A joint venture between Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Tatsuo Yasunaga) and Sime Darby Property Berhad, a real estate company in Malaysia, entered into an agreement on May 16 of this year for the sale and purchase of the land for the development of leasing build-to-suit (customized) logistics warehouses and light industrial facilities for leasing in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur. Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. ("Mitsubishi Estate", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Junichi Yoshida) will participate in the project after the required licenses and permits have been granted by the relevant regulatory authorities. After equity participation by Mitsubishi Estate, the shareholdings will be Sime Darby Property 50% and Japan JV 50% (Mitsui 60%, Mitsubishi Estate 40%). This project is to develop logistics warehouses and light industrial facilities in accordance with the needs of each customer, and its overall site area is 160,000 square meters, with a total project cost of approximately 13 billion yen (530 million Malaysian Ringgit).
In Malaysia, with demand rising for general consumer goods and e-commerce, there has been an ongoing movement towards consolidating and/or upgrading business bases, such as leasing logistics warehouses and light industrial facilities. Such needs are expected to increase, in particular, on sites that are close to centers of consumption and are easily accessible by public transportation. The Bukit Raja region, which is the site of this project, is situated midway between Kuala Lumpur and Port Klang, the largest port in Malaysia. Not only is the region readily accessible by existing highways, but a new highway, which will connect the Malay Peninsula from north to south, is planned to be opened to traffic along the site of the project in 2019, further enhancing the convenience of the area.
Sime Darby Property Berhad is a leading real estate developer in Malaysia with a history of over 70 years of real-estate development business, and has established a track record of as many as 23 township development projects. It also owns 8,400 hectares of land that can be used for future development projects.
Mitsui and Mitsubishi Estate have undertaken overseas joint business together, namely logistics facility development projects in China and California, and this project will mark the third joint project between the two companies. Leveraging its track record of developing office buildings and logistic facilities and engaging in REIT operation projects in Japan and overseas, Mitsui has been engaging in the development of logistics facilities for lease and and light industrial facility development projects in Indonesia, as well as the Malaysian state of Johor. Through this project, Mitsui aims to further expand its business portfolio. The Mitsubishi Estate group operates businesses in nine countries in the Asia and Oceania regions, in addition to its real estate development and holding operations in Europe and the U.S. Mitsubishi Estate will continue to actively pursue overseas real estate projects by utilizing its real estate development know-how and product planning capabilities that have been cultivated in various countries around the globe.
| Location | 1 Bandar Bukit Raja, Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Usage | Logistics warehouses and light industrial facilities |
| Land area | Approx. 157,000 m2 |
| Total floor space | Approx. 155,000 m2 (assumed) |
| Total project cost | Approx. 13 billion yen (assumed) |
| Construction start date | October 2018 (Phase I, tentative) |
| Construction completion date | September 2018 (Phase I, tentative) |
