TA Global plans to include HK or Singapore listing?

TA GLOBAL Bhd, en route to a listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia, has lined up a series of plans for next year, including a possible dual listing abroad.

It is learnt that shareholders are looking to list the company either in Singapore or Hong Kong, a year after its local debut, to build up the brand internationally.

TA Global is due to list on Bursa Malaysia on the 23rd of this month.

Its parent, TA Enterprise Bhd (TAE), aims to raise RM230 million from the listing. TAE has folded all its property assets into TA Global to "unlock the hidden value".

"TA Global will be taken global. In future, it will have a presence in the US, Asia-Pacific starting with Singapore, and Europe, targeting the UK first. It will develop luxury properties and buy hotels," a source told Business Times.
At present, TA Global is focused on Malaysia, Australia and Canada.

On the home front, it has lined up some RM7 billion worth of property development projects to be launched over the next two years.

They include Dutamas in Mont'Kiara, U-Thant 28 in Ampang, Seri Suria in Sri Damansara, Nova Square and two 50-storey residences near the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

In Canada, TA Global owns Terasen Centre (a triple A office building) and the four-star Aava Whistler Hotel. In Australia, it owns the five-star Radisson Plaza in Sydney and the Westin Melbourne. It is in the process of buying the Swissotel Merchant Court hotel in Singapore for S$260 million (RM632 million).

The source also said that TA Global was poised to launch a mixed development comprising luxury apartments, office towers and a hotel in Canada in 2010/11.

TA Global director and co-founder and TAE managing director Datin Alicia Tiah confirmed the plans for Canada, but declined to elaborate.

"We are looking at it. We have the landbank ready, but we want to wait for the right time to launch," she told Business Times at TA Global's prospectus launch in Kuala Lumpur in October.

Tiah had said she was looking to build TA Global's hospitality and property investment business by taking it global.

The plan includes buying four- to six-star hotels below market value and raising the company's image.

"It is still a good time to buy as prices are low. Locally, we hope to have a hotel in Penang and Malacca. We may build the hotels on our own or take over existing buildings."

TA Global, with RM2.4 billion of assets, was also eyeing hotels in international gateway cities like London and New York, Tiah said.

冀提高对总营业额贡献 达全球上市后续拓展酒店业务

即将于今年11月23日，在大马交易所主板上市的达全球（TA Global），冀望在上市后继续拓展海内外酒店业务，以便提高酒店管理业务对达全球总营业额的贡献。

达全球为达企业（TA，4898，主板金融股）旗下的产业臂膀，上市后将成为国内第五大市值的产业公司。

达全球董事拿汀陈桂芳披露，去年达全球旗下仅有1间酒店，但随着上市后，该公司旗下酒店数量将会增至4间，包括向达企业收购的新加坡瑞士茂昌阁大酒店（Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel）。

明年酒店管理贡献增2倍“因此，我们预计在下财年，酒店管理业务对总营业额的贡献将提高2倍。”陈桂芳是在达全球招股书推介礼后，发表上述言论。达全球执行主席拿督程铁建以及大马投资银行董事经理郭德祥，也出席上述推介礼。

程铁建则说：“随着达全球即将上市，达集团的核心业务将会分为金融业务（达企业）以及产业业务（达全球）；产业业务将包括酒店营运、产业管理、建筑以及产业发展。“分割业务的目的，是为了确保两家公司采取不同策略，专注于核心业务。”产业与酒店管理主要收入他指出，产业管理以及酒店管理业务，将继续成为达全球未来的主要收入来源。

“展望未来，我们会继续在透明且良好监管的国家，如澳洲与加拿大扩充业务。”至于本地业务，达全球目前在黄金地段拥有一些土地，例如在吉隆坡城中城（KLCC）毗邻拥有2.26英亩的地段，并且已获准兴建两座50层高的建筑物。

20至50%盈利派息另外，该公司的Nova Square产业则坐落在武吉免登以及燕美路交界处，占地2.982英亩。程铁建说：“我们计划在截至2010年1月31日止财年内，推出3项产业计划，发展总值介于60亿至70亿令吉，发展期限介于7至10年。

”陈桂芳披露，达全球或可在2010财年及2011财年内，维持营业额与净利表现，这主要是来自外汇兑换获利，以及酒店业务的贡献。“为了确保达全球能够继续成长，我们计划在上市后，将每年盈利的20至50%作为股息派发。”

TA Global to double number of hotels

TA Global Bhd, set to become Malaysia’s fifth biggest listed property group, plans to double the number of hotels it owns in five years, adding to a portfolio that includes the Radisson Plaza in Sydney and the Westin Melbourne.

It wants to build at least two hotels in Kuala Lumpur and make acquisitions in overseas markets from London to Canada, said Alicia Tiah, managing director and co-founder of its parent company, the Malaysian brokerage TA Enterprise Bhd.

“Definitely we want more. We want to develop our own chain. I want to buy hotels in gateway cities like London,” she said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. “But some are not cheap, some too big, some too small, it takes time to get the right fit. I want people to show me what they have.”

TA Enterprise, whose shares have more than doubled this year, folded all its property assets into TA Global which will be listed on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange on November 23 to tap a resurgent stock market. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index has gained 44 per cent so far this year.
TA Global, which now owns four hotels, is being spun off into a separate listing to realise its value and help it expand. The group spent about RM756 million (US$225 million) from December to August to buy the Westin Melbourne hotel, the Swissotel Merchant Court hotel in Singapore and the Coast Whistler Hotel in Canada, taking advantage of depressed prices during the global recession.

The acquisitions will triple hotel revenue at TA Global next year, Tiah said, without giving the current figure.

“A lot of hotels were going for below their replacement costs,” she said. “We managed to get great assets at a time when things were so gloomy.”

Good Timing

TA Global will have a market value of RM2.4 billion when it’s listed and will be ranked the fifth largest property group, HWANGDBS Vickers Research Sdn Bhd said in a September 29 report.

“The timing is quite good to list,” Tiah said. “We have accumulated great assets.”

TA Global, which has total assets valued at RM2.4 billion, has lined up more than RM6 billion of property development projects from now till 2012, said Tiah.

The company also owns the 24-story Terasen Centre, an office building in Vancouver, Canada, and Menara TA One, a 34-story office in Kuala Lumpur.

By listing the property unit, TA Enterprise will be “unlocking the hidden value” of its property assets, ECM Libra Capital Sdn Bhd said in a report yesterday.

TA Global will raise RM230 million from the share sale. It also owns offices in Kuala Lumpur and Canada. TA Enterprise will retain a 57 per cent stake after the listing, said Tiah.

“We have a good stream of income, good time, bad time, it will be there,” she said, referring to the hotels. “I love hospitality, you can up the rates,” as opposed to office buildings where rates are fixed by contracts, she said. -- Bloomberg

TA Global launches prospectus

THE listing of TA Global Bhd on the main market of Bursa Malaysia on Nov 23, will position it as one of the largest listed property companies in Malaysia.

TA Global launched its prospectus today for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 460 million shares at an issue price of 50 sen per share.

The executive chairman of TA Global, Datuk Tiah Thee Kian said with the listing, the TA Group would be divided into two main business entities, namely the financial division under TA Enterprise Bhd and the property division under TA Global.

"The property division will include hotel operations, property management, property investment and property development," Tiah said.
He said TA Global which have three new Klang Valley projects with a gross development value of RM6 billion over a period of seven to 10 years and is now looking towards expansion in Australia and Canada. - Bernama