SHAH ALAM: I-Bhd, which will be selling RM700mil worth of residential and office units this year, says the local property market is improving.

Deputy chairman Datuk Eu Hong Chew said the ratio between the number loan submissions and sale and purchase agreements signed over the past three years had improved.

“The property market is cyclical. But looking at the data that we have, things are slowly moving back to when the property market was vibrant,” he said after the company’s AGM.

At the launch of its Property Market Report 2017 in April, the Valuation and Property Services Department’s revealed that transactions had improved by 4% in the first two months of the year compared with the same period a year ago.

“We are not launching new developments for this year. Sales will be generated from our existing projects. Over RM200mil will be from I-City and about RM400mil from 8 Kia Peng,” he said.

Executive chairman Tan Sri Datuk Lim Kim Hong said I-Bhd is very different today compared with five years ago, when it embarked on its first five-year growth plan.

“Back then, the group’s turnover was only RM66.7mil with property development contributing about 37% of turnover.

“In 2017, this segment accounted for 90% of turnover. We expect this profile to be maintained over the next five years,” he said.

As at the end of 2017, Lim said I-Bhd had invested about RM490mil, with many of its properties entering the market over the next two to three years.

“Our mall and first convention centre are expected to open at the end of this year, while the Double Tree Hotel will be opened in 2020,” he said.

I-Bhd, best known for its 72-acre I-City development in Shah Alam, registered a 16.6% net profit growth to RM24.49mil for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared with the corresponding quarter last year.

It recorded a revenue of RM159.3mil which was 47% higher compared with the corresponding period last year.

In terms of segmental performance, property development remained the largest contributor for the quarter with RM147.9mil, making up 93% of the group’s revenue, while the leisure segment came in at 6% or RM9.7mil.