YB Lim Guan Eng, the Finance Minister of Malaysia officiated the launched of a joint venture development between Lendlease and TRX City Sdn Bhd, The Exchange TRX, on 12 February 2019.
In his speech at the launch, Lim noted the financing agreement was based purely on the strength of the project alone, without any new guarantees from the government.
“I am pleased with the progress at TRX that I see today. It is the fruits of reforms currently being carried out by the government of the day. I hope this launch today marks one of the many steps Malaysia is taking to put 1MDB behind us, allowing us to focus on what matters; to continue to raise the well-being of Malaysians,” said the Finance Minister.
Formerly known as the Lifestyle Quarter, The Exchange TRX is the centrepiece of the upcoming 70-acre international financial district Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).
The 17-acre joint venture development will comprise a hotel, a grade A office, residential apartments, retail and leisure offerings, all integrated with a new 10-acre city park.
The event also marked the signing of RM2.15 billion financing facilities by four major banks, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Malayan Banking Berhad (MBB or Maybank).
Present at the event was Lendlease Group’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Steve McCann where he witnessed the signing of the debt financing agreement along with Malaysia’s Finance Minister.
Speaking at the ceremony, Tony Lombardo, Lendlease’s CEO Asia expressed Lendlease’s commitment to the project and to the joint venture with TRX City, which is wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). He said, “This a unique opportunity that reflects the very best of modern city design, combining living, working and leisure uses, with excellent public transport and technology. It will create a new destination for the city and be a showcase for Malaysia.”
Dato’ Azmar Talib, Chief Executive Officer of TRX City Sdn Bhd, the master developer for the project, stated that, “2019 is indeed going to be a big year for TRX, as we will start opening our doors to our first tenant in the second quarter of this year.”
“The Exchange TRX has all the components to help elevate the broader TRX development into a world-class international financial district, ensuring that it will be a vibrant, inclusive, and city-defining destination,” he said.
The broader TRX is a significant public-private project of national importance. As Malaysia’s first international financial district and Kuala Lumpur’s future CBD, the completion value of the entire TRX development is estimated to exceed RM40 billion.
Its lifestyle precinct, The Exchange TRX, has a forecast end value in excess of RM9.0 billion, and brings to life the ‘experience economy’, where quality of place and focus on people is at the forefront of design.
Lombardo added that the project is making excellent progress, with all the key design complete and over 1,300 construction workers on-site daily including new apprentices and associated worker training programmes. — Construction+ Online
