PETALING JAYA: Amid concerns that the property market is overheating, consultants believe the areas of Jalan Cochrane and the Batu Cantonment army base in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, are "too valuable to be ignored".

"Both areas are in great need of redevelopment, definitely too valuable to be ignored," CB Richard Ellis Malaysia executive chairman Christopher Boyd said.

Henry Butcher Malaysia Sdn Bhd president Lim Eng Chong described the Jalan Cochrane site as fantastic because it was well populated and close to the city centre.

"The land is due for redevelopment, the buildings there are very old. It's been too long, redeveloping it would be a catalyst for the entire area," Lim noted.

"These areas have the potential to be high growth areas," DTZ Nawawi Tie Leung Property Consultants Sdn Bhd director Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin said.

Their comments came after it was recently highlighted in the news that Boustead Holdings Bhd's major shareholder Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) was close to closing land deals involving 60 acres in Jalan Cochrane and 245 acres in Jalan Ipoh.

Although Boustead deputy chairman and group managing director Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin did not confirm this when queried by the press on Tuesday, sources said the deals were almost done.

"We are very close to finalising some (land) deals in Kuala Lumpur.

"We are actively looking at a few areas in the Klang Valley with strong potential for mixed property development," Lodin had said instead on Tuesday.

On the same day, the group, which is involved mainly in property, manufacturing, financial and plantation, said it would raise some RM1bil via bond issues, largely to expand its land bank in the city.

Boustead currently has about 2,000 acres of undeveloped land, mostly in the Klang Valley, which can keep it busy for up to 15 years.

Boyd said Boustead had the potential "to add value" to the areas of Jalan Cochrane and Jalan Ipoh.

"Given its track record in developing Mutiara Damansara and Mutiara Rini (Johor), the two strategically located land bank would further add value to the group and consolidate its status as a undervalued stock and attract investor interest," Hong Leong Research told clients yesterday.

In a report dated Oct 12, HwangDBS Vickers Research noted that Boustead's property segment was due for major transformation as LTAT was close to finalising two "lucrative" Government land deals, referring to both the Jalan Cochrane and Jalan Ipoh land.

"Both developments will be served by the mass rapid transit system," it noted.

Reports have indicated that the developments could see mixed real estate projects comprising residential and commercial properties and that gross development values could run into billions of ringgit.

At the close yesterday, Boustead added 3 sen to RM5.62.

- The Star Online