WCT Holdings Bhd, which owns a 60 per cent equity in Subang Skypark Sdn Bhd, the operator of Skypark Terminal at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (formerly, Subang Airport) is selling 12 parcels of freehold land in Serendah, Selangor for RM214.3 million to partly fund its business expansion.

The group, an active player in the Serendah property market, said the land sale is expected to result in a proforma gain of RM45.53 million for the WCT group.

WCT said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia recently that the proposed disposal provides an opportunity for it to unlock and realise the value of the lands as well as to fund working capital, which includes business expansion.

The group did not elaborate on its business expansion plan in the filing.

The land, measuring about 244.1 hectares (ha) collectively is being sold by its indirect wholly-owned property development unit Jubilant Courtyard Sdn Bhd (JCSB) to privately-owned MDCon (Simpang Empat) Sdn Bhd.

It is unclear if these are the same parcels of land which WCT had intended to develop in a joint venture with UEM Sunrise Bhd.

In 2015 WCT announced that it was teaming up with UEM Sunrise to undertake an RM3 billion township development across some 246ha in Serendah via JCSB, the landowner.

UEM Sunrise had entered into a conditional subscription and shareholders' agreement with WCT to acquire a 50 per cent stake in JCSB for RM214.88 million.

WCT managing director Taing Kim Hwa had said that the 10-phase project was scheduled for launch in the fourth quarter of 2017.

But the plan to develop the project with UEM Sunrise was aborted in 2016 in light of the weak property market conditions.

WCT's website clearly does not show any ongoing projects in Serendah. Its current projects are located in Kuala Lumpur (OUG), Petaling Jaya, Klang, Shah Alam, Johor, and Sabah.

JCSB is 100 per cent owned by WCT Land Sdn Bhd, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WCT.

According to WCT, JCSB had entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with MDCon for the proposed land disposal on August 16, 2021.

JCSB is selling nine parcels with a total nett land area of 16.67 million square ft at RM7.50 per square ft (psf), and three parcels with a combined nett land area of 7.44 million sq ft at RM12.00 psf.

WCT said its total cost of investment for the12 parcels of land is RM134.92 million.

Serendah - an upcoming investment haven

Serendah, located right next to Rawang and about 35km from Kuala Lumpur city centre is booming with several developers owning large tracts of land to carry out mix-developments.

The catalysts are the Rawang Bypass, which opened to traffic on November 29, 2017, without toll, bringing motorists from Kuala Lumpur to Rawang/Serendah in just 30 minutes, and the KTM station.

Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd associate director James Tan Keen Meng said Serendah and the areas in its vicinity will greatly benefit from the bypass.

Tan said during a webinar called "Solidarity Beyond 2021", organised for real estate practitioners on July 12 that highway networks, in general, had positively impacted property values.

He said the Rawang Bypass will have a positive impact on real estate, especially industrial properties as it will cut down travel time from the Serendah locality to Selayang and the Kuala Lumpur city centre, avoiding the congested Rawang town.

WCT currently owns 335ha in Malaysia, which includes some parcels of undeveloped land in Serendah.

It had been active in Serendah ever since 2014 when JCSB acquired four pieces of vacant freehold land measuring a total of about 90.1ha for RM115.4 million, or about RM12 psf, for a mix-commercial development project.

It said back then that the acquisition enables the group to increase its land bank and further establish its position in property development.

The land acquisition will also increase its investment property portfolio to provide long-term recurring rental income, said WCT.

In March 2017, WCT announced that JCSB entered into a deal with Matad Sdn Bhd to acquire four pieces of vacant freehold lands in Serendah for RM115.38 million for a mix-commercial development project.

Apart from WCT having several parcels of land in Serendah, TA Global Bhd reportedly owns 76.82ha, slated for commercial use, while Land & General Bhd has over 61.5ha to develop.

TA Global acquired the land in 2015 for RM106.86 million from Talam Transform Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary Europlus Corp Bhd.