SDRED Bhd

It is dismissing speculation that major shareholder as well as group MD The is taking the company private.

Teh has been steadily increasing her stake in the company and now holds a direct 18.31% stake compared to 15.75% in January 2012. Including her indirect holdings held mostly under The Wan Sang & Sons Sdn Bhd and The Kien Toh Sdn Bhd, she now (May 2013) holds close to 60% of the company. She has been acquiring shares via both off-market deals and acquisitions via the open market.

Her buying pattern raises questions on whether a privatisation bid is on the cards for the company which has niche lifestyle projects ranging from high rise and low rise service apartments, and is also in the hotel business with its five-star Hotel Maya in Jalan Ampang.

The company develops mostly niche lifestyle projects and owns the Hotel Maya, a five-star property located along Jalan Ampang.

Selangor Dredging has unbilled sales of about RM862mil as at end-December 2012 and have been among the few local developers who have made inroads into Singapore where the property prices have been rising.

The company have plans to expand its footprint in the island with the latest residential project being nine five-storey blocks comprising 148 apartments located in Singapore Village At Pasir Panjang with a gross development value (GDV) of RM640.05mil on a 0.99 ha site.

Besides this, ongoing projects include the Gilstead Two condominium project located along Gilstead Road consisting of 110 units with a GDV of S$200mil and the Okio Residences project launched in the second quarter of 2011, a mixed freehold residential and commercial project on a 0.2ha site at Balestier Road in district 12.

Other projects in Singapore include the 22 units of low-rise condominiums called Jia at Wilkie Road with a GDV of S$55mil completed in Dec 2010.

For the third quarter ended Dec 31, the niche property developer recorded a lower net profit of RM9.28mil compared with RM10.02mil achieved in the previous corresponding quarter.