Cover Story: YNH says it is not aware of investigations by authorities

Sunday 19 May 2024

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 26, 2024 - March 3, 2024

YNH Property Bhd has bucked the trend in the property sector in the last three years. While other developers were reeling from the effects of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, YNH’s value kept rising.

From a mere RM2.60 in January 2020, YNH’s share price hit RM5.20 in May 2023, enabling it to command a market capitalisation of RM2.75 billion. The company’s major shareholders are Datuk Dr Yu Kuan Chon with a 32.6% stake and his brother Datuk Yu Kuan Huat with 29.3% equity interest.

Dr Yu is also a substantial shareholder in Rapid Synergy Bhd and used to be a significant shareholder in fertiliser manufacturer and distributor, Imaspro Bhd. Rapid Synergy’s share price has appreciated even more since January 2020 — from RM5.68 to as high as RM29.50 late last year.

In the first week of January, however, several Dr Yu-related counters experienced heavy selling, sparking a series of margin calls by stockbrokers. This had a cascading effect on Bursa Malaysia, where several stocks hit limit down in major sell-offs. A limit down is where a stock falls more than 30% in a single session and is suspended to allow it to cool off.

YNH finally stabilised at the 60 sen level. Its market capitalisation now is a mere RM327 million — a far cry from the RM2.75 billion the niche property developer commanded in May 2023. Nobody can put a finger on what triggered the heavy selling in stocks related to Dr Yu.

A few months before the sell-off, however, there were concerns about the company’s cash flow, its investments in joint-venture (JV) developments and speculation that the authorities were investigating it. YNH has denied any investigations by the authorities and justifies why it entered into the property development JVs.

Read on for YNH’s replies to questions from The Edge.

YNH has several JVs with deposits paid. In how many of these JVs has work commenced?

Work has begun on all our JV development projects and is in various stages of progress. Some projects are in the planning stage — from design, product mix, pricing and architectural perspective — while others are pending approval from the relevant authorities. In addition to being focused on ensuring our property products meet market needs, we pay very close attention to ensuring that our launches are carefully timed.

What is YNH’s rationale for going into so many JVs? Some are related to land in Perak where the company already owns a lot but has not developed it yet.

YNH has a strong and successful track record in Perak. Our JVs are strategic in nature. We partner with landowners who have plots of land near or adjacent to our land bank or around our current developments. This way, we are able to plan for and develop a large contiguous area, maximising our economies of scale while creating a more structured offering that can enhance the marketability of our products.

As for our JV partners, they can leverage our experience in property development and construction to fully unlock the value of their land bank.

One of your most valuable JVs is that with Great Wall Park on a 5.098-acre parcel in Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur. YNH stated in May last year that the transfer of the land title to Great Wall Park from Imbuhan Sempurna was to be completed in July/August 2023. But our land search shows that the land is still under Imbuhan Sempurna’s name. Why did YNH enter into a JV with Great Wall Park and pay a hefty deposit when the land was not in the latter’s hands?

YNH decided to sell the land in May last year. Once the exercise is completed, the land will be registered with the new owner.

[In previous replies to Bursa Malaysia, YNH said it entered into an agreement with Great Wall Park because the latter held the development order for the land while Imbuhan Sempurna was only holding the property in trust.]

Is Yu Teong Wei, one of the owners of Great Wall Park and Imbuhan Sempurna, in any way related to the major shareholders of YNH?

No, Yu Teong Wei is not related to the major shareholders of YNH.

Why is the 5.098-acre tract under a caveat lodged by the Land Registrar? Our search shows that the caveat was lodged on the land on Sept 25, 2023. Can the company please shed some light on this?

The caveat is based on the need for further clarification and documentation required by the relevant authorities. YNH has extended, and will continue to extend, its full cooperation to the relevant authorities.

Can YNH dispose of the land to Sunway when there is a caveat by the Registrar?

The disposal can take place once the caveat is lifted.

Why has the company not developed its piece of land in Jalan Sultan Ismail for so long? Is it true that this land cannot be developed because of its proximity to the reservoir?

The development is currently in the late stages of planning. We are also timing the market to ensure that our flagship project is launched in tandem with market conditions and needs. We have worked very closely with the relevant authorities and agencies to ensure that this project does not impact any strategic public asset in any manner. Subsequent to this,

Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur has given us the approval for the amended development order of our flagship project.

If the JVs cannot be realised and deposits cannot be collected, in the worst-case scenario, what is the write-off the company expects?

We are unable to provide any specifics based on assumptions at this point. We do have our risk management process to safeguard our shareholders’ interest. Nevertheless, we are committed to and confident of ensuring our strategic partnerships as well as land acquisitions and sales will deliver long-term value creation for our shareholders and stakeholders.

Is YNH subject to investigations by the authorities, such as the Securities Commission Malaysia or Bursa Malaysia or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on any matter?

YNH is not aware of any active investigations by any authorities at this point in time. We have received requests for clarifications (queries) from Bursa Malaysia, which we have addressed in a comprehensive and timely manner. YNH remains committed to extending our full cooperation with the regulators and authorities to safeguard the interest of our shareholders and stakeholders.

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