SD Guthrie pushes into industrial land, sells 1,623 acres

SD Guthrie Bhd, the palm oil planter that is Malaysia's biggest landowner, is turning more of its estates into industrial and data-centre land. Chief executive Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad told Bloomberg, in an interview published on 28 October 2026, that the group holds more than 210,000 hectares (about 519,000 acres) of freehold land and has earmarked roughly 10% of it for industrial development and renewable energy. He expects industrial development to bring in a third of revenue by 2030.

The next day, SD Guthrie agreed to sell 1,623 acres in Klang, Selangor, to a joint venture with YTL Power International Bhd.

What the CEO said

• Data centres: Haris called Malaysia the "most stable country" in South-East Asia for building data centres, saying the US-Iran war has made the energy-rich Middle East riskier
• Power: he warned that supply must keep up. Data centres have signed with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) for up to 8.77 gigawatts of peak demand, almost a third of 2025 installed capacity, according to officials cited by Bloomberg

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The numbers so far

SD Guthrie's Industrial Development segment made a profit before interest and tax of RM770 million in the first nine months of 2026, up 78% from RM432 million a year earlier, its third-quarter report shows, out of RM3.25 billion for the whole group. The July–September quarter alone made only RM81 million, as fewer land sales were completed.

The new deal: 1,623 acres in Klang

• The land: 657.086 hectares (1,623 acres) of freehold oil palm land in Bukit Kerayong Estate, District of Klang: Lot 5497 and Lot 5500 in the City of Klang and Lot 5498 in Mukim Kapar
• The price: about RM933.57 million, about 5% above the RM889 million (RM12.50 psf) market value set by the valuer, CBRE WTW, as at 16 April 2026. That works out to about RM13.20 psf of land (our calculation)
• The buyer: Bukit Kerayong Industrial Developments Sdn Bhd, owned 35% by YTL Power (through Bukit Kerayong Industrial Venture Sdn Bhd), 35% by Bumi Assets Sdn Bhd and 30% by SD Guthrie, which will invest up to RM101.12 million. Bumi Assets names the chairman and YTL Power the chief executive
• The plan: a light to medium industrial park with commercial hubs, subject to master plan approval
• SD Guthrie's gain: it bought the land in April 2008 for RM64.40 million and expects a net gain of about RM523.41 million on the sale, or RM586.30 million in its group accounts after consolidation adjustments
• The money: RM744.38 million, about 80%, repays part of its RM2.59 billion of revolving loans, saving about RM18.25 million a year in interest; RM88.07 million covers real property gains tax and RM101.12 million goes into the joint venture
• Next steps: approval from the Estate Land Board and the Ministry of Economy, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2027

YTL Power, which runs power, water, telecoms and data-centre businesses, could be exploring another major data-centre site, TA Research said, as reported by The Star on 2 November. The Klang land is separate from the 1,021.93 acres in Mukim Jeram, Kuala Selangor, that SD Guthrie agreed in July to sell to its joint venture with Sime Darby Property.

Its other land moves

• Kerian, Perak: the Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park (KIGIP), about 1,000 acres next to the new Kerian Industrial City, due by the end of 2028
• Byram, Penang: PDC will pay RM241.16 million for 380.195 acres it acquired in 2020, under a settlement SD Guthrie announced on 12 October
• Johor: 935 acres in Kulai sold to Eco Business Park 8, its venture with EcoWorld and Permodalan Darul Ta'zim (completed in June), and 556.96 acres in Senai to Sime Darby Property for RM418.5 million
• Port Dickson: Eco Business Park 7, where Tera Data Centers agreed to buy 222 acres for RM1.01 billion
• Carey Island: up to 2,000 acres for industry and logistics with Sime Darby Property, near the planned third port