Wee Hur trades flatly after acquisition of Brisbane plot for A$51 million

PROPERTY developer Wee Hur Holdings traded flatly at S$0.375 on Friday morning, after announcing late on Wednesday that it has bought a plot of land in Brisbane and plans to build an iconic high-rise mixed development on it.

There was no trading on Thursday due to the Christmas holiday.

Wee Hur bought the plot for A$51.29 million (S$55.16 million) from "an unrelated and independent party" through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Wee Hur (Buranda) Pty Ltd.

It is the group's first foray into property development in Australia, in line with its strategy to venture into building overseas.

The acquisition will be paid for in cash, funded by internal resources. Its cash and cash balance stood at S$262.5 million as at Sept 30, 2014.

The plot is located in Woolloongabba, a suburb about 3km south-east of the central business district of Brisbane. It sits at an intersection of major transport arterials beside a transit station, serviced by rapid and frequent transit service.

"As such, the land is most suited to be developed into a transit-oriented development with a mix of residential, retail, office and communal components. The group aims to spearhead a high-rise iconic development which can potentially be a trailblazer leading to other developments forming part of the rejuvenation effort for this suburb," it said.

The land is 16,946 square metres (sq m). To complete the land acquisition, Wee Hur will need to, at a later date, acquire another 2,194 sq m of land for A$5.2 million, as part of the intended development under the preliminary development approval.

This will bring the total acquisition cost to A$56.5 million, and total area to 19,140 sq m.

The development will be carried out several phases and construction is expected to start in the third quarter of 2015.