AmBank (M) Bhd now owns the tower it has long rented. The bank, a unit of AMMB Holdings Bhd, completed its RM331,000,000 purchase of Menara AmBank on Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, Kuala Lumpur, from AmFIRST Real Estate Investment Trust on 23 October 2026, the two sides disclosed in filings with Bursa Malaysia (EdgeProp, DagangNews).
The building is a freehold, 46-storey office tower, seven floors of which are car park. Its net lettable area is about 453,419 sq ft. Divide the price by that and AmBank paid roughly RM730 for every square foot it can let or occupy (RM331,000,000 / 453,419 sq ft = RM730). That figure is on lettable floor space, not on land; the reports did not disclose the land area.
The price sits just under the RM333,000,000 independent valuation by PPC International Sdn Bhd. AmBank paid it in three parts: a RM23.17 million deposit when the sale agreement was signed on 8 June, a RM9.93 million real property gains tax retention sum paid to the Inland Revenue Board on 27 July, and the RM297.9 million balance on completion. The bank funded the purchase from internal funds.
A 20-year hold for the REIT
AmFIRST bought the tower in December 2006 at an investment cost of RM230.17 million, so the sale books it about RM100.8 million more than it put in, a gain of roughly 44% over close to 20 years before costs and tax. In the year to 31 March 2025 the building brought in about RM19.9 million in rent and RM9.4 million in net property income. Measured against the RM331 million price, that income is a net yield of about 2.8%.
AmBank was already the main tenant, using about 65.6% of the lettable space. Owning the building secures that space for the long term and ends the bank's reliance on leasing its head office, the reports said.
Most of the money goes straight to the REIT's lenders. Of the RM297.9 million balance, RM225.7 million settles a RM165 million term loan and a RM60 million short-term revolving credit facility, with the remaining RM72.2 million paid to the trustee, Maybank Trustees Bhd. Unitholders approved the disposal on 21 September with 96.14% of votes in favour. Chong Hong Chuon, chief executive of the manager AmREIT Managers Sdn Bhd, said at the time that the sale should cut the trust's gearing to about 33% from 46% to 47%, and that it could look at healthcare, industrial, logistics and education assets next.
Sources: EdgeProp, DagangNews.
