KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — AmInvestment Bank Bhd Research (AmBank Research) has maintained its ‘Buy’ call on Mah Sing Group Bhd with an unchanged fair value of RM0.79 per share based on a 60 per cent discount to its revalued net asset value.

"We make no changes to our financial year (FY) 2020 to FY22 earnings forecasts at this juncture,” it said in a company report today.

Its long-term outlook for Mah Sing remained positive backed by strong sales achieved in the past few quarters.

"Moreover, we expect the new projects in the Klang Valley to be strong sellers given their strategic locations and attractive pricing,” it said.

Recently, Mah Sing officially launched its latest project, M Luna, with a gross development value of RM705 million.

M Luna sits on 2.46 hectares of leasehold land in Kepong, featuring two 57-storey towers comprising 1,672 units of serviced apartments. The development is surrounded by established amenities such as the Kepong Metropolitan Lake, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, commercial zones, hospitals and schools.

Targeted towards the middle-income segment, the apartment units are priced from RM385,000 for the 700 sq feet, two-bedroom unit which comes with one to two parking bays, while the 1,000 sq ft, four-bedroom unit which comes with two parking bays costs RM491,000.

M Luna is touted as an understated luxury yet affordable serviced apartments featuring a multi-tier security system, electric vehicle charging station, dedicated shuttle bus service to KTM and MRT stations, playground, covered walkway, swimming pool, gymnasium, and many other facilities.

Mah Sing’s chief executive officer Datuk Ho Hon Sang said the encouraging take-up for Phase 1A of M Luna during its launch is a testament to the strong demand for properties in the right location.

"This positive result is also on the back of the government’s recent announcement with regards to the Home Ownership Campaign 2020, wherein homebuyers can leverage the tax reliefs under the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA),” he said.

The reliefs include stamp duty exemption on the instrument of transfer, limited to the first RM1 million of the home price, and full stamp duty exemption for loan agreements (for properties priced between RM300,000 and RM2.5 million).

"This bodes well for Mah Sing as 84 per cent of our target sales for 2020 are for residential properties priced below RM700,000. Despite the current market conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are cautiously optimistic that the demand for affordably priced properties of good quality at strategic locations will remain resilient,” Ho said in a separate statement.

According to him, phase 1A comprising 200 units saw 90 per cent take-up at the launch under the first phase of the development.

"We expect the project to be well received given its strategic location along the Middle Ring Road 2, within five kilometres (km) from Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway, New Klang Valley Expressway and the Damansara-Puchong Highway, and a growing young population in that area.

"In terms of public transportation, the site is located about three km from the upcoming Metro Prima MRT2 station and four km from the Taman Wahyu KTM station,” Ho added. — Bernama