FINANCIALLY-troubled Ho Hup Construction Co Bhd (5169) hopes to return to the black next year with the injection of new assets and shareholders, said its executive director, Derek Wong Kit-Leong- By the third quarter of this year, Plenitude Frontier Sdn Bhd, led by developer Raymond Tan, will emerge as a substantial shareholder with more than 30 per cent- At the same time, Ho Hup aims to conclude its revamp plan, which will see it focusing on property development and expanding its ready-mix concrete business, Wong said- Ho Hup, which has accumulated losses of RM117-7 million as of last year, also expects to be debt-free in two years- It owes creditors and banks some RM150 million- Ho Hup is buying Fivestar Development (Puchong) Sdn Bhd and Kolektra Recreation Sdn Bhd from Plenitude for RM46 million- It will also carry out a capital reduction- "This is a hybrid rescue scheme where Tan is bringing in his expertise as a developer and Ho Hup's balance sheet will strengthen with the asset injection," Wong said- Kolektra and Fivestar, with net assets of RM23-7 million and RM55-6 million respectively, made a net profit of RM1-9 million and RM4-3 million last year- They have ongoing projects and land in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur and Puchong, Selangor- Tan heads Capital Land Sdn Bhd, known for its Puchong Hartamas and Cheras Hartamas projects- He also sits on the board of IJM Corp Bhd- Wong, meanwhile, hopes the matter between Ho Hup and Malton Bhd on their joint development agreement (JDA) to develop 24ha in Bukit Jalil will be put to rest soon- The land is owned by Ho Hup- The JDA was entered into and announced by Ho Hup's previous board led by Datuk Vincent Lye just a few hours before a March 17 extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that had him and the previous board ousted from the firm- It stated that Malton's unit, Pioneer Haven Sdn Bhd, will be solely responsible for meeting the total costs of the proposed development, and it will pay Ho Hup 17 per cent share of its gross development value (GDV) of RM2-5 billion in phases- The new board found the deal unfair- Ho Hup took Malton to court as it was unable to get the latter to renegotiate- "The land alone is worth a lot- After the matter has been resolved, we hope to sell it, undertake a joint venture, or build properties on our own with GDV of more than RM2-5 billion," Wong said after Ho Hup's EGM in Kuala Lumpur yesterday- A hearing is scheduled at the end of this month- It is understood that the 24ha land is worth between RM250 million and RM300 million with GDV potential of about RM3 billion- ...

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