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Monday, December 21, 2009

YTL, PDC to build luxury apartments

The Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and YTL Land & Development Bhd today signed an agreement to develop luxury apartments on a 1.38-ha land in Lebuh Farquhar, Penang.

Each party would hold 50 per cent equity in the project.

Originally, a hotel was to be built on the site by PDC Heritage Hotel Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between YTL Hotels & Properties Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of YTL Corporation Bhd) and PDC.

After the hotel project was shelved due to the economic slowdown, PDC Heritage Hotel sought to change the type of development from hotel to luxury apartment.
Subsequently, it applied to change the type of land holding to freehold and the condition of land use to residential and business.

The new project comprises three six-storey 76-unit apartment blocks including an underground basement, a clubhouse and a restaurant.

By Bernama

PNB buys Kenanga building for RM250m

Permodalan Nasional Bhd has purchased the 22-storey Kenanga International Building in Kuala Lumpur from Injaz AsiaEquity Property

Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has bought the Kenanga International Building on Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, for an estimated RM250 million, sources say.

The 22-storey commercial building with a three-and-a-half- storey annexed podium block was purchased from Injaz AsiaEquity Property Bhd.

Injaz AsiaEquity was jointly set up by Middle East Injaz Mena Investment Co and Singapore-based AsiaEquity Partners Inc.

"The acquisition by PNB was completed on Thursday (December 17)," a source told Business Times.
Another source said that the building was sold for about RM700 per sq ft.

Based on reports, the building is said to have a net lettable area of 297,522 sq ft and sits on 6,804 sq m of land. However, under a planned refurbishment and upgrading exercise, the building will have an additional lettable area of 70,000 sq ft. This will translate into some RM250 million.

PNB did not respond to Business Times' query.

In September 2008, Tower Real Estate Investment Trusts (Tower REIT) said that it had planned to buy Kenanga International Building for RM157.5 million. This deal, which works out to around RM550 per sq ft, was not completed as some conditions were not met.

Sources say PNB is paying more for the deal because of the upgrading work.

According to Kenanga International's website, the upgrade is in the final phase and will be completed by December 31 2009. The building will house an executive lounge, a new secondary lobby and a swimming pool.

In June 2007, K&N Kenanga Bhd sold the building to Injaz AsiaEquity for RM165 million.

Meanwhile, three years ago, PNB bought the 35-storey Bangunan MAS on Jalan Sultan Ismail located across Kenanga International Building for RM130 million.

PNB has indicated that it plans to convert Bangunan MAS into a business or five-star hotel and to demolish the podium next to it for a luxury serviced apartment tower. The hotel and apartments would be worth a combined RM1 billion.

By Business Times (by Vasantha Ganesan)

The online real estate agent

For players in the real estate industry, the Malaysian Annual Real Estate Convention (MAREC 10) has always been an exciting event to look forward to every year.

Next year is no different with MAREC 10, the brand name for 2010’s convention, promising a host of prominent local and international speakers who will share their views and experiences on the theme, “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent”.

Some of the topics that will be discussed at the convention are:

Topic 1: Social Media & Technology – Do they affect the way real estate is marketed?
Social media is, of course, a worldwide phenomenon now. From Facebook to Twitter to MySpace, the list is never ending. But the idea of using social media for real estate advertising is still very new and has only recently started gaining popularity in Malaysia.

Just where and how does one start using social media as an advertising tool? How do you plan your next step once you are on social media? Is there a future and will genuine business be coming in from these channels or is it just hype? How can you motivate people to talk about properties on these channels?

Property developers have started to use Facebook to market their properties. Politicians also use blogs and Facebook to get public opinions and feedback on various issues. Are estate agents able then to successfully manage their online persona? What are the pitfalls here?

Oon Yeoh, the speaker for this topic, will provide a critical analysis on the online social media and the estate agent. He is the editor for New Media at The Edge and has been writing about technology issues and trends since 2000. His weekly tech column often touches on the topic of social media. He is currently working on a book on how companies can use social media for communication, branding and promotion purposes.

Topic 2: Negotiating for success
The negotiator is the most important person in a real estate agency. Someone with good negotiation skills will bring in sales and keep the business of the company going. Those setting their sights on becoming a millionaire real estate agent must also be a million dollar negotiator in the first place.

What are the qualities necessary to negotiate for success? What are the innate qualities that you already possess but have not yet fully utilise? How can you sharpen your skills to be more focused in your negotiations? How can you present and put across the selling points clearly to your prospective clients?

Chandran Pillay, the speaker for this topic, will guide participants on how to negotiate for success and share his wealth of experience from selling properties in Singapore. He has been in the real estate industry since 1995 and is currently the senior vice president at Century 21 Singapore, a real estate agency in Singapore. He is also the honorary secretary and membership chairman of the Institute of Estate Agents in Singapore.

Topic 3: Millionaire real estate agent forum
The millionaire real estate agent forum is the place for interaction between participants and the speakers. MAREC 10’s organising committee is working to create a dynamic platform for this purpose and there will be four speakers from various sectors of the real estate market present.

Each speaker specialises in a particular area and will speak about their success stories in becoming a millionaire real estate agent in their respective agencies. They will share their personal experience on how the different types of estate agencies businesses are conducted in their own markets with emphasis on business opportunities available to estate agents in Malaysia.

Participants will be given an insight into micro management of these speakers’ businesses that have made them leaders in the industry. Participants are also encouraged to put forward questions that they may want the speakers to answer.

The panel speakers are:
• Nixon Paul, director, Carey Real Estates Sdn Bhd
• Robert Ang, director, Rahim & Co
• Clement Ong, director, Megaharta Real Estate Sdn Bhd
• Adrian Wang, director, CBD Properties Sdn Bhd

MAREC 10 is scheduled for Jan 23 and 24 at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur. There will also be a networking dinner to welcome delegates, VIPs and speakers on Jan 22.

Between now and Dec 31, early bird discounts are offered for members, non-members and negotiators. The convention is open to the public at RM800 per participant.


For details, contact MIEA. Tel: 03-7960 2577 | Fax: 03-7960 3757 | Email: secretariat@miea.com.my | Website: www.miea.com.my

By The Star

Dubai firm keen to invest US$500m in Melaka

A company from Dubai, Golden Crescent Group, has expressed interest to invest US$500 million (about RM1.720 billion) in Melaka, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said today.

"They showed interest to invest in the state after seeing the development in Melaka," he told reporters after opening the 34th general representative meeting of 4B Youth Movement in Ayer Keroh.

He said Golden Crescent was interested to invest in fields like hotel, manufacturing, recycling and building a specialist hospital.

Representatives from the company -- Dr Abdelrahman Mustafa Abdullah Al Jarrar, Mahomed Akbar Khan dan Dr Khalil A.H. Al Khalil -- met Ali earlier today.
During the meeting, Ali said, he had also suggested the company to invest in animation films in the state. A memorandum of understanding would soon by signed between Chief Minister Incorporated and the company, he added.

He said that among other factors that drew the interest of foreign investors to Melaka were the existence of various infrastructures, abundant skilled workforce, political stability and peace.

"They have visited tourist spots, industrial areas, factories producing high-tech products, higher learning institutions, ICT facilities, the Melaka Institute of Biotechnology and many other places. That's why they are interested to invest here," Ali said.

He said Melaka's foreign investment target for next year was RM3 billion while this year's achievement would be known by the end of December.

"Melaka has received a lot of investment in the tourism industry so I think the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority can also consider this as foreign direct investment besides the manufacturing sector," he said.

By Bernama