Over the weekend of Dec 9 and 10, Singapore-listed developer Oxley Holdings launched Oxley Convention City, its maiden mixed-use development in Batam. The project was launched at its sales gallery in Batam’s CBD, Batam Centre.
Oxley Convention City is located on a 280,000 sq ft plot in the city centre and is a 10-minute drive from the ferry terminal. When completed in 2019, it will contain three 32-storey residential towers with a total of 1,635 units, a 20-storey hotel with 520 rooms, a 29-storey office tower with 320 strata office units for sale and a convention centre. The two residential and hotel towers sit above a three-storey strata commercial podium with about 100 units.
In the first phase of its launch in Batam, Oxley is said to have sold more than 300 of the 624 residential units and 35 of 66 strata commercial units — located in the commercial podium — released for sale. The majority of the buyers are said to be local Indonesians whose businesses are based in Batam, says Ching Chiat Kwong, executive chairman and CEO of Oxley.
Oxley Convention City is located on a 280,000 sq ft plot in the heart of Batam city
Buyers awaiting their turn to purchase units at the Oxley Convention City sales gallery
Of the 66 strata commercial units released for sale, there are 14 prime triplexes measuring 1,507 to 3,509 sq ft located on the ground floor, fronting the busy main trunk road of Jalan Raja Haji Fisabilillah. As such, they are sought after among local buyers. Oxley is said to have sold 10 of the 14 units.
Prices of the commercial units range from $158,000 for a 132 sq ft simplex to $805,000 for a 3,509 sq ft triplex. Demand for the 14 prime commercial triplexes were so high that Oxley made it “mandatory” for buyers of these units to take up three residential units as well, says Ching. The residential units range from 275 sq ft studios to 1,418 sq ft, four-bedroom duplex penthouses priced from $43,000 to $248,000.
Most land parcels in Batam have a 35-year lease, with the option to renew for 30 years. Likewise, the owners of the strata commercial and residential units are also purchasing their property with a 35-year lease with the option to renew for 30 years.
Oxley Convention Centre is a 50:50 joint-venture project between Oxley and the land owner, PT Karya Indo Batam. Formed in 2015, the JV came about because PT Karya Indo Batam was looking for a Singapore property group to develop the project.
When completed, the project will be managed by Metro Global Solutions, a JV company between Oxley and Australian-based facilities management company Metro Global. Incidentally, Metro Global Solutions is also the appointed property manager for Oxley’s JV projects in Phnom Penh — The Bridge and The Peak, which are also mixed-use schemes.
Given the success achieved at its launch in Batam, Oxley intends to bring Oxley Convention City on a road show to Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya. The project will be launched in Singapore once details are finalised on the laws allowing foreign ownership of residential property in Indonesia, says Ching.