TAKASO (7071) - OCR boost for Takaso?
Saturday, 31 January 2015
The former is said to have plans to turn it into profitable property firm
LOSS-MAKING Takaso Resources Bhd may have a checkered past, but a notable development that could see a change of fortune for the rubber and baby product manufacturer is taking place.
Since September, a medium-sized property developer called OCR Land Holdings Sdn Bhd has been accumulating shares in Takaso. Could this new shareholder, which now holds 13.88% in Takaso, be the saving grace for the latter, which is known as a firm that has tried but failed to venture into a variety of businesses?
Takaso’s past ambitious business strategies included plans to venture into the mining, timber and food industries, but none had materialised.
Back in 2002, there was an issue of the majority shareholder of Takaso failing to carry out a general offer for all the shares in the company after triggering the mandatory shareholding level, although the matter was eventually settled with the shareholder compensating minorities.
So, what does OCR see in Takaso?
Billy Ong, managing director of the family-owned OCR group which brands itself as a boutique developer-cum-construction firm, tells StarBizWeek that the decision to buy into the company is more personal in nature than anything else, as “we are friends” and “this is an investment”.
It is learnt that the 41-year-old Ong, a second-generation developer, has also made investments in Takaso in his personal capacity and collectively with OCR, currently controlling up to 30% of Takaso.
In November, Ong was appointed to the board of Takaso.
Assuming Ong and OCR’s collective stake is around 30% of Takaso, this would make them the single largest shareholder of the firm, followed by a holding company called Nextplus Fortune Sdn Bhd, which holds around 15%. Nextplus is the vehicle of a group that used to control Takaso.
Although Ong, who runs OCR with the help of his siblings, is coy about the plans he has for Takaso, a source says that the strategy is for OCR to inject its expertise and possibly landbank into the company and turn it into a profitable property and construction company down the road.
Clearly, Ong and OCR’s presence in Takaso could possibly lead to a reverse takeover (RTO) of the latter, or even them launching a general offer for the rest of the shares in Takaso.
However, insiders brush off both possibilities, adding that the plan is to keep the listing status of the company. An RTO would also not be easy, considering that Ong and OCR would not be allowed to vote on the deal because they are already shareholders of Takaso.
Ong himself says that none of the two scenarios are on the cards.
“I am happy being a major shareholder.”
OCR, whose developments are confined to the Klang Valley, has a project pipeline of up to RM2bil in gross development value (GDV).
Its ongoing property projects are worth some RM800mil, Ong says.
He doesn’t divulge any information on the company’s total landbank and says most of these are “pocket-sized”.
Some of OCR’s completed projects include the Dahlia Villa Townhouses located near Bandar Utama, comprising 51 residential units.
The units were fully sold out shortly after its launch and delivered to owners in 2003, according to information on OCR’s website.
Other projects include town villas Canary Residence at Cheras Hartamas, Casa Utama townhouses in Bandar Utama BU11, Chestwood Terrace homes at PJU 6A and Palm Reserve semi-detached and bungalow units in Damansara Jaya. The latter marked its foray into the luxury residential property segment.
Ong says he isn’t concerned about a possible slowdown in demand for property stemming from the goods and services tax, which will kick in this April.
“Our properties are at prime locations, and most of our homes are niche and in relatively small quantities, so we expect demand to be steady,” he says.
He says OCR is getting ready for three launches this year, including service apartment units at Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, priced between RM700 and RM800 per sq ft, as well as bungalow units at Gasing Heights.
“There may be buyers who will adopt a wait-and-see attitude in view of the GST, but on the whole, we remain positive that the take-up rates will be good.”
Meanwhile, Takaso has already seemingly reaped its first benefit from OCR as evident from its Jan 13 announcement where it said it had won from OCR an RM37.4mil contract for the construction work of a 21-storey commercial building on Jalan Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, that OCR is developing.
In that announcement, it said that the project would comprise a one-storey basement carpark, six units of shoplots on the ground floor and six units of shoplots on the first floor.
Additionally, there will be seven storeys of carpark from the second floor to the eighth floor, one storey for facility and food court on the ninth floor, and eleven storeys of office lots with an aggregate of 286 units from the 10th to 20th floors.
Takaso said it anticipates that the group’s venture into construction activities would contribute 25% or more to the net profit of the group “in the future”.
