the land into mixed commercial development project.
"This is a meaningful transaction and milestone for Tropicana as it crystalises the value of our Jalan Bukit Bintang landbank at a significant value, and also paves the way for a strategic tie-up at the project level with highly reputable partner in Agile Property," Tropicana's group executive chairman Tan Sri Danny Chee Sing said in a statement yesterday.
He said the partnership with Agile Property will elevate Tropicana's brand presence and visibility across regional markets including Hong Kong, Macau and China , while at the same time enable the company to leverage on Agile Property's marketing network in those markets.
Tropicana said the sale and the joint development agreement underscored its's transformation strategy in unlocking the significant value of its landbank through development as well as disposal opportunities and forming strategic alliances to accelerate growth.
Tropicana said with an undeveloped landbank of 1,954 acres with potential new GDV of more than RM70 billion across high growth areas in Greater KL, Iskandar Malaysia and Penang Island, the company is well positioned on its transformation journey to becoming a premier property developer in Malaysia.
Tropicana's shares closed unchanged at RM1.59 yesterday.