Hybrid home deals catch on

For the time being, floating home loans will be more popular than fixed rate packages.

Home buyers may see the introduction of more hybrid packages by the banking sector to fit today’s economic climate despite the current low interest rates, said RHB Banking Group.

Its head of retail banking Renzo Viegas says customers should expect to see more hybrid packages as the economy turns for the better.

Viegas ... ‘Customers rarely opt for fixed rate for the entire tenure.’

“We expect to see more of these hybrid packages,” says Viegas. These packages combine fixed rate for a particular tenure which subsequently convert into a floating rate after the expiry of the fixed rate tenure.

“Customers rarely opt for fixed rate for the entire tenure. Another variation could be floating rate with a cap on maximum interest rate,” he said in an email interview last week.

But for the time being, floating home loans will continue to be more popular than fixed rate packages. Viegas says that just over 10% of RHB’s market size of RM13.1bil are under fixed rate pricing.

“Floating rate packages are more attractive than fixed rate home loans as the base lending rate (BLR)/overnight policy rate (OPR) outlook is flat. There are no signs of an increase in BLR/OPR in the near future,” he adds.

Last week, Australia’s central bank became the first among the Group of 20 nations to raise interest rates since the height of the global financial crisis. This was followed soon after by a statement from Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz that Malaysia’s interest rates still need to support the country’s economic recovery.

The leaning towards floating rates underscores the current sentiment in the country – that interest rate will remain low.

Viegas says the average loan pricing in the market is 3.75% (BLR -1.8%) compared to fixed rate packages at 4.85% being offered by some insurance companies. As interest rate rise, fixed rates will tend to be more popular as they offer stability. However, the disadvantage is, customers will not be able to enjoy any savings through reduction in the interest rate when there is any reduction in the BLR/OPR, he said.

Viegas says the banking group will reduce installments immediately in order to pass the benefit to customer when there is a reduction in the BLR/OPR.

He says fixed rate packages are more suited for individuals who want to forecast their cash flows accurately as they may not be able to fork out additional installments if the interest rate increases, and among younger cutomers who want a longer loan tenure.

Floating rate packages are more suited for customers opting for a shorter loan tenure of less than 10 years since historically, BLR in the last 10 years or so has not shown significant movement.

Over at HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, general manager, personal financial services, Lim Eng Seong says the London-based bank has always made available both packages irrespective of the economic climate.


Lim Eng Seong says each option has its benefits.

“During the 97/98 Asian financial crisis, the BLR hit a peak of around 12%. Since then, the BLR has been on a downward trend. It is this trend that has contributed to the popularity of floating rates over the past decade,” he says.

He says each option has its benefits, depending on the needs of the individual customer. The bank offers a fixed rate option under its Amanah Home Financing-i series.

Lim says the biggest benefit of floating rate is that it is cheaper than fixed interest rates by at least 1%-2%.

“Even if the floating rate rises above the fixed rate, it is likely to be for a period of time only and not for the entire loan tenure. Furthermore, if the floating rate falls, you enjoy more savings.

“The main disadvantage of a floating rate is that your monthly instalment may fluctuate and thus affect the planning of your personal finances and budgeting.

“On the flipside, fixed rate loans offer certainty in that your EMI (equated monthly instalment) is fixed for the entire tenure of the loan and does not fluctuate, which makes budget planning easier,” he says.

Like RHB, HSBC’s floating rate options have been more popular although there have been request for fixed rate loans.

Lim says that in a declining interest rate environment, a floating rate loan makes better economic sense.

“In an increasing rate environment, fixing your rate may be a good option but bear in mind, fixed rates usually cost more than floating rates. Hence, it would only make economic sense if interest rates are likely to increase by more than the difference in costs between the fixed rate and floating rate, and if it is likely to stay that way for the majority of the loan tenure,” he says.

HSBC fixed rates begin from 6.85% for the entire tenure with no lock-in period and customer pay costs.

Its floating rates start from BLR - 1.75% for first five years. Thereafter, it is BLR - 2.10%, subject to a five-year lock-in period. Customers pay costs.

Citibank declined comment while Maybank did not return email.

By The Star (by Thean Lee Cheng)

Would you own 3 to 4 properties in your lifetime?

There was a recent Singapore news report about steps taken by the government to “cool” down the real estate market. There was concern that speculative fever might be heightened, especially when forecasts seem to indicate a more challenging and subdued economic environment.

How can the Singapore property market run up so significantly on the back of the worst global financial crisis in history?

Some attribute this to the liquidity available in the banking system, while others are quick to point to a low interest rate environment. It was also highlighted that many buyers were home upgraders who are cash-rich, and of course, some were speculators hoping to make a quick profit within a year or two. There are certainly many types of players in the real estate market, and it is not easy to fully comprehend the dynamics.

In a recent discussion that I had with some colleagues, an interesting trend surfaced – a person is likely to own about three to four properties in his or her life time! Mapping that to one’s life stages, it is easy to identify the four possible stages. Such life stages are similar to those used for investment planning as well.

The first stage is what I call the “carefree” period of one’s life. It describes a person who is fresh out of college and has probably worked for a few years. He or she would have little wealth, few assets or little liability, and generally a higher risk tolerance.

In the property dimension, this would be the first step towards independence, when one thinks of moving out of the family home or relocating for work. Many may start by renting a place, but in time, one might consider owning a small apartment, especially when the rental can somewhat offset part of the mortgage obligations. Typically, this person is in his or her 20s.

The second stage is what I call the “family” stage of life. In the 30s and perhaps no longer single, one would be looking forward to settling down. Not only is one more financially able now (assuming a few years of disciplined saving and investing and having paid the first mortgage), the family unit is also likely to benefit from double income. With that decision to get married and in time start a family, the considerations are now very different.

This would lead to property upgrades. The home that served them well in their singlehood will no longer be suitable. So one would typically plan for a bigger place like a landed property or a bigger apartment with more rooms. Just like investing, having built up some wealth and assets, this is the point where one can enlarge one’s investment portfolio while still taking high risks.

The third stage is what I call the “established” stage. Typically, it describes people in their 40s to early 50s who are established in their career. They may have a few school-going children.

Generally, this group would have built up a substantial wealth portfolio and a reasonably comprehensive insurance coverage. From an investing perspective, this group is likely to be more balanced. They are likely to be unwilling to take too many risks, but at the same time not too conservative as to keep everything in cash or low-risk products.

At this stage, a couple of scenarios are possible. One possibility is an upgrade from the matrimonial home to a bigger house in a better district, perhaps a semi-detached, a detached house, or an even larger apartment. Another possibility is that one becomes “sort of” a real estate investor.

Those with the means can end up buying residential properties or shoplots for investment, with the objective of renting out for additional income. Naturally, the sky is the limit, and people in this stage of life can own multiple properties or stay in one of them.

The fourth stage is what I call “Looking Forward to Retirement” and “Retirement” stage. As one approaches retirement or is retired, perspectives can change very significantly. His or her children may likely have completed their university education or have already started working. They may also have moved out of the home bought in one’s third stage of life. A significant retirement nest egg would have been established and liabilities are generally lower as mortgages are almost fully paid off, or the children do not need as much financial support.

One also tends to take a more conservative approach to investing and taking risks. Planning ahead can take on varied routes. One option is to stay on in the large house and enjoy the golden years; although its residents are probably only the old couple lamenting the quietness of the house, a maid and maybe a pet dog or cat.

The other is to move into a smaller home with more convenient amenities. I realise that some retired couples are choosing the latter option as living in a smaller condominium allows them to enjoy the facilities and relative safety and security. Invariably, they may hold on to investment properties where rental can be used for retirement cashflows or passed on as inheritance.

We all go through these four stages of life as reflected in the trend in property demand. While most of us do not build up sufficient wealth to be multiple properties owners concurrently, it is not difficult to appreciate and understand why we are likely to own between three to four properties during the course of our lives.

I believe that property ownership is an integral part of our lives and culture. And when it comes to personal finance, property ownership is a key element that I would like to focus on in the weeks to come. Perhaps some learned readers can also share their views with me, as I believe there are many qualified property experts out there.

Tay is senior vice-president and senior head of UOB’s personal financial services division.

By The Star (by Tay Han Chong)

Carcosa Sri Negara to be upgraded

The government has called for bids to upgrade Carcosa Seri Negara, a 97-year old boutique, city hotel and heritage building that was once home to Frank Swettenham, the highest ranked British representative to the Malay States.

It will be closed for renovation from January 1 2010. However, the property would will keep its name. Bids must be in by October 29 this year.

"We are inviting fresh ideas (for the property)," Nurulhakeem Hasim, the principal assistant secretary from the Property and Land Management Division of the Prime Minister's Department said in a briefing on Thursday.

The Request For Proposal (RFP) document highlighted that the proposer must bear all upgrading costs and pay a monthly rental.
The developer/operator must also propose a profit sharing deal with the government.

The government wants bids from candidates with strong financial standing, wide experience and recognition in hotel and resort management and one with a chain of hotels/resorts in Malaysia and abroad.

The applicant should own a hotel brand and have a proven administrative and management track record.

Some 17 people attended the briefing, including representatives from Swiss Garden, Impiana Group, Johor Corp, Peremba, Landmarks Bhd and MITC Ancasa Hotel Melaka.

