Agung Podomoro Land (APL) and Intiland Development should avoid relying on their North Jakarta reclamation projects and begin looking for new cash-generators to compensate for potential losses from the artificial islands after the central government said it may review the reclamation, an analyst has said
gung Podomoro Land (APL) and Intiland Development should avoid relying on their North Jakarta reclamation projects and begin looking for new cash-generators to compensate for potential losses from the artificial islands after the central government said it may review the reclamation, an analyst has said.
Kiswoyo Adi Joe from Investa Saran Mandiri said that both publicly listed developers should find new sources to cash in on revenue and not to depend on the completion mega-projects.
'While I don't believe the government will annul the program just like that ' given that the whole project itself is essential for Jakarta to prevent flooding in the capital, and given that some of the developers have started to reclaiming the islets ' it would be wiser for APL and Intiland to immediately start looking for new projects that can cover for the reclamation project,' he said.
'Especially for APL, which seems to have set high hopes on the projects despite the fact that waiting for licensing certainty can be exhausting,' he said.
The central government has decided to suspend the implementation of the controversial National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) project, also known as the Jakarta reclamation, pending an evaluation.
The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry's director general for marine, coastal and small-island affairs, Sudirman Saad, said last week that a recent meeting led by Coordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil, agreed to halt the program, which was initiated in 1995 to counter perennial flooding in Jakarta, and was furthered by former Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo.
The project includes land reclamation, the construction of a giant sea wall and 17 artificial islets that critics have said would only accommodate business interests.
Sudirman further questioned the reclamation permit issued by the Jakarta administration allowing APL to begin reclamation, arguing the permit should have been granted by the central government.
APL and Intiland are both involved in the reclamation projects, planning to develop upper-class properties on the reclaimed land.
APL ' through subsidiary Muara Wisesa Samudera ' secured the rights to begin reclaiming three artificial islands in December last year. The reclamation project is scheduled to be completed in 2018, after which APL will start developing its Pluit City project, a micro-city comprising thousands of houses, apartments and other supporting facilities to accommodate 700,000 residents. The project is estimated to absorb about Rp 50 trillion (US$3.89 billion).
Meanwhile, Intiland is planning to build a mixed-use compound in its 'H' island, pending reclamation permit approval.
'We will wait for certainty from the government, and will comply with any regulation,' Intiland corporate secretary Theresia Rustandi said when contacted by The Jakarta Post.
The projects are expected to generate huge marketing sales for the two companies.
KDB Daewoo estimates that Intiland might pocket Rp 11.3 trillion just from selling land plots in the area.
Meanwhile, Bahana Securities predicts APL could reap a 21 percent increase to Rp 6.9 trillion in marketing sales this year after a 11 percent year-on-year drop in 2014 on the back of market slowdown.
After the news of the permit-suspension broke on Monday, shares of APL and Intiland plunged by 4.3 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, compared to the previous day of trading.
Shares of APL and Intiland were priced at Rp 426 a piece and Rp 615 a piece, respectively, on Friday, a drop of 3.1 percent and 4.5 percent from the previous week's closing.
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