The Cheah trust’s 80-year lock has expired, its 2.32-acre Jalan Kelawai corner sold for RM130mil, RM1,287 psf

A trust written in 1941 has begun releasing some of the tightest-held land in George Town — and the first big piece has gone for RM130 million.

The 2.32-acre freehold plot on the corner of Jalan Kelawai and Leandro’s Lane, about 100m from Gurney Paragon Mall and currently occupied by eight single-storey bungalows, was sold by tender at RM1,287 per sq ft, The Edge reported in January. The buyer is Sevenco Sdn Bhd, and the sale was understood to take nine months to conclude — which places completion around October 2026, roughly now.

View the Jalan Kelawai / Leandro’s Lane corner on Google Maps

How this land is on the market at all

Cheah Leong Keah was born in Swatow, China in 1875, moved to Penang in 1914 and founded Chin Seng & Co. He was instrumental in bringing motor vehicles and fire engines to Penang, working with partners including the Sarkies Brothers of the E&O Hotel, and built interests across transport, rubber and real estate. He passed away in 1941.

His trust stipulated that the properties remain intact for 80 years after his death. That period has now run, which is why a portfolio assembled a century ago is reaching the market in one go — described as the largest en bloc subsale of heritage real estate in the country, with CBRE | WTW as exclusive marketing agent. Seven clusters were tendered in April 2025, with an estimated combined value of RM300 million to RM400 million. The Jalan Kelawai plot alone is about 37% of that midpoint.

Who bought it

The buyer profile is worth noting. A former SP Setia chief operating officer, in a new vehicle, paying RM130 million for a Penang island corner and planning a hotel with branded residences — that is national-developer expertise arriving in a boutique format. It is the same pattern as the Batu Ferringhi beachfront site offered at RM140 million.

And it sets a floor under Pulau Tikus. With Sunway at RM1,411 psf, this at RM1,287 psf, and the Bangkok Lane heritage cluster indicated near RM1,300 psf, the market has drawn a fairly tight band for the district within twelve months.

Sevenco Sdn Bhd was described as a new company. Its group managing director is Datuk Seri Koe Peng Kang, who joined SP Setia in 1997 as a project manager and rose to deputy president and chief operating officer before leaving in September 2022 — he pioneered the Setia eco-themed townships and started the group’s hospitality and overseas arms. Group chairman and executive director is Jeffrey Chung.

Sevenco is understood to be planning a hotel and branded residences for the site. Its listed northern-region projects are Vista Arora in Sungai Petani and Villa Cloud Gate in Tanjung Tokong, with three more coming in Bukit Mertajam (two) and Jelutong, plus Seri Amani in Cyberjaya and four upcoming central-region projects.

The numbers, and the comparables

At RM1,287 psf, on 101,059 sq ft carrying eight bungalows, the price works out to about RM16.2 million per existing bungalow plot — roughly 12,600 sq ft each. They are being bought as a redevelopment site with the buildings incidental.

Recent transactions:

• Sunway Bhd, on 5 January 2026, paid RM61.45 million for one freehold acre about 500m from Gurney Bay and minutes from this site — RM1,411 psf. The Kelawai land traded about 9% below that.
• Jalan Pangkor, 0.65 acres with a heritage house roughly 600m from Gurney Bay, was tendered in May 2026 at about RM35 million, or RM1,250 psf — though an agent told The Edge that RM750–800 psf was more realistic given the site’s constraints. Asking prices in this pocket are not the same as clearing prices.
• Majestic Gen paid RM75 million in December 2025 for three adjoining Jalan Anson parcels occupied by UOW Malaysia KDU, with almost 300,000 sq ft of gross floor area — about RM250 per sq ft of GFA, a different kind of buy entirely.

The rest of the portfolio, and what it is worth

The remaining clusters are mostly heritage stock, and this is where the interesting pricing sits:

• Bangkok Lane cluster — two rows of terraced heritage houses behind the former Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng restaurant, plus two two-storey bungalows fronting Jalan Kelawai: 41 units on 55,273 sq ft, estimated at RM70–75 million, or RM1.5–2 million a unit. That is roughly RM1,266–1,357 psf — essentially the same rate as the redevelopment land next door, but with conservation rules preserving the facades. A foreign investor is understood to be eyeing it for a boutique hotel.
• Jalan Burma and Solok Moulmein — eight shophouses from the Swee Kong coffee shop plus three behind and 10 nearby stores, opposite the Pulau Tikus police station; one houses the Michelin Guide restaurant Flower Mulan Nyonya Café. Ground-floor units are expected to fetch RM10–20 psf in rent.
• 34 pre-war two-storey terraced houses on Jalan Phuah Hin Leong, 2,000 sq ft built-up, valued at RM800–900 psf — one unit has reportedly sold.
• 10 pre-war shophouses on Jalan Burma, opposite Union Chinese Primary School, at RM1.3–1.5 million each.
• Two smaller land parcels: Jalan Trusan (estimated RM250–400 psf) and Jalan Transfer (RM600–900 psf), both under an acre.

*Map and table: The Edge Malaysia. Lead site photograph in the original report is credited to CBRE | WTW. Google Maps link is approximate.*