KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): Menara ABS Bhd (MABS), a trust-owned special-purpose entity introduced by Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) to facilitate the sale of TM properties in 2008, intends to sell three of the four office buildings that it owns.

The three office buildings are Menara Telekom Malaysia (TM), Menara TM Semarak and Wisma TM Taman Desa, according to a press statement issued by Realtor WTW Real Estate Sdn Bhd (CBRE|WTW), which has been appointed as the exclusive marketing agent offering the office towers for sale via an Expression of Interest and Tender exercise.

“The properties form part of the portfolio of Islamic Sale and Leaseback transactions involved in the issuance of Islamic Asset Backed Sukuk Ijarah (known as “ABS Fund”).

“The ABS Sukuk holders have signed a Master Ijarah Agreement and invested into the ABS fund which is due to expire on Jan 15, 2023,” CBRE|WTW said in the statement.

The original owner of these properties is Telekom Malaysia. MABS was formed to facilitate the securitisation of four properties — Menara TM, Menara Celcom, TM Taman Desa and TM Cyberjaya.

To recap, in 2008, Telekom Malaysia raised RM1 billion from the off-balance sheet based asset securitisation that involved the sale and leaseback of four of its buildings to MABS.

The major holders of the sukuk issued by MABS are Lembaga Tabung Haji and the Employees Provident Fund, with the pilgrim fund subscribing to RM500 million of the sukuk, based on news reports.

Under the sale & purchase agreement signed in January 2008, MABS bought over the Menara TM, Wisma TM Taman Desa and Cyberjaya Complex at a total consideration of RM850 million. On top of that, under a separate agreement, MABS also acquired Menara Celcom, which is known as Menara TM Semarak, from Telekom Malaysia for RM150 million.

Under MABS, the RM1 billion Sukuk was raised via three tranches, tranche A of RM345mil, tranche B of RM185mil and an unrated tranche C of RM500mil. Both Tranche A and C will be maturing in January 2023.

As Telekom Malaysia decided not to exercise its rights to buy back the three properties — on behalf of the sukukholders, CBRE|WTW was in early June last year engaged to plan and drive asset leasing to dispose of the unsold properties on the open market, according to RAM Ratings.

CBRE|WTW noted that Menara TM, an iconic building that serves as TM headquarters, has undergone a capital expenditure (capex) of RM17.25 million in the past three years, with upgrades made to the mechanical and electrical systems — including an improved and modernized building lifts.

It is one of the top 10 tallest buildings in Malaysia and it has an established Energy Management System (EMS) which includes having an Energy Management team and Energy Policy to increase building efficiency, reduce operational costs and reduce environmental impact.

Menara TM Semarak is a 22-storey building with an annexed six-storey office building and five levels of basement car park.

Wisma TM Taman Desa is a 12½-storey office building together with two levels of basement car park situated in the commercial area of Taman Desa.

The closing date for the first stage of the sale for Menara TM is 12pm on March 18 while the deadline for the other two properties (Menara TM Semarak and Wisma TM Taman Desa) is 12pm on March 31.

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