This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 20, 2023 - November 26, 2023

Stepping into the newly relocated office of Ancubic Group of Companies in Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur, one cannot help but notice the exciting atmosphere. Amid the dust that lingers in the air (it was the company’s second day in the new premises), the office exudes a sense of brightness and freshness that signifies the company’s new chapter.

“After 12 years, we have finally found two ideal locations to introduce the first two industrial parks of our dreams,” says Datuk Low Boon An, founder, managing director and chairman of Ancubic.

Low was a semiconductor manufacturer for more than a decade before switching to property development in 2011.

“The decision to leave the manufacturing industry after 15 years and venture into property development was not a difficult one, but setting aside the goal of building my dream industrial park was,” says Low. “I was a manufacturer, I know exactly what a manufacturer wants for a facility — the [factory] specs, location, accessibility, the environment and so on. It is why we have many boxes to tick before we commit to building one, and that took us 12 years to finally find two ideal locations in Batu Kawan, Penang, and Bangi, Selangor.”

Armed with a clear list of criteria for building a comprehensive industrial park, Low has been eyeing land in Batu Kawan and Bangi, as both are established industrial hubs with existing large-scale local and international investments.

Low explains: “I am a supporter of zero carbon footprint. Apart from switching to renewable electricity and increasing the use of recycled materials, which involve upfront investment, one easier thing that every manufacturer could do is to source material and suppliers nearby to cut down emissions and increase efficiency.

“It explains why industrial parks are always in demand in industrial areas with big factories. Land sourcing in these areas has never been easy, though. There are many aspects we need to consider. For example, land size, price, location, soil condition, access road and market demand.”

Ancubic’s 20-acre industrial park project in Penang, called A-Park Batu Kawan, is located a few kilometres east of Batu Kawan Industrial Park, neighbouring government-initiated workers’ quarters and the North-South Expressway’s Sungai Bakap R&R station with restaurants and food stalls.

“Land in Batu Kawan is in high demand, signifying strong demand from small- and mid-size manufacturers. The site of A-Park Batu Kawan could be the last substantial flat land suitable for industrial park development in the area. The rest is mostly pocket land here and there for purpose-built facilities, or slope land near the wetland,” he says.

Committed to providing a cohesive industrial ecosystem, A-Park Batu Kawan offers a total of 50 1½- and 2-storey semi-detached and detached factories with built-ups ranging from 6,800 to 13,700 sq ft. The selling prices range from RM4.1 million to RM12.3 million.

Low highlights that the units at A-Park Batu Kawan, which offers a three-in-one use concept (for office, production and storage), come with a modern facade and are built with high quality construction and features that are benchmarked against international standards. These features include a 150amp power supply for semidee units and 200amp for detached units; 9m ceiling height from the ground floor to mezzanine floor and 3.5m from Level 1; 1.5-tonne loading capacity for the ground floor and 0.356 tonnes for the first floor; 13ft motorised roller shutters; a flexible floor layout with a spacious production area; rooftop that is ready for solar panel installation; and optimal ventilation, natural lighting and visibility from the main road.

Another feature of A-Park Batu Kawan is the industrial park’s extra-wide 100ft main entrance and 50ft-wide internal roads, which allow two trucks to go in and out side-by-side. It is also a gated and guarded development with individual titles. The developer will provide owners with three years’ free security service and the estimated maintenance fee is three sen psf.

“We want A-Park, our branding for industrial products, to be known as modern and practical industrial parks, providing a cluster-oriented environment, where companies can co-locate and gain synergies with their customers and suppliers in one location,” Low says.

He adds that A-Park Batu Kawan is targeting companies in key growth industries such as electronic products, fast-moving consumer goods, logistics and warehousing, general engineering services, precision engineering, semiconductors, data centre and business process outsourcing.

According to Low, 17 units of A-Park Batu Kawan were booked within three days of the soft launch in early October, with half of the potential buyers purchasing for investment. The developer is targeting to officially launch the project in December.

Meanwhile, the second industrial park — A-Park Bandar Baru Bangi, for which details are still being finalised — will be launched after Chinese New Year in 2024.

