THE once touted as a mammoth RM5 bil Empire City Damansara (ECD) project is set for revival with glove maker Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd proposing to undertake a joint collaboration on the development and operation of Empire City Mall that is currently being constructed as part of the overall ECD development.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday (Oct 4), Rubberex announced its joint collaboration with Alliance Premier Sdn Bhd, EXSIM Holdings Sdn Bhd and JT Momentum Sdn Bhd through a joint venture company Alliance Empire Sdn Bhd.
Rubberex further identified its non-independent executive director Lim Chee Lip to spearhead this project and has entered into a conditional share subscription agreement with Alliance Empire to subscribe shares in the company.
According to Lim, the investment represents a 20% equity interest in Alliance Empire at RM180 mil which be fully satisfied in cash.
The proposed diversification exercise comes at a time when the rubber glove industry’s outlook seems to be waning from its peak of supernormal profits and sky-high average selling prices towards normalisation as Malaysia and the rest of the world enters the endemic phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Capitalising on the current global economic reopening and recovery themes, our first foray and diversification into property investment is in line with the group’s long-term strategy of delivering sustainable growth, steady income and value creation to the shareholders”, Lim pointed out.
“The Malaysian economy is undergoing progressive recovery, especially in the commercial and retail sectors.”
Empire City Mall has a net lettable area of approximately 1.7 million sq ft including a total of 8,572 carpark bays in its vicinity.
Strategically located within the bustling Petaling Jaya city centre, it is surrounded by established townships with high traffic catchment such as Petaling Jaya, Damansara Perdana, Damansara Utama, Kota Damansara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Mont Kiara, Damansara Damai, Bangsar and Kepong as well as being easily accessible by major expressways.
In its stock exchange filing, Rubberex also stated that the Empire City Mall has been independently valued at RM1 bil and that its proposed share subscription would enable the group to acquire a strategic foothold in a sizable completed mixed property development project within a relatively short period of two years.
The implementation of the proposed subscription and diversification exercises are expected to be completed by early 2022.
“With this strategic alliance collaboration, we are convinced that the Empire City Mall is set to be one of the iconic tourism hotspots in Malaysia within an integrated lifestyle commercial development,” projected EXSIM Group’s managing director Lim Aik Hoe.
“Empire City Mall is a unique creation that would add value to the surrounding developments with its distinctive architectural façade design.”
Once dubbed as the next major development in Kuala Lumpur by its original developer Mammoth Empire Holding Sdn Bhd, the 23-acre ECD1 opposite PJ Trade Centre was conceptualised as a mixed development comprising office towers, serviced residences, five-star hotels and a shopping mall with 2 million sq ft of space.
In 2015, it hosted a party featuring socialite Paris Hilton and K-Pop group 2AM in what was dubbed the “Party of The Century” amid plans then to open the venue in 2015.
In March 2019, Mammoth Empire offloaded a 61-acre tract in Damansara Perdana (which had been earmarked for ECD2) to Exsim Development Sdn Bhd for RM760 mil as a measure to pare down debt and complete the long-delayed ECD project – Oct 5, 2021
