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- “We have room for expansion and at the right time when we need the money and the timing is right we will go and tap the sukuk market,” group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azmir Merican said.
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 20): Sime Darby Property Bhd (KL:SIMEPROP) is well-positioned to take on more debt to fund its income-generating industrial and data centre projects.
“At 34% we're very comfortable and we will be building up a little bit as we grow recurring income,” group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azmir Merican said at its virtual third-quarter results briefing on Thursday.
“We do not borrow just for working capital or to pay our own day-to-day expenses ... the borrowings are for expansion and its income generating assets,” he added.
In the financial year 2026 (FY2026), Sime Darby Property plans another sukuk drawdown. The group had already issued RM800 million in April 2025, bringing the total outstanding Islamic Medium-Term Notes to RM2.2 billion.
“We have room for expansion and at the right time when we need the money and the timing is right we will go and tap the sukuk market,” Azmir said, adding that issuances will be timed to align with the construction and funding needs of its data centre and industrial projects.
Sime Darby Property’s debt has risen by over RM1.1 billion to RM4.36 billion this year, mainly to fund industrial properties and early development of its hyperscale data centre in Elmina Business Park, which Azmir described as a "multi-decade recurring income engine".
Of this, most went to acquire two industrial assets, with the rest for building assets under management, including the data centre and industrial/logistics developments. The data centre has already secured a more than 20-year lease worth RM7.6 billion, with Sime Darby collecting lease payments rather than operating it.
For the nine-month period of FY2025 (9MFY2025), the company invested heavily in properties, including buying the remaining 50% of BBR Industrial Gateway for RM120.5 million, funding joint ventures, and expanding large industrial townships. It also expanded into Carey Island and Kuala Selangor via 50:50 joint ventures with SD Guthrie Bhd (KL:SDG), covering up to 3,000 acres.
For 9MFY2025, Sime Darby Property posted a net profit of RM430.18 million on revenue of RM3.15 billion, with record unbilled sales of RM4.1 billion, including RM3.4 billion achieved and RM1.5 billion in bookings as of mid-November.
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