Those present told the Business Times that they were surprised that advertisements only appeared in the Malay dailies last week.

They also lamented on the short time frame to prepare the proposal. Moreover, no financial details were given as to the past performance nor rental for the lease.

According to Nurulhakeem, renovations will be done in two phases. The first phase involves upgrading and developing the existing product while the second phase will be managing and operating the hotel.

The hotel, work on it that started in 1904, was completed in 1912. It is essentially divided into two, the seven-suite Carcosa and the six-suite Seri Negara. The two blocks sit on a 1.62ha site near Taman Tasik Perdana.

The Carcosa was originally the private residence of Frank Swettenham, the highest ranked British representative to the Malay States, while the Seri Negara was for his guests.

This designated heritage site is owned by the Government and was taken on a 20-year lease by Landmarks Bhd in 1989. This lease ends on December 31, 2009.

Landmarks operated the premises until five years ago, when General Hotel Management Group was brought in, in 2004, as a guardian for the heritage site.

Meanwhile, the period for which the hotel will be closed, will depend on the extent of work that was proposed.

The developer must propose the duration of the lease based on the return on investment anticipated after the upgrade.

An interested party said that since all the investment will come from the private sector, unlike previously when the government paid for all the renovation and refurbishment, the investment amount has to be practical.

Nurulhakeem indicated that certain terms on government's usage of the facility may be incorporated. It is however unclear, if the some 365 years of free nights available to the government will continue under the new contract.

By Business Times (by Vasantha Ganesan)

Malaysian builders win US$1b foreign deals

BANGKOK: Malaysian contractors, who secured 155 projects overseas worth US$15.57 billion (RM53.5 billion) in the past three years, have won another 16 projects valued at US$1.06 billion (RM3.6 billion) so far this year.

Master Builders Association of Malaysia (MBAM) secretary-general Yap Yoke Keong said the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) records showed that 2006 was the best year, with 59 projects worth US$8.17 billion (RM27.7 billion).

Last year, Malaysian firms receiv-ed 40 projects with a total value of US$2.43 billion (RM8.24 billion), he said.

Yap said as at the second quarter of 2009, Malaysian contractors had completed 467 overseas projects worth US$8.5 billion (RM28.82 billion) while 131 projects valued at US$18 billion (RM61.02 billion) were currently being implemented.
"However, all these ventures involved only 103 contractors, which is indeed small compared to the total of about 65,000 registered contractors in the country," he said when presenting Malaysia's country report at the 29th Asean Contractors Federation Council meeting here yesterday.

Almost half of the overseas contracts won by Malaysian firms since 1997 were based in the Middle East, Yap said, adding that Saudi Arabia provided the largest share with RM20.73 billion, followed by India with RM14.1 billion and the UAE with RM10.5 billion.

In Malaysia, construction recorded a positive 2.8 per cent growth in the second quarter this year, largely due to the higher take-off of projects related to the stimulus packages, in particular construction on non-residential buildings such as schools, colleges and hospitals, Yap said.

He said under the government's two stimulus packages worth RM67 billion, a total of 83,939 projects had been awarded.

While there were some positive effects from the stimulus packages, MBAM felt that these may not be adequate to enable the economy to ride out from the recession on a much stronger footing.

Yap said the association has called on the government to speedily release the balance of projects budgeted under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to ensure sustainability and growth of the construction industry and to meet the industry's projected gross domestic growth growth of 3 per cent this year.

By Bernama

MRCB to recoup IT spending on Sentral Park in 3 years

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), which expects to invest up to RM36mil to deploy integrated information technology (IT) solutions at KL Sentral Park, sees a return on investment in less than 36 months.

Group managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said the IT solutions constituted about 5% of the RM720mil gross development value for the project, which is situated within the KL Sentral enclave.

KL Sentral Park, which is scheduled to be completed by 2011, is the first pilot project utilising the Cisco Smart+Connected Communities framework and involves integrating Cisco’s end-to-end technology and building solutions.

Shahril said the deployment of such infrastructure would raise the value of the project and deliver savings for the company.

“We expect to have additional revenue from services and lower operating costs in terms of return on investment,” he said after a tripartite memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between Cisco Malaysia, MRCB Land and Datacraft Advanced Network Services Sdn Bhd yesterday.

Shahril said the move was part of MRCB’s plan to incorporate state-of-the-art technologies in all its property developments under MRCB Land to promote sustainable, green and smart urban development practices.

“In terms of operating costs, we expect savings of 10% to 15%, mostly in energy,” he said.

The deployment of the IT solutions are expected to increase services revenue by 30% to 40%.

Shahril said MRCB was also looking at implementing similar comprehensive IT solutions at its other transport hubs, particularly Penang Sentral.

As the prime systems integrator, Datacraft will lead the project management and deployment of solutions for KL Sentral Park.

These include a core multiple Internet Protocol platform to integrate information and communications technology, and building automation networks.

By The Star

MRCB connects with Cisco, Datacraft

MALAYSIAN Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), Cisco Malaysia and Datacraft Advanced Network Services Sdn Bhd have teamed up to provide information, technology and communications (ICT) connectivity starting at Lot E of KL Sentral Park in Kuala Lumpur Sentral.

MRCB group managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said for the ICT initiative, the group has allocated 5 per cent out of KL Sentral Park's total gross development value of RM720 million, which is expected to be completed in 2011.

"This smart partnership is expected to raise the value of KL Sentral Park and deliver significant savings on MRCB's operational and capital expenses as ICT will improve efficiency and also drive revenue streams and benefit consumers.

"It will also increase service revenues up to 40 per cent and provide a return on investment in less than three years," Shahril told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Under a memorandum of understanding between the three companies, MRCB's property division MRCB Land, as property owner, has tasked Datacraft as the ICT systems integrator and project management leader to allow easy integration of ICT and building automation network.

Cisco acts as the ICT infrastructure provider throughout KL Sentral Park and the project will provide free Wifi connections for KL Sentral Park's tenants and patrons.

Shahril said the success of this model will determine the adoption of a similar concept in MRCB Land's future development. The group also has property hubs in Penang and Malacca.

By Business Times (by Zaidi Isham Ismail)

Why is Malaysia an attractive market for property?

If you are young and planning to enter the workforce in the next three years, you will have the company of seven billion fellow inhabitants of planet earth.

By the time you are ready to retire – assuming you’ve been able to find a job in the first place – there will be two billion more.

You will have watched the world population grow by 30% and I don’t know what you are going to do about it.

The two billion new people we are talking about are unlikely to come from the West where recreation is no longer remotely synonymous with procreation.

They will come from countries such as China and India where people are pretty clever. For the first time in history they will be a colossal economic force largely united by nationality, coming from financially independent families and looking for a job. Maybe your job.

I don’t want to scare you, but if you are reading this article instead of doing your homework, please get back to your studies immediately.

Malaysia, as an under-populated resource-rich country, will become increasingly attractive. The next wave of migrant workers into Puchong and Ampang may well be coming from the same countries as 100 years ago but this time they won’t be miners or rubber tappers. They will be carrying laptops and living in condos.

My point is that as its knowledge economy gathers pace, Malaysia will continue to grow at a faster rate than a mere organic 2% and the impact on real estate values is going to be substantial.

There is no point grizzling about the terraced house you could have bought in Bangsar when the biggest building there was the Apilektrik; the opportunities are here and now, and property is still cheap.

If you want a new three-bedroom bungalow for RM250,000 or a quarter-acre building lot for RM150,000, they are all available within an hour’s drive from Kuala Lumpur.

You would think that agricultural land would have shot up in value but rural smallholdings can still be bought for RM20,000 to RM25,000 per acre and they will give you a net income of 10% or so if you’re prepared to put in the time to manage them properly.

In the secondary market, bargains abound. There is a tremendous miss-match between buyer and seller and the bottleneck revolves around antiquated loan recovery systems.

Even now, banks are sitting on billions of ringgit worth of non-performing loans, which may eventually be parcelled up into huge packages and sold off to other institutions at so many sen in the dollar. Banks will moan about the existing foreclosure legislation and so forth which gives them little choice, but isn’t this a cop out?

There is a need for fresh, market-driven solutions to the problems of foreclosure and sale, starting with the archaic auction process, which is long overdue for an overhaul. I don’t understand why the banking industry is not pushing harder for reforms, which would enable them to take more innovative and proactive initiatives.

For example, if my bank approached me with a RM1mil package comprising a few acres of agricultural land in Johor, a low-cost flat in Rawang and an apartment in Kajang, wrapped up in an attractive 80% mortgage deal, I’d probably take it. In my personal case, I’d take it in disbelief that any bank might think I could repay before I popped my clogs, but many other customers would see it as a unique long-term and diversified stake in the market.

Malaysia has many other hidden assets, one of which is the ability to complete big development projects in challenging circumstances. The Government has recognised this and organises roadshows to developing countries, encouraging Malaysian professionals and developers to promote their capabilities.

The market out there is massive; it is estimated China will build 430 billion sq ft in about five million buildings by 2025. These numbers are almost too huge to comprehend, like the distance to the moon or the number of times I have to explain to my wife that golf is good for business.

To maintain their slight lead in the region, I feel that professionals might be given some fiscal and financial incentives to export their expertise. An example would be double-tax deductions for travelling expenses. Other countries such as Australia have practiced this with success.

