Lend Lease Partners With 1MDB For New Kuala Lumpur TRX Financial Hub

Property and infrastructure group,

Lend Lease has been chosen as a major joint venture partner with 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd (1MDB RE) to develop the Lifestyle Quarter in Kuala Lumpur's Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) financial district.

Lend Lease and 1MDB RE will together develop the retail-led mixed use development, comprising a hotel, three residential towers and a new retail mall over 17 hectares.

The Lifestyle Quarter will form part of the greater 70 acre development, TRX in the centre of Kuala Lumpur, encompassing a new international financial and business district and a dedicated underground MRT station.

Lend Lease was chosen from a pool of international and local bidders for the Lifestyle Quarter, following invitation in December 2013 to participate as a strategic development partner in TRX.

The six-month international standard process was managed by CBRE and attracted submissions from global real estate investors and developers to contribute towards the Government's efforts to make Kuala Lumpur a global city.

Lend Lease will be the majority shareholder in the joint venture while 1MDB RE will hold a significant stake.

“Attracting a global brand like Lend Lease is clear evidence of the potential and international appeal of TRX. We are very excited to move forward; a project of this scale will bring many spill-over benefits to the local economy,” said 1MDB Group CEO, Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman.

The Lifestyle Quarter is expected to attract up to $1 billion in foreign direct investments to Malaysia and has a forecasted Gross Development Value of $2.6 billion.

"Lend Lease is delighted to have the opportunity to partner with 1MDB to transform TRX into a world class leading financial hub and an iconic destination globally," said Steve McCann, Lend Lease Group CEO.

“It is an honour to be presented with the opportunity to collaborate in this nation-defining development, leveraging Lend Lease’s global capabilities in partnering with national and city governments in major cities around the world to redevelop large scale urban regeneration projects," said CEO for Lend Lease in Asia, Rod Leaver.

TRX has a development period of about 15 years, and will be built in demand-driven phases.

The initial phase of construction including the Lifestyle Quarter is scheduled to commence in early 2015.