A Saviour From The South

Reviving abandoned projects is part of MB Group’s CSR programme 

Located in Peninsular Malaysia’s southeast coast, Desaru is poised to be the next high-growth epicentre thanks to the development of Desaru Coast and the industries around the area. Taman Desaru 1 and 2 are freshly developed residential areas targeted at buyers from all income groups who want to live among verdant greens and the embrace of nature.  

The latest addition to Taman Desaru Utama 1 is Arcadia, a new offering of upscale semi-detached homes and bungalows. The latter provides an ideal living environment with an abundance of trees and green terrain. Residences are designed and built to maximise practicality with a flexible layout to please even the most discerning of homebuyers.

The project is currently spearheaded by Dato’ Abdullah Yusup, General Manager of MB Group. Abdullah’s core responsibility includes project management as well as project handovers. Together with the chairman, Alan Sim, he has led the group to become an established property developer in Johor.  

MB Group is a multi-disciplinary organisation with its roots firmly entrenched in property development, construction, landscaping, building materials trading as well as other industry activities. The bulk of the group’s portfolio lies in the south of Malaysia, thus it will continue to strive towards developing first-class properties in that region.  

The MB Group started as a building contractor 30 years ago. They ventured into property development by taking over several abandoned projects in the early 2000s, and the group slowly diversified to more property-related business to become what it is today.  

INVESTING IN ARCADIA

Due to its strategic location, there could be potential investment value when investing in Arcadia. The latter is nestled in Taman Desaru Utama, Bandar Penawar. This location is a gateway to famous holiday destinations, beach resorts, schools and colleges, as well as Kota Tinggi town and Pengerang via the Pengerang Highway.

Arcadia is within an all-encompassing developing and vibrant area that can fulfil one’s daily living needs. It also has the potential to be a holiday home or homestay lodge, as well as provide long-term stay for families and working population. Due to the scarcity of housing supply in the area, the development can help fill the supply gap, especially for the high income group.

Desaru was chosen due to its ideal location at the gateway of the rapidly developing southeast Johor and possesses high growth potential catalysed by the Desaru Coast and PIPC project. The Desaru Coast project provides ample attractions as it is slated to comprise four world-class hotels, a theme park, a championship golf course, a water park and a river walkway. The PIPC project will create a massive workforce thus drawing a large number of professionals and expatriates to the area.

POSITIONING FOR HIGH GROWTH

MB Group carries out its corporate social responsibility through MB Boys Home (Pertubuhan Pelatih Maha Builders, Johor Bahru). Founded on June 15, 2014, MB Boys Home aims to create a better future for the lost youths, empower them to grow up as independent adults, able to progress in life and eventually contribute back to the society.

Apart from that, the group has included reviving abandoned projects as part of their CSR programme. “Although it is tough rehabilitating some of these locations, reviving abandoned projects is less time and cost consuming,” says Abdullah. However, there are bound to be complications when dealing with the stakeholders such as the owners and banks.

“In spite of the difficulties, we take it as a challenge to revive these abandoned buildings and assist stranded purchasers to unfreeze their properties and add new value to it,” he adds. About 40% of MB Group projects were rehabilitated from abandoned buildings including the Skudai Villa Apartments and Pandan City Commercial Hub in Johor Bahru.

The biggest challenge faced by MB Group is its lack of familiarity with the foreign market. “Therefore, we require a team of good consultants to assist us. We believe that we would be able to perform well with the guidance of our group chairman who has many years of experience in the real estate industry,” Abdullah points out.

All of MB Group’s international developments are situated in Perth, the capital of Western Australia. “When we started our overseas venture in Perth, the market was not widely penetrated by the major players. Therefore, we believed it was an opportunity for us to start our investment in Perth,” he explains.

“For the local market in general, we see a glut of middle to high-end condominiums and apartments, with considerable participation from investors across the Peninsula and Singapore. However, this interest is now slowing due to market sentiment and economic uncertainty,” Abdullah says.

He adds, “There is a huge room for growth in Johor Bahru in the long run. However, that depends on how soon the other industries act as drivers to liven up the economy within the region and increase the income of the majority of households.”

For the near future of between three and five years, Abdullah believes that there will be a high demand for houses from the majority of the population in Johor Bahru. “Our plan is to build affordably priced homes at suitable locations based on the market situation,” he states.

Besides Arcadia, MB Group is currently working on high rise developments in Johor Bahru, namely the Twin Danga Residence @ Sg Danga. The developer is also planning to build a commercial mall in Desaru and a mixed development in Larkin comprising two blocks of residential towers on top of a shopping mall. These projects are targeted to be launched next year, which would keep MB Group busy for the next few years.

MB Group aims to be a leading developer in Johor and will strive to develop premium properties that seek to improve the quality of life for all. companies can achieve a seamless integration of coworking space into their established real estate strategy.