See you in Shanghai, Bruce.

● Christopher Boyd is executive chairman of Regroup Associates Sdn Bhd

By The Star (by Christopher Boyd)

Construction players’ wishlist for Budget 2010

GEORGE TOWN: The property development and construction players want Budget 2010 to remove, or keep to the minimal, the levies and stamp duties on private projects and property transactions.

Penang Master Builders and Building Materials Dealers Association (PMBBMDA) president Finn Choong said levies for project contracts and foreign workers had raised construction costs, which had to be passed on to consumers.

“Presently these levies are high in comparison with those of developed countries and have eroded the competitive edge of the local construction industry,” he told StarBiz. PMBBMDA also urged the Government to remove approved permits for new construction machineries.

“This will spur the adoption of new and green construction technology by local construction companies,” Choong added.

The Government should also treat construction companies as venture capital businesses that were eligible for tax holidays because construction firms “also undertake high risks,” he said.

Meanwhile, Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda, Penang Chapter) chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said the budget should give grants to first-time house buyers for properties of a certain price range.

“We would also like to see stamp duty waiver for transfer of properties and housing loans,” he said.

The stamp duty ranged from 1% to 3% depending on the value of the properties transferred, while the stamp duty for housing is 0.5% of a total loan amount.

By The Star (by David Tan)

Mah Sing to buy land

Mah Sing Group Bhd has received the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) approval to buy prime land in Cyberjaya, on condition the paid-up capital of wholly-owned Myvilla Development Sdn Bhd, is raised to at least RM100,000.

The deal involves the purchase of freehold land, measuring about 466,391 sq m, from Cyberview Sdn Bhd and Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd for RM130.5 million, with the option to buy an adjacent 25,570 sq-m commercial land.

Mah Sing plans to build medium to high-end houses under the brand Garden Residence, with an estimated gross development value of about RM690 million.

By Business Times

RM28b rail plan

PRIVATELY-HELD Global Rail Sdn Bhd and its partner from China have jointly submitted a RM28 billion proposal to develop a high-speed railway and inter-modal freight system in Malaysia, linking economic corridors to major airports and seaports.

Global Rail managing director Fan Boon Heng said the proposal was submitted on September 28 to the Ministry of Finance, the Economic Planning Unit and the Johor Menteri Besar.

The project is a private finance initiative (PFI) with China Infraglobe Consortium, a global infrastructure development and logistics specialist.

Fan said China Infraglobe has the financing in place to fully fund the project, which will be implemented in four phases over 10 years.

He said the financial mechanism will be crafted such that the local government will have a total cost capped for the whole project and risks will be allocated to the parties best able to manage them.
"It will free up the current government funds for public spending in other areas," he told Business Times in an interview.

Fan said the implementation of the project to lay electrified double tracks will start from Iskandar Malaysia in Johor.

Under the first phase, the parties involved will lay the tracks from Johor Baru to Gemas, while under Phase 2, the tracks will run from Gemas to Tumpat in Kelantan.

Phase 3 will start from Kluang, with connections to the KL International Airport, Port Klang and the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) in Selangor.

The fourth phase will be from PKFZ to Perlis and up to the Thai border.

"We will call for tenders for local participation on the civil works, building of stations and yard facilities after we get the green light from the government. China Infraglobe will work with a European group on the systems portion," Fan said.

The proposal is in line with the government's 2020 National Physical Plan on Transportation.

"This development plan will transform Malaysia into a regional logistics hub for Asean and be the southern gateway to the overland logistics rapid freight system for China and Europe," Fan added.

It is also expected to propel Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd into a major logistics and industrial corporation, enhancing and augmenting its role as a national rail and logistics services provider in passenger and freight services.

Global Rail, set up in July last year, was founded by Fan, who previously headed ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation and, later, Balfour Beatty Rail Sdn Bhd for over 15 years.

It already has jobs from Road Builder Sdn Bhd for electrification for a railway project in Batu Gajah, Perak, and from YTL Corp Bhd to supply automatic train protection system and railway point machines for its Sentul-Batu Caves railway project.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Tiah takes over the reins

KUALA LUMPUR: With the separation of TA Enterprise Bhd’s stockbroking and property businesses, Datuk Tony Tiah Thee Kian will be sitting on what will be among the top five property companies in the country in terms of market capitalisation.

“My strategy is to have a consistent source of income for the group in good times and bad times,” he said in an interview yesterday.

TA Global Bhd, which will house the property business, will be listed in November.

The separation of the property and stockbroking business was conceptualised several years ago.

“The timing is perfect. The landbank is there, acquired over the years at very good prices. Our assets abroad are iconic,” Tiah said.

Tiah said he was now making an appearance because he was executive chairman of TA Global.

“I have to put forth my vision, my strategy and my future plans to the shareholders,” he said.

The listing is expected to create a bit of excitement for various reasons.

First, this marks Tiah’s return to the business world after a hiatus of several years.

“It is interesting because suddenly, he is back and heading one of the top five property counters in the country,” an analyst said.

“After all, with Sime, IOI and I&P group taking their property companies private, what is there left? So we are looking in terms of context in today’s times. The company also has some very choice land in and around the KL city.”

Secondly, the Tiahs have made successful forays beyond Malaysian shores, with hotel and commercial properties in Singapore, Australia and Canada. All of these are income generating.

From left: Datuk Tony Tiah, Datin Alicia Tiah, Joo kim and daughter Sook Lin

Third, Tiah is passing the baton to the second generation, something which many tycoons do not talk about. Said Tiah, a born-again Christian: “The family has worked as a team and what we have achieved thus far is a blessing from God.”

Tiah is quick to add that his “active service for now” will culminate with his children taking charge one day.

Tiah, with his 37 years in the business world, will provide the vision and the strategy.

Tiah has a masters degree in business management with speciality in finance and corporate and investment management.

His son, Joo Kim, has been with TA Enterprise 22 months. His daughter Sook Lin joined the company a few months ago.

Another daughter sits on the board of their Canadian property management company.

Tiah and his wife, Datin Alicia Tiah, built up one of the biggest stockbroking businesses in the 1990s. Today they also built up shareholders’ funds of nearly RM2bil.

Despite his absence from the corporate scene for some years, Tiah was nevertheless involved in the company’s acquisitions.

“The listing of our property arm is a very strategic move. I want to put this company on solid rock. The strategy is to have part of our income coming from property investment, which is consistent. We will have the income from our local projects as well as those from abroad.

“Even in recession, the hospitality industry will continue to provide a yield. And the car parks portion of commercial projects which we are going to develop here will be a cash cow. We will also not be selling the podium section of our commercial developments in and around Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

Tiah said there had been a lot of questions on why TA Enterprise wanted to invest in these assets as the general feeling was that the yield was not high. But he said the yield was consistent in good and bad times.

“We gain in terms of yield. As for our overseas projects, we have to think of our currency versus the foreign currency,” he said.

TA Global will have projects with total gross development value (GDV) of between RM6bil and RM7bil in Malaysia.

The company also owns two hotels in Australia, a hotel in British Columbia and a business centre in Canada. It recently bought a hotel in Singapore.

On home turf, it is planning to build two hotels in Kuala Lumpur, one fronting the Petronas Twin Towers and another in Jalan Imbi area.

Tiah said TA Enterprise would not be selling its stockbroking business.

“Our origins were stockbroking. Whether we seek investment bank (IB) status depends on the financial climate. There are too few projects around at this time. To be an IB, you need intellectual manpower and this is costly. So for the time being, we will defer this. We no longer aspire to be the biggest in this area,” he said.

By The Star (by Thean Lee Cheng)

Australian housing recovery builds rate rise case

SYDNEY: Australian housing and construction data on Wednesday added to evidence of economic recovery that spurred the central bank to raise interest rates on Tuesday, Oct 6 and is expected to bring more tightening in months ahead, says Reuters.

Demand for investment-related home loans and construction finance jumped in August, government data showed. A separate industry survey showed a pickup in overall construction last month, helped by a revival in demand for housing, ending 18 months of contraction.

That boded well for third-quarter economic growth and backed views that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would keep lifting interest rates in coming months from "emergency" low levels.

"Overall, this adds to the litany of other hard economic evidence that the recovery is well and truly emerging and there is absolutely nothing in this report to dissuade the RBA from lifting the cash rate again in November," said David de Garis, senior economist at National Australia Bank.

The Reserve Bank of Australia became the first central bank in the Group of 20 to raise rates since financial markets crashed in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers' more than a year ago. It notched up its cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent and kept the door open for more as it judged that the economy had weathered the worst of the global financial crisis.

Implied rates, based on money market and swap rates, are pricing in a 77 percent chance of a quarter percentage point rate rise next month. Over the next 12 months, 166 basis points of rate increases are being priced in.

In its economic assessment on Tuesday, the central bank said house prices and housing credit were both growing at a solid pace. That echoed concerns voiced earlier by central bankers who said keeping rates too low for too long could give rise to a housing bubble.

The solid demand for homes in the past year has been attributed to strong population growth and 50-year-low mortgage rates.

Unlike the United States and Britain, where house prices have fallen in the midst of the financial and economic crisis, Australian house prices have held up remarkably well, rising 4.2 percent in March-June.

