Gold Coast Resort Living Only 2 Hours Drive From Singapore

Malacca is NEXT to Sepang and Malacca is where the Arab City is.

http://eyeonmalaysia.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/malacca-sepang-gold-coast/

Situated a short distance from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang lies the laidback coastal area of Bagan Lalang where, on a fine day, the sea laps gently against the shore and beach-goers enjoy the quiet and slow pace of life. This is the location of the Sepang Gold Coast (SGC) development.

SGC is developed by Sepang Goldcoast Sdn Bhd, a 70:30 joint venture between Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd and Sepang Bay Sdn Bhd (Sepang Bay). The latter is the local subsidiary of Indonesian property development company Istana Group. The entire SGC project, covering 22km of coastline, is estimated to have a gross development value (GDV) of about RM3 billion, and is slated to be completed in 15 years.

City & Country had the opportunity to take in the vista of its first project in Phase One — the Golden Palm Sea Villas. This gated development  stretches about a kilometre into the Straits of Melaka.




Traversing the sea
To get to the Golden Palm Sea Villas, golf buggies ferry visitors to the showhouses, which showcase a resort-like interior with alang-alang roofing imported specially from Bali. Sold as an investment resort property, the sea villa investment package has two options — own use or leaseback. For the former, owners have to pay a maintenance fee and contribute to a sinking fund.

As for the leaseback option, buyers will have their property managed and operated by international hotel operator Swiss-Belhotel International as a bona fide five-star accommodation. Swiss-Belhotel International manages several hotels in the region, including China, Australia and New Zealand. As for returns on their investment, owners will receive a rental return based upon the purchase price of about 8% nett for the first two years.

“The leaseback arrangement is for 15 years. From the third year onwards, the returns will be based on the occupancy rate. Swiss-Belhotel has indicated with confidence that it can bring at least 8% to 12% returns to investors,” shares Steven Yap, Sepang Goldcoast Sdn Bhd’s head of sales and marketing. All the maintenance charges and contributions to the sinking fund will be borne by the developer.

At the moment, the take-up rate of the 366 units is over 90%, with 85% of buyers choosing the leaseback option. Overseas buyers make up the bulk of owners mainly from the UK and Dubai. Unit sizes vary from 570 to 2,422 sq ft, with prices ranging from RM571,815 to RM2,500,696.

The development is modelled after the Palm in Dubai; the only significant difference is that the Golden Palm Sea Villas are built on stilts and not reclaimed land. Inside all the units, which come fully furnished, are fixtures and fittings tastefully selected for the resort feel, aided by the alang-alang roofs. The units do not have any cooking facilities to eliminate fire hazard, especially since the roofs are made of alang-alang (thatched roofing).

Adjacent to the Golden Palm Sea Villas resort is a leisure and recreational area called the Open Resort, which blends the best of resort and residential living. Exact details are still sketchy as plans are yet to be finalised. However, what is certain is that it will be for members only and residents of the resort.
The Golden Palm Sea Villas’ GDV is RM315 million and it is slated to be completed at end-2009. Swiss-Belhotel takes over the reins in January 2010.


Moving ahead
The original plans for project No 2 of Phase One were for a serviced apartment block on seven acres called Sea Tropics Village, but the developer is now redrawing and upgrading its plans and concept for the site. “The reason for the change is that we have come up with a superior development concept hatched from a recent prolonged brainstorming session. This concept embraces a resort holiday yet home lifestyle, which was pioneered by Club Med International. We want to go beyond what Club Med has to offer. That’s why we are prepared to revamp the entire Sea Tropics concept to bring together a rich variety of new features, which both local and foreign investors will find it hard not to invest,” says Ho Hok Seng, president of Sepang Goldcoast Sdn Bhd.

Isa Bella Lin is a Singaporean Peranakan with roots originating in Malacca, Singapore, Indonesia and China.
With a large network across the world, join her on FACEBOOK 
and get yourself connected to Isa Bella,The South East Asia Investment Specialist.

Arab investors - Malaysia 2010

MALACCA: The state’s tourism industry will get a boost following plans by Arab investors to pump in more than more RM1 Billion in investment to develop several tourist-related projects over the next three years.

A successful completion of the proposed "Arab City" here will attract more Arab investors to Malaysia, Managing Director of Golden Corporate Heritage Sdn Bhd, Hesham El Din Fathi Mohamed said.

He said there were a lot of Arab investors waiting to see our model, if it is going to succeed or not.

"Most of them came here and tried (to invest) but get back with a negative feeling (because of bureaucratic red tape)," he told Bernama in an interview here recently.

Bureaucratic red tape has forced the company to develop Arab City here earlier, which is designed to be a symbolic gateway connecting Malaysia to the Middle East, and to move from its site in Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur to Melaka, which promises a 24-hour approval for the project.

Golden Corporate Heritage is undertaking the Arab City project in Melaka.

It is a joint venture between Dubai, Saudi Arabian and Malaysian partners, the company has branch offices in Dubai and Saudi Arabia with diverse interests in real estate, trading and oil and gas business.


He said the projects would allow the state to better attract Middle Eastern tourists and give locals a chance to experience Arabic culture.

The Arab investors, Golden Corporate Heritage (CGH), will carry out joint projects with the state-owned Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI).

Arab City on Pulau Melaka involves the development of a three-storey shopping complex including an Arabian bazaar, Middle Eastern restaurants and cafes and a unisex Arabic health and beauty spa.

The Klebang project involves the construction of a five-star hotel, a water theme park, an aquarium and a floating restaurant.

GCH managing director Hesham Eldin Fath Mohamed Khalil said the company was also looking at developing an Arab Village in Kampung Jawa.

Arab City on Pulau Melaka is expected to be completed by the end of next year and the one in Klebang in 2012.


With concerns that the global economic crisis would affect the Middle east badly, Hesyam said they studied the situation very well and found that Malaysia was a very suitable place for them.

Despite the lack of a "special offer" to investors, Malaysia was very stable, its people friendly and easily accept the Arabic culture, which in itself presents a very good environment for Arab investors.

Hesyam said one million Arab tourists came to Malaysia and they spend 10 times more than the others.

For the past seven months, he said 250,000 Arabs came to Malaysia although it is not the holiday season and they spent RM5 billion.

Hesyam said when the Arabs came here, his staff went to the shopping areas especially in Bukit Bintang and interviewed Arab tourists to know how they felt in Malaysia including the problems they faced and the things they hope to have here to make them come back again.

Based on the interviews, Hesyam said Arab tourists want an integrated place that has the feel of Arabian culture, food and tradition.

He said there were cases in Bukit Bintang for example, where these Arabs do not feel comfortable with.

So, when they do not feel comfortable here, he said they would not come back for the second time.

However, Hesyam said the Ministry of Tourism which has been tracking tourist trends says the number of Arab tourists keep on increasing every year.

"If we received 750,000 this year and we received one million next year, it goes without saying that we are doing well," he said.

Singapore : 

Singapore's Arab Street! 

Hey When Is Singapore's Arab City Coming?

Where is the Arab City ?

Arab City Melaka is located on the man made island off the historic port city of Melaka. Melaka is approximately 1 and a half hours driving distance from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur and approximately an hours drive from the Kuala lumpur International Airport (KLIA). What's even more exciting is that the Arab City is only 1 and a half hours from Singapore!