Frasers Property and Tan & Tan to redevelop 5.15ha former F&N factory site in Section 13, Petaling Jaya

Singapore's Frasers Property Ltd and Malaysian developer Tan & Tan Developments Bhd will jointly develop a 5.15-hectare mixed-use precinct in Section 13, Petaling Jaya, the two companies said in a joint announcement on 21 August 2026. The project is named PJ Quarter, and each partner holds an equal 50% stake.

The site is not new ground for Frasers Property. It has owned half of the land since 2012 through Vacaron Company Sdn Bhd, a 50:50 joint-venture vehicle formed with Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N). What changed is the other half. In September 2025, F&N agreed to sell its entire 50% of Vacaron to Tan & Tan for about RM180.4 million cash, exiting a property holding it no longer regarded as core to its food and beverage business.

The parcel itself was F&N's factory land.

What the land was valued at

The F&N disposal is the part of this story worth reading closely, because it puts a number on the dirt.

F&N's RM180.4 million price for half of Vacaron was struck against a revised market value of RM360 million for the land, appraised by Henry Butcher Malaysia in September 2025. At 5.15 hectares — roughly 554,000 sq ft, or 12.7 acres — that works out to about RM650 per sq ft.

F&N expected a pro forma gain of RM83.2 million on the sale, lifting its net assets per share to RM9.98 from RM9.75. The disposal is slated for completion by the third quarter of 2027, with proceeds redirected into its F&B operations, including its integrated dairy farm in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan.

Why RM650 psf matters if you own old factory land

Section 13 was built as a manufacturing estate. Over roughly two decades it has been rezoned and rebuilt into offices, serviced apartments and retail, and the factories that gave the district its street grid have been steadily bought out. PJ Quarter is one of the last large single parcels in that transition.

For anyone holding ageing industrial land in a mature Klang Valley location, the read-across is direct: once redevelopment is credible, the land stops being priced on what the factory earns and starts being priced on what can replace it. A 5.15ha parcel valued at RM360 million is not an industrial valuation. It is a residential-and-retail valuation, arrived at by a licensed valuer, and evidenced by a real transaction between two listed groups.

That gap — between factory yield and redevelopment value — is the whole argument for reviewing what old industrial holdings in Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Kuchai Lama and the older parts of Klang are actually worth today. Not every parcel gets there. What gets a site there is planning support, frontage, and access, and this one has all three.

The scheme

PJ Quarter will be built in two phases. The first phase pairs residential blocks with retail space and a park. The retail component is planned as a low-rise, open-air lifestyle destination with integrated community and public spaces rather than an enclosed mall. Homes are expected to be launched for sale in 2027.

The site carries a triple frontage at the intersection of Jalan Kemajuan and Jalan Profesor Diraja Ungku Aziz. It connects to the Greater Klang Valley via the Federal Highway and the Sprint Expressway, and sits near the Phileo Damansara MRT and Asia Jaya LRT stations, with an upcoming Universiti Malaya station on MRT Line 3.

Universiti Malaya and International Islamic University Malaysia are both within a 1km radius. Existing retail nearby includes 3 Damansara, Jaya Shopping Centre and Retail @ Pacific, with Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens Mall a short drive away. Columbia Asia Hospital, ReGen Rehab Hospital, Tun Hussein Onn Hospital and the UM Medical Centre are also close by.

What the partners said

Soon Su Lin, CEO of Frasers Property Singapore, said the development "is set to play a pivotal role in the ongoing rejuvenation of Section 13, Petaling Jaya", describing it as a meaningful step in growing the group's development portfolio "through a disciplined, partnership-led strategy".

Tan Yee Seng, CEO of Tan & Tan Developments, said the site "will benefit from the government's efforts to rejuvenate Section 13 into an even more liveable and vibrant hub with green connectors and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure", adding that the partners intend to pair new retail with "an upscale residential development designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of homebuyers".

Tan & Tan is the property development arm of IGB Berhad, the group behind Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens Mall.

What to watch

Three things will tell you how this reprices the neighbourhood. First, the launch pricing of Phase 1 in 2027 — that sets the residential benchmark Section 13 land will be underwritten against. Second, whether the F&N disposal completes on schedule by Q3 2027, since the sale is not yet done. Third, whether other factory owners along Jalan Kemajuan and Jalan Universiti follow the same exit route now that a valuer's number and a transacted price are both on the public record.