Ibraco Bhd, one of the pioneer developers in Sarawak, has kept itself secluded within the state since 1974 before venturing into Peninsular Malaysia in 2015 to develop the "Continew”, a two-tower commercial-cum-residential development located along Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Loke Yew in Kuala Lumpur.

Continew houses 510 apartment suites, with sizes ranging from 550 sq ft (51.1 sq m) and 1,200 sq ft, two sky gardens, eight hanging gardens and four sky decks.

On the status of completion, Chew said that the group kick-started piling works in October 2016 and aims to complete the project by January 2022.

In the meantime, the market response in terms of bookings has been satisfactory, said managing director Chew Chiaw Han.

In FY16, Ibraco locked in unbilled sales of RM215 million for its projects.

On plans for future developments, Ibraco stressed that it will continue developing both strata and non-strata properties, mostly in Kuching and Bintulu as the two divisions are Sarawak's current property hotspots.

For one, the property developer will begin developing its major integrated development "Northbank”, which entails a business park as well as guarded residential and commercial buildings, in Kuching by 3QFY2017.

Northbank carries an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM1.5 billion and is expected to be completed by 2027.

For the Peninsular Malaysia market, the group said that it will continue focusing on Kuala Lumpur. "We are negotiating with several parties for more projects and will disclose the relevant information once we have concluded the deals" Chew said.

Ibraco has a landbank of 627 acres (253.74ha) across Kuching, Bintulu and Kuala Lumpur with a collective GDV of RM5.55 billion.

Amid the shaky economy, Ibraco said it will stick to its consumer-first approach to adding value to its properties, whereby future projects will cater to the needs of buyers in terms of security and amenities.

"We expect the property market to remain sluggish this year but at the same time, we remain optimistic that the sector will recover" said Chew.

"We believe there will always be demand for new homes in times of downturn. We adopt a prudent approach to line up the right product mix in our launches to suit the needs of the market" he added.

Ibraco's largest shareholder is real estate developer Hiap Ghee Seng Sdn Bhd with a 26.31% stake, followed by Sharifah Deborah Sophia Ibrahim with 20.02%.

Sharifah Deborah is a non-independent non-executive director of Ibraco. She was previously an executive director.