While that clearly remains to be seen, Takaso shares have gained 13.2% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the benchmark index, which is higher by less than 2% over the same period.
http://www.thestar.com.my
Saturday, 31 January 2015
The former is said to have plans to turn it into profitable property firm
LOSS-MAKING Takaso Resources Bhd may have a checkered past, but a notable development that could see a change of fortune for the rubber and baby product manufacturer is taking place.
Since September, a medium-sized property developer called OCR Land Holdings Sdn Bhd has been accumulating shares in Takaso. Could this new shareholder, which now holds 13.88% in Takaso, be the saving grace for the latter, which is known as a firm that has tried but failed to venture into a variety of businesses?
Takaso’s past ambitious business strategies included plans to venture into the mining, timber and food industries, but none had materialised.
Back in 2002, there was an issue of the majority shareholder of Takaso failing to carry out a general offer for all the shares in the company after triggering the mandatory shareholding level, although the matter was eventually settled with the shareholder compensating minorities.
So, what does OCR see in Takaso?
Billy Ong, managing director of the family-owned OCR group which brands itself as a boutique developer-cum-construction firm, tells StarBizWeek that the decision to buy into the company is more personal in nature than anything else, as “we are friends” and “this is an investment”.
It is learnt that the 41-year-old Ong, a second-generation developer, has also made investments in Takaso in his personal capacity and collectively with OCR, currently controlling up to 30% of Takaso.
In November, Ong was appointed to the board of Takaso.
Assuming Ong and OCR’s collective stake is around 30% of Takaso, this would make them the single largest shareholder of the firm, followed by a holding company called Nextplus Fortune Sdn Bhd, which holds around 15%. Nextplus is the vehicle of a group that used to control Takaso.
Although Ong, who runs OCR with the help of his siblings, is coy about the plans he has for Takaso, a source says that the strategy is for OCR to inject its expertise and possibly landbank into the company and turn it into a profitable property and construction company down the road.
Clearly, Ong and OCR’s presence in Takaso could possibly lead to a reverse takeover (RTO) of the latter, or even them launching a general offer for the rest of the shares in Takaso.
However, insiders brush off both possibilities, adding that the plan is to keep the listing status of the company. An RTO would also not be easy, considering that Ong and OCR would not be allowed to vote on the deal because they are already shareholders of Takaso.
Ong himself says that none of the two scenarios are on the cards.
“I am happy being a major shareholder.”
OCR, whose developments are confined to the Klang Valley, has a project pipeline of up to RM2bil in gross development value (GDV).
Its ongoing property projects are worth some RM800mil, Ong says.
He doesn’t divulge any information on the company’s total landbank and says most of these are “pocket-sized”.
Some of OCR’s completed projects include the Dahlia Villa Townhouses located near Bandar Utama, comprising 51 residential units.
The units were fully sold out shortly after its launch and delivered to owners in 2003, according to information on OCR’s website.
Other projects include town villas Canary Residence at Cheras Hartamas, Casa Utama townhouses in Bandar Utama BU11, Chestwood Terrace homes at PJU 6A and Palm Reserve semi-detached and bungalow units in Damansara Jaya. The latter marked its foray into the luxury residential property segment.
Ong says he isn’t concerned about a possible slowdown in demand for property stemming from the goods and services tax, which will kick in this April.
“Our properties are at prime locations, and most of our homes are niche and in relatively small quantities, so we expect demand to be steady,” he says.
He says OCR is getting ready for three launches this year, including service apartment units at Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, priced between RM700 and RM800 per sq ft, as well as bungalow units at Gasing Heights.
“There may be buyers who will adopt a wait-and-see attitude in view of the GST, but on the whole, we remain positive that the take-up rates will be good.”
Meanwhile, Takaso has already seemingly reaped its first benefit from OCR as evident from its Jan 13 announcement where it said it had won from OCR an RM37.4mil contract for the construction work of a 21-storey commercial building on Jalan Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, that OCR is developing.
In that announcement, it said that the project would comprise a one-storey basement carpark, six units of shoplots on the ground floor and six units of shoplots on the first floor.
Additionally, there will be seven storeys of carpark from the second floor to the eighth floor, one storey for facility and food court on the ninth floor, and eleven storeys of office lots with an aggregate of 286 units from the 10th to 20th floors.
Takaso said it anticipates that the group’s venture into construction activities would contribute 25% or more to the net profit of the group “in the future”.
While that clearly remains to be seen, Takaso shares have gained 13.2% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the benchmark index, which is higher by less than 2% over the same period.
http://www.thestar.com.my