INVESTORS RETURN TO HOUSING

Investors flocked back into the housing market, which accounted for 27 percent of all loans issued in August. Investment lending surged 7.6 percent from the month before, owing to an increase in commitments for the purchase of dwellings for rent or resale.

Overall construction finance for building new dwellings to owner-occupiers rose 4.6 percent from the month before and jumped 69 percent from August 2008.

Only demand from first-time home buyers showed signs of slackening, as the stimulatory effects from generous government grants began fade.

The percentage of first-home owners fell in August, but still remained high at nearly a quarter of all loans.

Demand for home loans fell 0.6 percent, compared with forecasts for a 1.0 percent drop but the decline was much smaller than a contraction of 2.2 percent in July.

Analysts expect the paring back of the grant, which was halved at the end of September, coupled with the likelihood of further rate increases to temper the appetite for housing finance, especially from first home buyers, in the months ahead.

"We suspect that the RBA will be pleased to see an easing in appetite for housing finance, particularly from first home owners," said Su-Lin Ong, senior economist at RBC Capital.

She expects the cash rate to go up to 4.50 percent by mid- 2010.

Still, analysts believe that pent-up demand for housing and strong population growth will support a housing construction boom from late 2009 and will be a key growth engine through 2010.

A survey of 200 firms by Australia Industry Group and the Housing Industry Association, showed the main measure of overall construction activity climbed 8.4 points to 50.8, finally putting it back above the 50 threshold between growth and contraction for the first time since February last year.

By Reuters

TA Enterprise to enter new business

Financial services and property development group TA Enterprise Bhd will make its maiden foray into the venture capital business, focusing on the financial sector.

Its managing director and chief executive officer Alicia Tiah said the venture was still in the infancy stage, adding that further details such as investment allocation would be announced later.

"Part of the financing may come from the listing of our property arm TA Global Bhd. At the same time, we will beef up our corporate finance business," she told reporters after the group's extraordinary general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

On the long-awaited listing of TA Global, which has been deferred more than three times since last year, Alicia said the Securities Commission had approved all of its proposals.
The listing plan was earlier postponed due to unfavourable market conditions.

TA Global's listing is tentatively on November 30, which will also see its cash position reach RM135 million.

"TA Enterprise's cash position after the listing of TA Global will total RM230 million provided all of its public and Bumiputera share portions are fully subscribed," said Alicia.

After the listing, TA Enterprise will own 57.3 per cent of TA Global.

On the group's outlook, Alicia said that much will depend on the stock market's performance as among its income sources is brokerage retail income.

"When the market is rosy, so will our profits. Our brokerage business in Hong Kong is also giving us a good return due to its proximity to China," she said.

On its hotel business, TA Enterprise executive chairman Datuk Tiah Thee Kian said the group is always on the lookout for good opportunities.

"We are looking for opportunities all the time, especially for hotels in London and Vancouver, by either buiding one ourselves or through a joint venture.

"It should be cheap and give us a stable income inflow. Those with a RM600 million price range are good for the company, and we will only buy during recession time and not during boom time," Thee Kian said.

TA Enterprise owns the Coast Whistler Hotel in Vancouver, Canada, worth RM191 million, as well as The Westin Melbourne (RM390 million) and the Radisson Plaza Hotel (RM286 million) in Sydney, Australia.

By Business Times (by Zaidi Isham Ismail)

TA unit to buy hotels overseas

KUALA LUMPUR: TA Global Bhd, the property arm of TA Enterprise Bhd, hopes to acquire hotels in London and Vancouver within the current financial year ending Jan 31, 2010.

Datuk Tiah Thee Kian and Datuk Alicia Tiah at the briefing

TA Enterprise executive chairman Datuk Tony Tiah Thee Kian said the company had always been on a lookout for good opportunities and “now is a good time to look at acquisitions”.

“We are looking at hotels in London. It may be a good fit for us. We are also looking at a hotel in Vancouver, by either building one ourselves or on a joint-venture basis,” he told reporters after the company EGM yesterday.

“The criteria is, it should be cheap, well-located and give us a stable income flow. Those with a RM600mil price range are good for the company,” he said.

He added that TA Enterprise only made acquisitions during recessionary periods.

TA Global is slated for a listing on Nov 30. After the listing, TA Enterprise will have a 57.3% stake in TA Global.

According to chief executive officer Datin Alicia Tiah, TA Enterprise’s cash position after the listing of TA Global would be RM230mil, provided all the offer shares were fully subscribed.

“We can do more things with the fund, like nurture start-ups and beef up our corporate finance. These are areas we want to strengthen (our position in),” she said.

On the outlook for TA Enterprise, she said it would depend on the performance of the stock market.

“If the market is rosy, our profits will go up.

“Hong Kong is also giving us a good return on brokerage income, given its proximity to (mainland) China,” she said.

By The Star

Zerin: British keen on properties here

Malaysian properties have received a good response from overseas especially in the UK, says local property agent Zerin Properties.

Its chief executive officer Previndran Singhe said the positive response has prompted him to set up a branch there by the end of this month.

"British buyers are one of the top buyers in 2007 and top 2 buyers last year. There has been an increase in interest and surveys have shown that more and more British residents want to set up second homes in Malaysia," he said in a recent e-mail interview with Business Times.

Zerin, which was formed in 2002, has offices in Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Singapore and New Delhi.
"Other than the fact that economic activities are now Asian centric, the weather and the less expensive lifestyle is definitely a pull for them.

"Moreover, with Malaysia being the only country in Southeast Asia that allows freehold ownership of landed properties and that we are tier to real estate transparency with Japan at a fraction of the cost, we are indeed attractive," he said.

Other reasons include the pricing levels of the properties and quality of the development.

Singhe said the demographics of the type of foreigners wanting to buy second homes in Malaysia were "generally 40-50 years old, to invest or to have second home, hip and happening and wanted a superb lifestyle".

"Malaysia is also familiar to them. It is an English speaking nation, prices are reasonable and of course, Malaysia Truly Asia," he said, adding that his company targets the elite to set up second homes here with assets from RM750,000 onwards.

He said besides the British, Singaporeans are also keen to buy Malaysian properties.

Foreigners favour buying their second homes in the Klang Valley such as the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (priced from RM1.5 million onwards), Mont Kiara (RM500,000 onwards) Bangsar and Damansara Heights (RM1 million onwards), Sentul Raya (RM450,000 onwards) and other selected locations like Country Heights and Gita Bayu.

Singhe said Zerin plans to sell RM100 million worth of Malaysian properties per year as the market in London is picking up.

By Business Times (By June Ramlee)

Iskandar: Now best time to set up shop in EduCity

Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB), the catalytic developer of Iskandar Malaysia in Johor, said it will initiate talks soon with foreign business and law school operators to set up shop in EduCity, the 120ha education enclave in Nusajaya.

Managing director Arlida Ariff said there are signs that the economy is recovering and now would be the best time to start talks with players in the education sector to keep EduCity vibrant.

So far, the UK's Newcastle University of Medicine (NuMed) has agreed to set up a branch campus worth US$100 million (RM347 million) in EduCity.

The NuMed campus, the first outside the UK, will start construction soon and open in 2011.
IIB, which is majority controlled by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, is currently in talks with Maritime Institute Willem Barentsz and Maritime Institute de Ruyter, to set up a world-class maritime institute in EduCity.

Arlida said IIB is also in talks with two other universities to set up engineering and hospitality schools in EduCity.

"The plan for EduCity is to have multi-purpose campuses. We are looking at a minimum of eight universities," she told Business Times in an interview.

EduCity, envisioned as 'A Community of Best Practices in Academia', will be developed in two phases under a 10-year plan (2008-2018).

Development on the 49.12ha in the first phase has started. It features four universities with a combined capacity of 4,000 students.

The second phase will see another four universities and this would double the student enrolment.

Meanwhile, IIB has awarded a total of RM1.2 billion worth of infrastructure projects to local contractors since January this year to spearhead developments in Iskandar Malaysia.

IIB had awarded WCT Bhd four contracts worth RM766.5 million to build roads, sewerage pumping stations and electrical sub-stations at Medini in Iskandar Malaysia.

Depending on the amount of new investments coming in next year, IIB may call for new tenders but on a smaller scale.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Glomac to buy land for RM9m

Property developer Glomac Bhd plans to buy 17.4ha of leasehold land in Ijok, Kuala Selangor, for RM9 million from Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Kuala Selangor.

Glomac said it will finance the acquisition through a combination of internally generated funds and bank borrowings.

The proposed acquisition is part of Glomac's strategy to extend its development in the Sungai Buloh growth area as well as Glomac's overall plan to increase its landbank in the existing Bandar Saujana Utama township.

By Business Times

Bina Puri wins RM185m job

Bina Puri Holdings Bhd, one of the largest construction groups in the country, has won a RM185 million contract from Mayland View Sdn Bhd to build a 38-storey serviced apartment building in Jalan Kuching, Kuala Lumpur.

It beat companies like the China-listed Beijing Urban Constructive Group Ltd and local construction and engineering firm Setiakon.

The contract is the second biggest win for Bina Puri this year.

In March, the group won a RM693 million job to build 2,000 houses in Brunei.

The Mayland contract brings the value of new jobs in hand this year to RM1.4 billion, fattening its order book to nearly RM4.4 billion, with almost 60 per cent comprising unbilled sales.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Bina Puri said it accepted the contract from Mayland, a unit of Mayland Group controlled by Tan Sri David Chu, on September 25.

