Tycoon Ng buys another property in Australia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian tycoon Ming Ng, well known for his investment foray into Australian properties, is believed to be on another buying spree.

This time, Ng, via his family-controlled company Dradgin of Singapore, is said to have purchased a landmark commercial property, 502 Hay Street, in the suburb of Subiaco, the central business district (CBD) of Perth, at an undisclosed price.

The Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday that Ng had acquired the building from beleaguered Perth-based developer Luke Saraceni, who had to offload the property because of mounting debts.

Dradgin was unavailable for comment at press time.

Ng and his family is said to own several other prime properties in Western Australia, including 168 St George's Terrace in the CBD.

It has been a trend of sort for Malaysia companies to purchase land, develop or acquire prime properties down under.

This include Mulpha International Bhd, which owns Sanctuary Cove, a 474-ha residential and lifestyle property development in Queensland Gold Coast.

Other Malaysian tycoons chose to venture into Britain and they include YTL Corp Bhd, which carries out its utilities activities via subsidiary YTL Power International Bhd.

YTL Power wholly-owns Wessex Water, one of the most efficient water and sewerage operators in Britain.

This acquisition represents YTL's first major foray into Europe and marks the beginning of another exciting chapter in the growth and development of the YTL Group.

However, Ng's property purchase is an interesting one the acquisition was done when the Aussie dollar was almost at its all-time high against the ringgit (A$1: RM3.084).

Ideally, acquisitions are best done when the exchange rate is in favour of the buyer.

A local property analyst said the “right” price to buy could lead to an opportunity gain.

He said this might well be the case with Ng's recent acquisition of 502 Hay Street.

“The acquisition may be a situation of striking or buying when an opportunity arises, despite the high price of the asset, because of future earnings potential,” he said.

However, the analyst said the situation remained speculative as it was difficult to assess the reason for Ming' purchase, especially with so little information provided by the company.

He said it was generally uncommon for local tycoons to acquire prime property, especially in the developed world, when the exchange rate was not to their favour.

The analyst said it was also a risky decision as the stronger currency might suddenly fall.

“There must be a catch somewhere to compensate for buying a property against a stronger exchange,” he noted.

By The Star