A-Park Bandar Baru Bangi is also a 20-acre gated and guarded industrial park with total of fifty 2- and 3-storey semi-detached and detached factories with built-ups ranging from 9,500 to 31,000 sq ft. The selling prices will be disclosed in due course.

“Bangi is a different market. There is more demand for showroom-cum-office and logistics transition points because of the strategic location. Most of the businesses are doing export and import, so they need more storage space than production space. It is also why our layout design here is different from A-Park Batu Kawan. We believe building what the market needs is key to the success of an industrial park project,” says Low.

He sees great potential in Bangi’s industrial property market because it is the hub for semiconductor and vehicle components. “EVs (electric vehicles) are a global trend and the sale of EVs is growing rapidly. Malaysia is seeing a similar trend, as the government is also pushing the adoption rate of EV. As Bangi is an important hub for semiconductor and car components, demand for industrial property in the area is expected to continue to increase.”

Since its establishment in 2011, Ancubic has been very much focusing on boutique high-rise residential properties in mature areas in the Klang Valley. For the past 12 years, the team has successfully completed and handed over four residential developments in Kuala Selangor, Puchong, Shah Alam and Pantai Dalam.

Apart from A-Park Batu Kawan and A-Park Bandar Baru Bangi, Ancubic is gearing up for more launches, including its first mixed-use development project, called Cubic Garden, in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Selangor.

Comprising two components of three acres each, Cubic Garden boasts 47 shopoffices and an apartment block. The stratified freehold 4-storey shopoffices have built-ups of 1,901 to 8,230 sq ft; and the 27-storey apartment block has 273 units, with built-ups ranging from 1,021 to 1,383 sq ft. The developer aims to open both shopoffices and apartments for registration in December and officially launch them next year.

Also rolling out next year will be its second commercial project, called Ancubic Botanical Valley, in Kota Kemuning, Selangor. While details of the project are still being finalised, Low says it is a self-sustained mini township development.

“The project is divided into nine parcels and will have a hospital and aged care centre, commercial lots, a grocery store, centre square with landscape and fountain, as well as high-rise residential blocks. We will also have a limited standalone bungalow commercial lot for a single buyer. We are looking to launch the shoplot in the first half of next year, subject to the approval of the authorities,” Low says.

Together with Ancubic Botanical Valley, which will be developed over the next 10 years in phases, the combined gross development value for Ancubic’s projects in the pipeline is RM4.5  billion.

“I am optimistic about the outlook for the property market; I think it is recovering despite some uncertainties. To survive such challenging market conditions, we have to diversify our product portfolio, hence the launch of our first industrial and commercial projects. It is also a strategy to achieve our sales target of RM300 million next year, and eventually at least RM500 million each year. The sales KPI is part of our preparation to get the company listed on the stock market — hopefully, in the next three years,” he says, adding that Ancubic achieved RM200 million in sales in the first nine months of 2023.

Low is working towards a 30% industrial, 30% commercial and 40% residential product portfolio. He is also exploring a good time to enter the retail industry to generate recurrent income.

“We do have land to build a shopping mall, but it is not the right time to develop it yet. We want to focus on the new line (A-Park) and our first commercial product now,” Low says.

Commenting on how to mitigate the risk of oversupply in industrial property, as the company is still actively searching for more land for industrial park development to achieve the 30% product ratio from the current 15%, Low says it is important to understand the market and the target buyers, and not put all of the company’s eggs into one basket.

“For every project we do, we are very confident about it because we took time to do a feasibility study and understand the needs of the local market. All of our projects are located in very prime locations and they have strong capital appreciation potential. Those projects have proven themselves, with the good sales numbers despite being launched during a slow market,” he says.

“Since Ancubic’s establishment in 2011, we had never felt the property bull run; I have been waiting for that,” Low chuckles. “Challenging market conditions in the past 12 years, however, have shaped each member of the team into strong fighters and excellent problem solvers. We managed to complete one project after another, and the company is expanding and growing. I believe what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I am very excited about what the future may bring.”

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