The building, dubbed Regalia @ Jalan Sultan Ismail, has potential to generate gross development value of around RM600 million. It is scheduled for completion by early 2011.

The group will be paid progressively and the contract will start to contribute immediately to its bottom line, Bina Puri group managing director Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng said.

"This is our first win with Mayland. It was a tough bet and we went in very competitively with the intention to secure more work from Chu," Tee said in a telephone interview with Business Times.

"Apart from Mayland group, Chu is the major shareholder in Hong Kong's Far East Consortium and Land & General Bhd.

"We believe, in the longer term, we can get more contracts for new projects under the respective groups from Chu," Tee said, adding that Bina Puri wants to be less dependent on government projects, which take a longer time to be implemented.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Asian properties to lead global recovery

KUALA LUMPUR: Vincent Lo, the billionaire chairman and chief executive officer of Hong Kong-based Shui On Group which developed Shanghai’s popular tourist landmark, Xindianti, believes Asia’s property market will take the lead in recovering from the shocks inflicted by the global financial crisis.

“Things are looking up again for the region and we are as busy as ever in China,” Lo told StarBiz.

After his last visit to the city more than 10 years ago, Lo was back last week to attend the three-day Forbes Global CEO Conference 2009.

“I am very impressed with how much Kuala Lumpur has developed and by what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is doing to further raise the country’s competitiveness. I certainly look forward to coming back again and this time to look at the possibility of venturing here if opportunities arise,” Lo said.

He said if Shui On decided to venture to Malaysia, the first thing he needed to do was to look for the right local partner. “The property business is a highly-localised business and a good local partner who knows the local conditions will be one of the factors for success.”

The affable Hong Kong-born Lo has built up Shui On into one of the largest real estate developers in mainland China. Today he keeps busy with his group’s many developments in prime locations of major Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Chongging, Wuhan, Foshan and Dalian.

He sees immense growth potential in China and has made the world’s most populated country the main business focus for his group.

Lo started investing in China 25 years ago and, in recent years, he sold all his group’s investment assets in the United States and channelled them to China.

“We go where the opportunities are. There’s no place like China in terms of its strength as an economic powerhouse and growth opportunities.

“Today, more than 90% of our assets with total investments of at least 100 billion yuan are in China,” Lo added.

Shui On has a land bank of 13.2 million sq m in China. Of this, 50% will comprise residential property and the balance commercial, office and hotel property.

Lo said China would continue to chart amazing growth for many years to come.

“I am very happy to be in China right now. The Chinese leaders have proven their mettle in managing the country’s economy very well throughout the global financial crisis.

“The progress being made in the country’s real estate sector is just in the beginning stages and there are immense opportunities for more phenomenal growth.

“Each year, 16 million to 22 million Chinese are been urbanised and this translates into major needs for housing, commercial space, factories and other public facilities,” the tycoon said.

He said amid the rapid globalisation, China’s economy was being transformed very rapidly with much wealth creation and structural changes along the way.

Lo, who founded Shui On Group in 1971 after borrowing HK$100,000 from his father, the late Hong Kong property tycoon Lo Ying-shek, is today a highly-regarded figure and one of the leading entrepreneurs in China.

Shui On Group is the parent of both Shui On Land Ltd and Shui On Construction and Materials Ltd (Socam). Both are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Shui On Land, listed in 2006 and headquartered in Shanghai, is the group’s flagship property company undertaking large-scale re-development projects in China.

Shui On Land specialises in masterplan communities with minimum built-up space of 10 million sq ft while Socam undertakes smaller-scale developments.

Lo, who is still the controlling shareholder in Shui On Land with just under 50% of the company’s shares and 37% in Socam, believes that the Chinese government will soon open up the Shanghai Stock Exchange for listing by companies established outside China.

By The Star (by Angie Ng)

Property development to be Tradewinds top revenue earner

TRADEWINDS Corp Bhd expects property development to start contributing significantly to its revenue sometime between 2011 and 2012, its top official said.

The group undertook a restructuring exercise in 2008 to focus on hotel and property development.

The contributions are expected to come in once projects which are now on the drawing board are launched from 2010 onwards.

In 2008, Tradewinds' property division, including rental income from Komplex Antarabangsa and Menara Tun Razak, made RM24.51 million representing 5.2 per cent of total revenue.
"We expect to launch projects in 2010 that will see revenue coming in in 2011 or 2012," TCB's chief executive officer Shaharul Farez Hassan said.

"And we expect property development to overtake hotel contributions (in terms of revenue) in four to five years' time," he added.

Hotel operations now contribute 70 per cent of total group revenue.

In a recent interview with Business Times, Shaharul said given that it was only beginning to establish itself as a property developer it will take sometime for the segment to mature and make a mark.

TCB now has 365ha of land in Nusajaya in Johor for development. TCB plans to form tie-ups with established property developers to launch its housing projects.

It has already entered into a 49-51 per cent joint venture agreement with United Malayan Land Bhd (UM Land) holding the majority share, to develop land in Nusajaya.

At the same time, it is also looking for land within the Klang Valley and Penang to buy or enter into joint-venture pacts for property development projects.

Previously, TCB's venture into property development has been by roping in a developer to develop land that it owns.

These projects include Bandar Baru Pulai in Johor and Bandar Jaya Putra in Mount Austin, Johor.

In the half year ended June 30 2008, property division contributed RM13.6 million in revenue.

TCB in 2008 split its plantation and sugar refining business from the group to focus on its hotel and property operations.

By Business Times

Tradewinds sets sights on hotel acquisitions abroad

Hotelier and property developer Tradewinds Corp Bhd (TCB) is setting its eyes on hotel acquisitions abroad, as this provides better and speedier returns on investments.

It has been looking at several proposals which it has received from around the region.

"We have been approached by various parties, but we are not actively pursuing any of these at the moment, neither are we saying no to these proposals," chief executive officer Shaharul Farez Hassan told Business Times.

He added that he sees Southeast Asia as a suitable location for its foreign venture.
"Hotels in other countries fare better in terms of room rates," he said.

With the exception of Langkawi, Malaysian hotels in general rake in lower average room rates compared to their counterparts elsewhere.

TCB's previous foreign hotel initiatives were in Vietnam and Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina. It sold its partially completed hotel in Hanoi, The InterContinental Westlake hotel, two years ago for US$75 million (RM261 million). This gave TCB a one time net gain of RM148.5 million.

Tradewinds had also previously won a bid for a hotel in Sarajevo, but pulled out after due diligence was conducted.

Meanwhile, Shaharul expects its hotel division revenue to dip by between 10 per cent and 13 per cent in the year ending December 31 2009, as the global economic crisis and the H1N1 flu sees people travelling far less.

Last year, the division chalked up RM332.74 million, which accounted for 70 per cent of its total revenue of RM475.46 million.

In the first half ended June 30 2009, TCB made a net profit of RM13.12 million on the back of RM223.63 million. Sixty four per cent of the revenue was from its hotel division.

This year, its worst hit hotel has been Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur. Business is down by about 10 per cent compared to last year. Nevertheless, all hotels are profitable.

The best performing hotel in terms of room rates is the five star Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa, Langkawi which it owns but is operated by Singapore Meritus International Hotels Pte Ltd.

Other hotels owned and operated by the group include Mutiara Taman Negara, Pahang and Mutiara Johor Baru.

Hotels owned by TCB but operated by an international chain include Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur, Hilton Batang Ai Longhouse Resort, Sarawak, Hilton Kuching and Hilton Petaling Jaya.

TCB also manages the Mutiara Burau Bay Beach Resort, Langkawi for the Langkawi Development Authority.

By Business Times (by Vasantha Ganesan)

BLand may start work on S. Korean project next year

BERJAYA Land Bhd (BLand) is expected to start construction of its maiden US$3 billion (RM10.4 billion) mixed development township project in South Korea in the second half of next year.

"We are at the design stage now. We target to complete that and start construction next year," Berjaya Hotels & Resorts chief executive officer Joseph Won said in an interview with Business Times in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Won said he is bullish about the project, given that Jeju province is popular among people from Japan, South Korea and China.

BLand entered into a joint venture with Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC) in 2008 to become master developer for the project in Jeju.

The resort-type township will be built within eight and 10 years on 74.4ha of land and feature 600 mid-rise apartments, 200 villas, a five-star hotel with 250 rooms and a casino hotel with 500 rooms, a casino, a shopping complex and a medical centre.

BLand, which acquired the 74.4ha land from JDC to undertake the project, has a 81 per cent interest in the development. JDC holds the balance.

Berjaya Hotels & Resorts, the leisure unit of BLand, is looking for properties to operate in Asia Pacific to build up its existing portfolio.

Future growth plans in the Asia-Pacific region will include Japan and Maldives, including South Korea.

"We are eyeing to set up city hotels in Tokyo and Yokohama in the longer term. Japan would definitely be on our radar," Won said.

BLand has a joint venture, also, in Maldives to build 90 to 100 chalets under the Ritz brand for US$125 million (RM433.7 million).

Its partners in the venture are Ritz Carlton and Far East Consortium International Ltd, holding 33 per cent and 10 per cent interest, respectively.

