Eco World confident of hitting RM3b sales target

KUALA LUMPUR: Eco World Development Group Bhd, which is targeting to list its special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Eco World International Bhd in the second half of this year, is confident of achieving its RM3 billion sales target for the financial year ending Oct 31, 2015 (FY15) and RM4 billion for FY16.
Its president and CEO Datuk Chang Kim Wah (pix) said the group's sales momentum continues to be strong and it sees high pre-sales registration.
The group has achieved RM621 million sales in the first four months of FY15. It has also achieved cumulative sales of RM3.8 billion over the last 16 months.
"We're well on our way towards achieving those targets and we're optimistic that we'll meet or exceed RM3 billion," he told a press conference at the Invest Malaysia 2015 here yesterday.
The strong sales numbers were contributed by the group's projects in Iskandar Malaysia, namely Eco Botanic, Eco Spring and Eco Summer and Eco Business Park 1. In the Klang Valley, Eco Sky and Eco Majestic also continued to perform well.
Focusing on Iskandar Malaysia, the Klang Valley and Penang, Chang said the group is looking to its maiden launch in Penang in the middle of this year and is positive with its projects in Iskandar Malaysia, which is 60% residential development and 40% business parks.
Meanwhile, Chang said its SPAC, which will be Malaysia's first property SPAC, is still pending approval from the Securities Commission. The group submitted its application end of last year but has been engaging with the authority to address any concerns.
On dividend, Chang said Eco World is currently in its growth phase and will not be distributing dividend at the moment. It will only consider dividend payouts in two to three years.
"We'll be deploying our money to growing Eco World," said Chang.
The group has 5,245 acres of landbank with a total gross development value of RM65 billion.