Data centres, Vietnam property sector to fuel Gamuda’s growth this year

PETALING JAYA: Construction and engineering giant Gamuda Bhd is expected to secure more jobs and boost its order book in the near term, analysts say.

Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB Research) said, to date the group had secured only RM2.7bil in work on data centres. This is why the up to RM10bil in work from Pearl Computing Malaysia Sdn Bhd set to be announced in the second half of this year could be instrumental in growing Gamuda’s order book.

Pearl Computing, a Google-affiliated company involved in developing data centres in Malaysia, has called for tenders to build four hyperscale data centres in Selangor.

The results of the tenders are expected to be announced in the third quarter of this year.

Gamuda expects each data centre to yield about RM2bil in construction, mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.

Pearl Computing is also expected to call for tenders to build one hyperscale data centre on land in the Bandar Springhill township development in Negri Sembilan. The land was acquired from Gamuda earlier this year.

“Thus, Pearl Computing may dish out about RM10bil of jobs this year,” the research house said.

“Data centres currently account for 5% of Gamuda’s current order book. We believe Pearl Computing will award most of its data centre work to Gamuda given their close relationship,” Maybank IB Research said.

On the property front, Vietnam has been an increasingly important base for Gamuda, and its share of group property sales has been growing.

In recent years, developments like Eaton Park in Ho Chi Minh City have commanded prices per square foot much higher than those commanded in Kuala Lumpur, the research house added.

“To date, we understand that sales have been slow due to slower-than-expected approvals by local councils.

“The delays in approvals are largely attributed to stricter regulatory measures, legal issues and a focus on anti-corruption efforts in Vietnam, not so much due to tariff fears.

“That said, Gamuda is monitoring the property market in Vietnam and may refrain from new launches if it weakens,” Maybank IB Research said.