Berjaya Hotels & Resorts may operate the properties for BLand and its partners.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

LCL to bid for more jobs in Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: LCL Corp Bhd will shift its focus to bid for more interior fit-out (IFO) contracts in cash-rich Abu Dhabi, after the completion of IFO jobs in major projects like Atlantis The Palm Hotel, Dubai Metro System, Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Hotel in Dubai, said group managing director Datuk Low Chin Meng.

Given the current slowdown in the construction sector in Dubai, he said: “LCL does not want to miss out on the opportunities in Abu Dhabi’s bustling construction sector.”

“LCL will aggressively bid for IFO projects in Abu Dhabi particularly in government-funded projects such as hospitals, universities and clinics,” Low told a group of Malaysian journalists visiting LCL’s existing projects in Dubai and potential projects in Abu Dhabi as well as some top Malaysian government officials based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The group will also be looking at setting up strategic partnerships with Malaysian construction and property companies as well as Middle Eastern groups with investments in UAE and other countries in the Gulf region.

Unlike the tight liquidity situation in Dubai following the global economic downturn, Abu Dhabi is actively forging ahead with mega projects such as commercial and residential buildings, roads, airport and rail systems estimated to be worth a whopping US$208bil.

The top 10 construction projects in Abu Dhabi include the US$40bil Khalifa City, which is similar to Malaysia’s Putrajaya, the US$39bil Yas Island tourist development, Burooj Properties’ US$24bil real estate community project and Saadiyat Island’s offshore development worth US$28bil.

There is also the US$22bil Masdar City, the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, the US$18.5bil mixed hospitality development Al-Raha Beach Complex, the US$7.5bil Al Reem Island mixed development and US$3bil Abu Dhabi Light Rail Project and a MGM Grand Hotel.

On the status of LCL’s IFO projects in Dubai, Low said: “We hope to complete most of our existing projects before year-end and are also in the process of recovering our claims and entitlements from property developers in Dubai estimated at not less than RM200mil.

“We have a strong case to make these claims and expect these claims to materialise in the next eight to 10 months. This will lead to a substantial reduction in our high borrowings currently.”

LCL has seen three consecutive quarters of losses.

For the second quarter ended June 30, it posted a net loss of RM18.1mil on revenue of RM105.6mil.

Low believes LCL will be looking at a better second half and hopefully a stronger fourth quarter to stay in the black this fiscal year.

Although LCL is consolidating its business in Dubai, he is confident that recovery in the emirate’s construction sector will likely take place next year.

According to the latest data by Dubai-based Real Estate Regulatory Agency, almost three-quarter of property development in Dubai have made construction progress despite the slowdown.

Of 552 projects, more than 72% showed some construction progress, while 17% were “stalled” and 11% “delayed.”

Jones Lang LaSalle, the world’s leading real estate investment and advisory firm, late last month said Dubai and Abu Dhabi were among the best positioned to attract long-term investment to their real estate markets over the next two to three years, noting that Dubai had made “considerable progress” towards recovery since last year.

The positive views on Dubai and Abu Dhabi are shared by Malaysian Ambassador to UAE Datuk Yahaya Abdul Jabar, Dubai-based Matrade senior trade commissioner Dzulkifli Mahmud and Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (Exim Bank) managing director Mohd Fauzi Rahmat.

Dzulkifli said UAE was Malaysia’s largest export market in the Middle East with exports worth RM12.4bil posted in 2009 from RM2.93bil in 2008.

Malaysia’s major exports to UAE include jewellery, electronic and electrical products and palm oil.

“Malaysian companies are well regarded in Dubai as having good reputation in terms of their on-track delivery and good quality products,” he said.

Fauzi said Exim Bank had been assisting Malaysian companies seeking facilities to undertake investments in the Middle East and African countries.

“To date, 10% of Exim Bank’s business is in the Middle East. So far, the bank has approved some RM365mil facility for this market,” he said.

Yahaya commended LCL’s performance in Dubai amid the tight credit situation there.

He said the company had set the benchmark for Malaysian companies operating in Dubai.

By The Star (by Hanim Adnan)

Affordable home policy mulled

PENANG: The Penang Government is looking into the implementation of a new housing policy that will mark the end of the construction of low-cost flats in the state.

Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman said current trends were leaning toward affordable homes.

“We are not thinking anymore of low-cost flats, we are thinking about affordable homes now,” he told reporters when attending a housing forum organised by the Bukit Gelugor Residents’ Welfare Association in George Town yesterday.

Mansor said the affordable houses would still be in the price range of the lower income group — be it the urban and semi-urban or the rural areas.

“There is a demand for affordable homes and I think that those from the low-income group, who are the target (of this new policy), can afford homes from RM60,000 to RM100,000.

“We have to add more of these houses and the state needs to create more affordable houses in every district,” he said, adding the houses should be at least 850 sq ft.

Mansor said the state executive council was currently trying to resolve issues pertaining to squatter and strata title issues in the state and this should be concluded by the end of the month.

“We are thinking about a new (housing) policy and are currently discussing it at the state executive council meeting.

“There are 160,000 unresolved strata title cases in Penang and after we finish looking into that, we hope to come up with some kind of policy suggestion for housing.

“Come November, we can begin discussions and by January, I think we can kick off the policy,” he said.

Speaking to reporters at the same function, state PKR chairman Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim described some of the current low-cost flats as “unliveable” and urged the state to look into improving houses for the lower-income group.

“Houses that are between 550 sq ft and 600 sq ft are not livable and should not be encouraged,” he said, adding that houses should be a minimum of 900 sq ft for comfortable living.

On the state’s plan to raise the density in certain places in Penang, Zahrain said he supported the decision.

“I totally agree. Land is scarce in Penang and sticking to 20-year-old policies are not relevant anymore.

“But we don’t want the creation of slums. If the density is too high, there will be social problems,” he said.

By The Star

China seeks more bilateral trade

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and other developing countries need to know the right approach to woo China to secure more business opportunities, says China chief representative of the Economist Group and Directory of Advisory for Economist Intelligence Unit Steven Xu Sitao.

“China is still looking for more bilateral trade with other developing countries such as Malaysia for various businesses in real estate and as a source of natural resources for the country (China) ...,” Xu said on Saturday at the International Real Estate Federation (Fiabci) Malaysia Global Summit 2009.

Xu who presented a paper on “From Boom to Bubble – Impact of Growth in China’s Real Estate Sector” said the stimulus package by China recently had shown some result that the property market had escaped the downturn and Chinese consumers continued to buy houses.

He said financial liberalisation was the key to China’s sustainable development and this need to be done in a fast pace.

“By strengthening the financial liberalisation, more small and medium enterprise companies will have the opportunities to get more capital from the banks as compared with the current situation where lending is tight because banks are under government’s control,” Xu said.

He added less political influences by the Government to banks would attract more foreign investors to do business in the country.

During a panel discussion, Fiabci Asia Pacific Regional Secretariat chairman/ Fiabci World President 2005 - 2006 Datuk Alan Tong Kok Mau said total cooperation between public and private sector was crucial to gain sustainable business during the current uncertainty.

“We are fortunate that the current economic slowdown is not as bad as in 1997 financial crisis where lot of developers were out of business,” Tong said.

By The Star (by Edy Sarif)

CapitaLand to list retail unit in Singapore

CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest developer, plans to list its CapitaLand Retail Ltd subsidiary in Singapore to tap growth in Asia’s shopping mall industry.

CapitaLand Retail will be renamed CapitaMalls Asia Ltd. and will have stakes in and manage malls valued at S$20.3 billion (US$14.4 billion) as of June 30, the company said in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange today. The unit will take control of CapitaLand’s retail real estate fund and property trust management business.

“The proposed listing of CapitaMalls Asia is consistent with CapitaLand Group’s approach of optimizing business growth with prudent capital management,” chairman Richard Hu said in the statement. “This transaction is also a logical evolution of CapitaLand’s business model and will allow us to accelerate our next phase of growth.”

Chief executive officer Liew Mun Leong has said CapitaLand wants to expand its real-estate services business along with the main property development operations. The listing of the unit follows offerings in other units including CapitaMall Trust and CapitaCommercial Trust in Singapore since 2002.

CapitaMalls Asia’s portfolio includes 59 completed malls in China, Malaysia, Japan, India and Singapore, including the Ion Orchard development on the city-state’s Orchard Road shopping strip. Another 27 properties are currently being developed.

CapitaMalls Asia will also take a 15 per cent stake in Raffles City China Fund, which has stakes in four Raffles City- branded developments in the nation, according to the statement.

By Bloomberg

Bina Puri working hard to fatten up its order book

BINA Puri Holdings Bhd, one of Malaysia's largest construction groups with RM4.2 billion jobs in hand, will continue to aggressively tender for new projects to sustain growth in earnings and bring the group to a higher level.

It has ongoing projects in Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, Brunei and Abu Dhabi, but is aiming for more work in the existing markets to keep its business in the local and overseas sectors moving, group managing director Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng said.

Tee said in an interview with Business Times recently that it will submit bids for construction projects worth more than RM2 billion a year.

Bina Puri, involved in construction, property, highway concession, quarry and manufacturing, is targeting public and private sector projects.
Locally, it is looking to bid for jobs from the new permanent low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Sepang, the light rail transit (LRT) extension works, road and highway projects, housing and building construction.

