MARC has reaffirmed the short and long term ratings of Mines Resort Berhad’s (MRB) Bank Guaranteed Commercial Papers and Bank Guaranteed Serial Bonds at MARC-1(bg) and AAA(bg) respectively, reflecting the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee provided by Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank).

MRB is principally a property development company, currently developing a project named “South of the Mines” (South Lake Project); an upmarket mixed development predominantly residential and covering 211 acres in the vicinity of Jalan Sungai Besi, to complement the existing Mines Resort City also known as the North Lake. The South Lake Project is expected to exploit the retail and recreational potential of Resort City. Total GDV of the South Lake Project is estimated at RM1.37 billion yielding total profit of RM586.4 million.

The South Lake project comprises several residential and commercial developments, of

which as at todate, The Lake Homes and The Heritage have been launched.

FY2005’s revenue was mainly underpinned by sales from The Heritage project. As at July 2005, total GDV sold under The Heritage and The Lake Homes was RM92.8 million and RM46.6 million respectively. Operating profit margin, however, slipped into the red due to higher operating costs given the significant amount of development undertaken at The Heritage during the year.

The debt leverage position of 2.79x as at February 2005 was still within the covenanted level of 9.0x under the issue structure. The DSCR was at 6.70x, which also complied with the covenanted level of at least 1.5x.

Going forward, revenue will continue to be driven by ‘The Lake Homes’ and ‘The Heritage’; in addition to the expected launches of the remaining residential and commercial projects under the South Lake development.