This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 3, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: KYS Education Group, which is owned by businessman Tan Sri Halim Saad, has teamed up with Sime Darby Property, the property arm of Sime Darby Bhd, to build an international school at the latter’s KL East township development here.

Sime Darby Property said it yesterday signed an agreement with the education provider which outlines a long-term land lease arrangement for the setting up of the international school on a six-acre (2.42ha) site within the 153-acre KL East.

The KYS International School will tap into the expatriate market and higher income households of KL East. The development of the new school will be undertaken independently by KYS Education Group.

Once developed, the KYS International School will be able to accommodate up to 900 students and cater for pre-school, primary and secondary education based on the local KBSM (Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Menengah) and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). “The school complements the three growth catalysts that we aspire to establish, [that is] lifestyle, nature and education,” Sime Darby Property managing director Datuk Jauhari Hamidi said in a statement yesterday.

In October last year, The Edge Financial Daily reported that KYS Education Group was in negotiations with a major property developer to set up a new school in Kuala Lumpur.

The education provider was also reported to be seeking a valuation of as much as RM500 million in an initial public offering slated to take place in the second half of this year.