"There are a lot more projects to award under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. Many have not been executed as a lot of time is spent negotiating and finalising details of the contracts with the relevant ministries, before the letters of award are issued," Tee said.

Tee said as the company will be finishing some of its projects in Pakistan, Abu Dhabi and Thailand over the next three to eight months, it is working hard to replenish its order book.

Tee added that Bina Puri should be able to secure more than 30 per cent of the bids as its proposals are usually more competitive and it has strong networking.

He said the group has letters of intent for four projects now, worth RM410 million, and it is working to convert them into letters of award soon.

This year alone it has won projects in Malaysia, Brunei and Pakistan to the tune of RM1.15 billion. Its biggest win was a RM693 million job to build 2,000 houses in Brunei.

In 2006 and 2007, Bina Puri secured projects worth RM1.6 billion and RM1.42 billion respectively.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Bina Puri sees 20pc growth in net profit, revenue

BINA Puri Holdings Bhd expects net profit and revenue to grow by as much as 20 per cent in the current year, helped by some RM1.15 billion of new jobs it has won this year, and also from contributions of existing works.

It has RM2.4 billion worth of projects in hand, which have yet to be booked into its accounts, group managing director Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng said.

For fiscal 2008, Bina Puri posted a net profit of RM4.3 million on revenue of RM676 million.

Bina Puri has been profitable since its establishment in 1975 and its revenue has been growing steadily by 10 to 15 per cent, especially after listing in 1995.
Its net profit has always been single-digit, but Bina Puri is now aiming for double- digit earnings.

"This year would definitely be better for Bina Puri. The price of raw materials have stabilised and the projects in hand are starting to contribute significantly to our earnings. A lot of our projects are fast track," Tee told Business Times.

He said the most significant contribution in the future will be from its Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway (KSE) project, which it expects to complete by mid-2011.

The company holds the design-and-build contract, worth almost RM1 billion, for the KSE Package 1 and 2 and it will start to contribute to earnings from 2015.

Bina Puri was founded by Dr Tony Tan Cheng Kiat, who is related to Tee, and his partner. Tee was roped into Bina Puri in 1983.

Both Tan and Tee hold 37 per cent of Bina Puri while Bumimaju Mawar Sdn Bhd, controlled by Tan Sri Tong Yoke Kim and son Datuk Andrew Tong So Han, holds 19.27 per cent stake.

Bina Puri started with a small building contract for the police station and staff quarters in Kepong for the Public Works Department.

It evolved from a class "BX" licence contractor to class "A" industry leader in September 1985.

The company expanded its business activities in 1995 to include property development, highway concessionaire, quarry operations, manufacturing of construction materials and polyurethane system house.

Its first overseas venture was in 1999 and it has since completed many highway and housing projects in India, China, Nepal and Thailand.

By Business Times

Promotions galore

The Valley TTDI in Ampang: A residential development by Naza TTDI.

Even with the economy showing signs of mending, property developers are continuing to woo buyers with special housing packages/promotions to boost sales.

Some of these come in special loan packages, others through lucky draws and freebies like housing appliances such as air-conditioners and wardrobes. And evidently, they are working.

MK Land Holdings Bhd is one of them. Properties under the group such as Metropolitan service apartments block D, Metropolitan block D (retail and office), Metropolitan block C (residential units), Armanee Terrace block B (duplex condominium), Rafflesia phase 1 (3-storey semi-D bungalows) and Rafflesia phase 2 (3-storey semi-D bungalows) are offering freebies to buyers until end of this month.

Chief operating officer Fatimah Wahab says response has been encouraging since the offers for the properties kicked off on Sept 1.

“We are giving 7% discount to bumiputra buyers, early bird discount up to 5%, free kitchen cabinets with hob and hood, free air-conditioner units in the living hall and all rooms, free wardrobe for the master bedroom and free legal fees to buyers of our Metropolitan block C residential units,” he says.

Since the launch of Metropolitan block C last month, she says, about 30% of the units have been sold. As for the Metropolitan service apartments block D, there is a discount of up to 10%, free legal fees, waiver for legal fee for sales and purchase agreement (SPA) and a booking fee of only RM1,000. In addition, under its “buyer get buyer scheme”, if an existing purchaser recommends someone else to buy a property from the company, the introducer will get an incentive of up to a maximum of RM10,000, depending on the purchase.

Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd meanwhile is offering special housing packages and freebies for its luxury development, The Valley TTDI in Ampang.

Senior general manager for marketing and sales Myrzela Sabtu says among the incentives offered to buyers are free stamp duty and legal fees, zero interest during construction, financing up to 95% and free solar heater.

“The promotion, which runs from Sept 1 till Nov 1, has so far received encouraging response from buyers. We’ve manage to achieve slightly more than 50% sales to-date aided by this promotion,” she says.

Another property developer, LBS Bina Group Bhd, is offering a lucky draw contest dubbed “I Love MyHome” to buyers apart from its LBS Hassle Free Home Ownership Programme. The contest is open to all buyers of LBS’ properties from February 2009 to February 2010.

“The total prizes for this lucky draw is RM200,000. The grand prize is a Perodua Viva car while the first prize is a Kriss 120 Sports motorcycle. There are other attractive prizes to be won too,” says a LBS spokesperson, adding that the company also offers other incentives such as free furniture and fittings and 12 months security fee waiver for buyers of its Town Villa at Taman Tasik Puchong.

“The incentives under our LBS Hassle Free Home Ownership Programme includes free SPA legal fees and free SPA disbursement fees. Buyers need only to pay RM1,000 for down payment,” he adds. LBS is the developer of Bandar Saujana Putra in Kuala Langat and Bandar Putera Indah in Batu Pahat. It also has projects in Cameron Highlands.

TH Properties Sdn Bhd, which is developing Bandar Enstek near Sepang, is offering special packages for buyers of its De’siran (2-storey terrace) and Matahari C & D (2-storey bungalow) homes.

In an email reply to StarBizWeek, chief executive officer Zaharuddin Saidon says the company is offering free SPA legal fees for both developments.

“Apart from that, the company is offering free 12 months Streamyx subscription and free home alarm security system for those who buy our De’siran and Matahari C & D units,” he says, adding that the promotions are ongoing until all units are sold.

Is this enough to get buyers to come out in droves to buy their properties? Maybe not but it certainly adds to the pull factor.

Potential house buyer Wan Harris Amir Wan Mohamed Nor, who is an engineer, says freebies are not a priority for him. “They serve as a complement but as a first time house buyer, the most important thing for me is the financial package offered by the developers,” he says.

As for Md Ridzuan Hanafiah, who is looking for a house currently, while he lauds the move by developers to woo customers, his main wish is that developers do not compromise the quality of their offerings given the soft property market. “That is most important,” he says.

By The Star (by Edy Sarif)

E&O bullish on second phase of St Mary Residences

KUALA LUMPUR: Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) is optimistic about the take-up for its St Mary Residences Phase 2 serviced apartments, says executive director Eric Chan.

“Interest has been good. We feel it is timely for investors to enter the Malaysian market in view of the recent (property) rally in Singapore and Hong Kong,” he told StarBizWeek yesterday.

Chan said the company had been promoting the project, launched on Thursday, in several countries, namely Singapore, Hong Kong and China, and was targeting to sell 30% of Phase 2 (or Tower A) by tomorrow.

“We hope to attract buyers from Singapore and Hong Kong who ‘missed the boat’ during the property rallies in their respective countries,” he said.

St Mary Residences is located at the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s central business district along Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan P. Ramlee and Jalan Tengah. Tower A will comprise 288 luxury condominiums.

The units are smaller than most serviced residences within the KL city centre, with its one-bedroom units starting at 1,100 sq ft.

“Since the global financial crisis, rental budgets for expatriates have been slashed. St Mary Residences offers smaller but luxurious units at lower rentals, yet the units have a spacious feel,” said Chan. The one-bedroom units are priced from RM1.1mil.

Phase 1 (Tower C) was targeted at mostly local buyers and E&O achieved a 75% take-up rate in just 10 days when it was launched in June, Chan said, adding that he did not expect a similar rally for Phase 2.

“Many of the purchasers for Phase 1 comprised repeat customers who knew our products and brand well, so the speed of the acquisitions was quicker. Because Phase 2 is being targeted at the regional market, take-up will probably take longer.”

He said the local property was still a favourable investment for foreigners despite the current economic downturn.

“Malaysia has a sound financial system, stable economy, low cost of living and a favourable exchange rate. What’s more, properties here are among the cheapest in the region.

“With the recent economic stimulus and liberalisation policies, we expect a lot of foreign direct investment for Malaysian residential properties,” he said.

E&O will also be offering attractive packages (for Phase 2), such as a 10:90 financing scheme, zero interest during construction, free stamp duty upon transfer and free loan legal fee.

Tower A would be fully furnished, Chan said. “This makes it hassle free for our customers.”

There will also be 34,000 sq ft of retail space that will be annexed into Tower A.

“We are looking at setting up a spa, laundry and food and beverage centres – outlets that would add to the convenience of our residents,” he said, adding that Towers A and C would have a combined gross development value of RM750mil, and construction was expected to be completed by 2012.

By The Star (by Eugene Mahalingam)

Timely reminder to builders on safety features

Malaysians can count ourselves lucky as the country is sheltered from major natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes and we have relatively safe abodes and buildings that do not easily collapse when there are tremors.

