Growing appetite for investments

Medini is a mixed-development comprising three clusters – lifestyle and leisure, cultural and Iskandar financial district in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor. The three clusters are pivotal to the whole development of Nusajaya City.

Investors still committed to Iskandar Malaysia despite downturn, says Millennium Development

MILLENNIUM Development chairman Oussama Kabbani, whose company is involved in the development of Iskandar Malaysia, says the success of the growth corridor is its proximity to Singapore.


Oussama Kabbani ... ‘We are in a position to make the best of this recovery.’

Once the bullet train to Singapore becomes a reality, it will be possible to time one's journey to the city state. Even if it is delayed, it will happen. And the same goes for Medini, says Harvard-trained urban planner Oussama who was in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Medini is a mixed-development comprising three important clusters namely lifestyle and leisure, cultural and Iskandar financial district in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor. The three clusters are pivotal to the whole development of Nusajaya City.

When we first came three years ago, there was no housing, no Kota Iskandar, no shopping centres. In the last three years, the change has been unbelievable. Now there is warehousing and industries. Despite what the world economy has gone through, commitment from investors is still there. The world's appetite for investment is rising. We are in a position to make the best of this recovery, says Oussama.

Millennium Development is a member of Saraya Holdings, a Middle Eastern real estate development company. Its expertise is in development management services.

The company undertakes work on behalf of developers and investors in real estate. Essentially, they set up the development strategy and undertake all the work done by a developer.

The only difference is the investment does not come from Millennium Development but from the investors, which can be the Government or private sector.

Oussama says Millennium Development offers clients a portfolio of services which includes business development, urban planning, architecture, finance, marketing, legal and construction management.

We are only the catalyst. If you go through the check list, all the right factors are there, the location and the government support, among them.

How demand is created from abroad is a question of influence, he says.

Many projects sank during the recent economic crisis but Medini grew greater. The fundamentals are there. In a year or two, things will be coming up. LegoLand, the housing community, he said.

Oussama said credit goes to the investors and public-private initiatives, adding that where there is population and growth in wealth, there will be increasing aspiration for better social infrastructure and this is where Millennium Development adds value.

Southeast Asia is ripe for that. There is demand and big apirations but these aspirations are not limited to this region alone. The same is happening in China, the Middle East and Africa.

On the various development projects that are being undertaken around Kuala Lumpur by the Government in various public-private enterprises, Oussama said when one builds, one has to bear in mind that one is building for generations.

You have to be careful and creative about many things; the timelessness, a place of different incomes, all of which are timeless factors that make cities what they are. And they must be memorable.

By The Star