We are also not near the Pacific Rim of Fire that is notorious for huge earthquakes and tsunamis although we could still feel tremors during Wednesday’s earthquakes in Samoa and Indonesia.

Earthquakes measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale in Sumatra and 8.3 in Samao resulted in many fatalities and extensive damage to buildings.

With the increasing frequency of such natural disasters, it is important for local property industry players to look for ways to reinforce their projects and incorporate more safety measures to ensure the property they design and build, especially high-rise buildings, are able to withstand tremors and earthquakes.

Facilities to accommodate mass evacuation of occupants of high-rise buildings should also be a top priority of building designers.

As big earthquakes are usually followed by tsunamis and high waves, property should not be built too near the shorelines and there should be high reinforced walls as a first line of defence to shelter these property should another tsunami like the one in 2004 strike.

Otherwise, generally the country has quite a conducive environment for the people to enjoy a good standard of living, at a relatively affordable cost.

Although there is still room for improvement in the country’s infrastructure system, we should be thankful for the clean water, regular electricity supply, and good roads and highways, among other things. We will appreciate what we have better by visiting other “less privileged” countries.

As far as housing is concerned, the people have a wide choice of residential property to choose from. They can either opt for high-rise living or stay in landed residences in the many housing schemes.

Hopefully, prices of goods and services will not skyrocket once the economic downturn caused by the global financial crisis is reigned in and the economy returns to growth.

We should learn from the experiences of other countries whose economies have suffered badly due to excesses which included over-priced and over-speculative property markets.

The massive loans taken out for property purchases and the resulting sub-prime loans would not have happened in the US if the banks there had been more vigilant in ensuring only those who have stable income streams and ability to repay their loans are approved for loans.

So, our well regulated banking system that required a lender to be employed or has a business with a minimum level of monthly income, has at least one guarantor and collateral to support their loan application, could have saved our financial system from a systemic failure this time around.

Prudence is the key word and should not be compromised for high business turnover.

As far as property prices are concerned, the global crisis would not have resulted in such major losses in the property value like those seen in some major European cities had real estate prices remained anchored to fundamentals.

Property prices are a function of demand and supply and a host of other factors including the people’s purchasing power and their affordability, prospects for growth of an area and standard of infrastructure facilities.

So far, property prices in the country have been reflective of actual market situations and have not hit the roof like those in some countries.

Both buyers and developers have important roles to play to ensure the market stays balanced and does not move into either extremes of a spiralling downward or upward trend.

Whether the global economy manages to pull off a V-shaped recovery or has to contend with a double V (double dip or W) will only be known in the coming months or possibly years.

With such uncertainties, there will still be caution in the market and the people will continue to watch their expenditure.

Developers should always strive to raise the standards and quality of their property products to ensure they are saleable as buyers today have many choices to choose from.

Needless to say, industry players that continue to innovate and are trendsetters in the various market sectors – from the lower priced to medium and higher-priced projects – will stand out from the rest to attract buyers.

Deputy news editor Angie Ng is appreciative of her landed residence and will not be moving to a high-rise dwelling any time soon.

By The Star (by Angie Ng)

Surging Singapore home prices lead to bubble fears

SINGAPORE: Singapore pri-vate home prices surged 15.9 per cent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, the biggest jump this decade, government data showed yesterday, highlighting fears about a property market bubble.

Worries about dangerously inflated house prices in Asia being fanned by record low interest rates have led to speculation that countries including South Korea and Australia could move to tighten monetary policy.

Singapore last month acted to cool the property market by releasing more land and making it harder for home buyers to defer payments, but analysts said policymakers were likely to hold off on further steps for fear of derailing a still patchy economic recovery.

Singapore home prices started rising in Q2, analysts say, contrary to a 4.7 per cent decline for that quarter shown in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's index, which is not seasonally adjusted.
Huge crowds have been snapping up units at new residential launches in Singapore, with reports of buyers queuing for hours and leaving blank cheques with agents to secure properties.

"The numbers are backing up the anecdotal evidence we've seen - if anything they are understating it," said Vishnu Varathan, an economist at 4CAST in Singapore. "Policymakers will be acutely aware of the risks of tightening too fast... At this point I think they will wait and see."

Varathan and most economists expect the Monetary Authority of Singapore to keep policy neutral when it releases its half-year policy statement later this month. Singapore forecasts its economy will contract 4-6 per cent this year and sees a subdued recovery likely continuing in 2010.

Prices of government-built apartments, which house about 85 per cent of Singaporeans, rose 3.2 per cent in the third quarter from April-June, faster than the 1.4 per cent gain in the second quarter, raising the floor for private home prices.

Some analysts think rising house prices in Singapore, Hong Kong and China are yet to peak, given a preference for property among investors and a faster-than-expected economic recovery.

By Reuters

UM Land gets nod for land acquisition

Seri Austin, a residential development of UM Land in Johor.

KUALA LUMPUR: Shareholders of United Malayan Land Bhd (UM Land), at its EGM, have approved the purchase of 629.25 acres in Bandar Pulai Jaya, Johor, for RM233mil cash.

As per earlier reports, the company said in a statement yesterday that the land would be for a proposed mixed development.

It will comprise industrial and technology parks, commercial, logistics and transportation hubs as well as supporting residential components.

Shareholders also approved UM Land’s proposal to jointly develop the land with Tradewinds Johor Sdn Bhd (via a 51:41 joint-venture company, Extreme Consolidated Sdn Bhd, held by UM Land and Tradewinds respectively).

The proposed development is estimated to take five years from completion of the proposed acquisition with a gross development value of RM718mil.

A local property analyst contacted by StarBiz said the venture was a good move, despite the sluggish residential property market in Johor.

“The project will take a few years to be developed and the residential property market would have bounced back by then,” he said, adding that he expected a turnaround by the middle of next year.

“Furthermore, UM Land has the holding power to not launch any projects at the moment,” the analyst said.

Payment for the land acquisition would be made under a deferred arrangement over a two-year period.

By The Star (by Eugene Mahalingam)

UMLand andTradewinds Johor team up

Property developer United Malayan Land Bhd (UMLand) has teamed up with Tradewinds Johor Sdn Bhd to jointly develop a RM718 million mix-used development in Bandar Pulai Jaya, Johor.

Under the deal, UMLand will hold a 51 per cent stake in the joint-venture company called Extreme Consolidated Sdn Bhd, while Tradewinds Johor will take the rest.

UMLand yesterday received shareholders' nod to buy the 254.5ha land for RM233 million cash.

The proposed mix development will feature industrial and technology parks, commercial, logistics and transportation hubs and supporting residential components. It is estimated to take five years to complete.
This planned development is expected to generate profits of about RM262 million over a period of five years.

By Business Times

Berjaya Land lines up slew of new launches next year

Property developer Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) has lined up a slew of new launches this year and next as it sees signs of recovery in the local property market.

It has 10 projects in hand worth some RM1.2 billion.

"Based on the sales of properties at our ongoing developments, we believe the market is heading back to normal. Next year will be more exciting for us as we will introduce new product launches," BLand senior general manager of properties and marketing, Mah Siew Wan, told Business Times in an interview.

The company plans to launch a RM150 million residential project called "Covillea" in November, within its 160ha Bukit Jalil development in Kuala Lumpur.
Covillea comprises two blocks of apartments totalling 308 units, priced from RM400,000 per unit.

"We will launch five or six more projects in phases at our Bukit Jalil development over the next few years. Bukit Jalil is a mature township. It has a golf course and is located 15-20 minutes away from the city and we are confident of the take-up rate," Mah said.

BLand is one of the earliest developers in Bukit Jalil. It bought the 160ha land before the Sukom 98 games.

To date, it has used 64ha for an 18-hole golf course and a clubhouse to spearhead developments in the area.

BLand has been active in opening up new projects to sell, despite the slow market sentiments and economic uncertainties.

It had opened for sale five projects in the Klang Valley since the first quarter of this year.

They are Savanna 2 @ Bukit Jalil, comprising four blocks of condominium villas worth RM32.5 million, The Peak @ Taman Tar featuring 88 bungalow lots worth RM354.4 million, and Vasana 25 @ Seputeh Heights, consisting of three bungalows and 22 link villas worth RM150 million.

The other two projects are Hazel 2 @ Shah Alam, comprising 87 units of terraced houses worth RM32 million, and 1 Petaling @ Sg Besi, featuring a 21-storey building with 250 units of condominiums and 32 units of shoplots, worth RM73 million.

BLand has achieved 20-25 per cent sales from the properties, but for 1 Petaling, 50 per cent of the units have been sold, Mah said.

She believes that sales will improve, given that people are starting to look for new homes.

BLand has other projects like The Link @ Bukit Jalil, featuring three and four storey shop offices, Kinrara Mas Shop Apartment in Puchong, Seputeh Heights with 103 bungalow lots, and Kuantan Perdana, comprising 37 units of shopoffices.

The properties are worth around RM350 million and 80-95 per cent have been sold.

BLand, a Berjaya Corp Bhd unit, posted net loss of RM102.15 million last year, compared with net profit of RM1.11 billion a year ago due to the absence of exceptional gains.

Revenue, however, jumped nearly threefold to RM4.2 billion, mainly due to higher contribution from the gaming business arising from the full year consolidation effect of Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)