Sharpening realtors skills

DESPERATE times call for creative measures and as the country’s property sector has softened somewhat, it has become more challenging to close sales as realtors are increasingly rethinking how to do things differently.

For real estate agency Reapfield Properties Sdn Bhd, the current downturn serves as a good opportunity to train its agency force, senior vice-president Gerard Kho said.

From left: Reapfield Properties director Ronnie Fernandez, president David Ong, senior vicepresident Gerard Kho and director Roland Low at the company’s Annual Business Conference on Mar 26, 2009.

“This is the best time to do it because our agents will not be so bogged down with transactions. It is a great opportunity to sharpen our axes and be well prepared when the market picks up,” he said at the company’s recent Annual Business Conference.

Kho said one of Reapfield’s prime focus was to train its agents to better interact with its clients.

“We’re encouraging our agents to learn how to speak to clients in the right way and to portray themselves in the right manner to achieve the optimal customer experience. With the market now, we can’t just be good enough – we have to be excellent in what we do.

“We also need to teach our people to address the present concerns of buyers. If they are not well trained, they would not be able to pass on the message that now is actually a good time to invest in property, given the lower interest rates,” he said.

Kho also said Reapfield would be focusing on developing its relationship with its existing clients.

“In times like this it’s hard to get new customers. It is more important to look back at our old clients. In the last five years we’ve served over 30,000 clients. That’s 30,000 people that we have already and that we can work with right now. We cannot look for new people if we cannot take care of the clients whom we have transacted with,” he said.

Kho also said Reapfield would be incorporating new technological tools to allow its agents to track its exciting clients better.

“We want to lift the industry up to a very high standard so that people will be able to trust us and have the confidence to invest in property and be able to off-load it as well,” he said.

Reapfield currently has about 500 agents and over 30 offices in Malaysia. About 90% of its business is in the secondary market focused within the Klang Valley area.

Reapfield director Roland Low noted that there has been a slowdown in transactions since the last quarter of 2008 and first two months of this year. However, he attributed the slowdown to buyers being more cautious with their spending.

“It is because of the adverse news we’ve been seeing and reading everyday. But having said that the market is still active. We are still seeing a lot of activities in a lot of areas within the residential sector.

“There is a lot of focus on high-end areas like KLCC and Mont Kiara where you hear observers say that transactions have dropped,” Low said, adding that there were still a reasonable number of transactions for properties in prime areas like Bandar Utama, Subang Jaya, Damansara Heights, Bangsar and Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

PPC International Sdn Bhd executive director Thiruselvam Arumugam says the current downturn serves as a good time to ‘touch base’ with its existing and previous clients.

“We take the opportunity to get in touch with our clients now because during good times we hardly have time to do so,” he says, adding that his agents still had lots of work to do despite an economic slowdown.

“We are all still pretty busy. People still have money and are still buying. My office is near Sogo and I always see people with shopping bags,” he laughs.

Thiruselvam also says his agents were always subjected to ‘on-the-job’ training and constantly learning to stay ahead of the competition.

PPC International has offices in Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Penang and Alor Star.

SK Brothers Realty Sdn Bhd general manager Chan Ai Cheng says when there is an economic downturn, everyone just needs to work harder.

“Now would be a good time to focus on our strengths and focus on what we are good at. We need to improve our service quality because we cannot compromise on quality, especially during a downturn.

“Both buyers and sellers will need more assistance and we need to be more patient and help them to close sales.”

Chan says it was also hiring more people and plans to penetrate new markets this year.

“We are very Klang Valley-based and want to explore more outstation transactions,” she says, adding that it had regular training programmes for its people. “Training has always been our forte. We have half an hour training sessions everyday.”

By The Star (by Eugene Mahalingam)

Developers must know what buyers want when they return

WITH competition in the property industry set to intensify again once the economy and demand for property starts to recover in the next few months, developers need to get their act together and look for more ingenuous ways to serve buyers better.

Instead of just going ahead to unload their products in the market, they should do some serious “soul searching” and find out what exactly property buyers are looking for and what they can do to meet those needs.

After a pretty dull market for almost a year since the impact of the global financial crisis hit the country’s shores, injuring the confidence level, there have been very few project launches as developers “rolled up their sleeves” and deferred many of their projects to minimise their financial exposure.

Developers should be commended for this decisive move that prevented a flood in property products at a time when demand has simply evaporated. This has contributed towards stabilising property prices compared with the “free fall” experienced in many markets.

The deferment of projects resulted in a 72% plunge in total new housing launches in the third quarter last year to 4,966 units from 17,975 units in the first quarter of 2008. This has helped address the demand-supply imbalance over time and stabilised prices.

While the mass market is holding out quite well with positive response to the various housing packages from developers, the take-up for high-end property products such as bungalows and luxury condominiums is still soft. By deferring their projects, developers are also able to conserve their cashflow and keep themselves afloat during the unprecedented economic crunch that started in the United States early last year.

With some positive signs that are being widely read as early signals that the global economy may be bottoming out and will be bouncing back soon, industry players must be waiting eagerly to get back into the business of launching and building projects.

The recovery in the local stock market will generate some positive wealth effect. Confidence among the people is also expected to surge again as the effects of the Government’s stimulus packages start to kick in.

Having waited out so patiently for the market to stabilise before they move back with more confidence, developers should make good use of the current lull period to undertake an indepth study and research of the market as much have changed since the crisis.

For the good of property buyers and the developers themselves, industry players have to get to the bottom of things on what really matters for buyers these days and in the coming days, and have in place the right products.

Retraining and upgrading the skills and competency of the staff to think out of the box and come out with product plans that are in sync with the market needs and better still products with the “Wow” effect to safeguard buyers, in terms of their welfare and investment returns, will be a good start.

Whether they are the big-time developers with strong financial backing or the smaller developers undertaking small-scale projects, developers should harness their strength and find every possible ways and means to further add value to buyers.

With newspapers swarming with news on fatal snatch thefts, bold daylight burglaries, car-jacking and other crimes, it is important that developers, town planners and the authorities, including local councils and the police, work closely to ensure our neighbourhoods, streets and homes will be safe and secure again.

There is much to be done to spruce up the living environment and make our residential and working places sanctuaries for personal comfort, safety, growth and development.

The concept of Safe Cities should not be just a marketing tool employed to promote projects but should actually be havens for wholesome family living.

● Deputy news editor Angie Ng believes that by planning holistically and making safety a key focus in all their projects, property industry players can be the first line of defence to weed out crime in neighbourhoods.

By The Star (by Angie Ng)

Valuers laud new guidelines

PROPERTY valuers and industry players are generally positive about the amendments on the asset valuation guidelines by the Securities Commission (SC) as announced yesterday.

However, there are concerns over the minimum requirement on the number of years of post-registration experience set on valuers that may halt the growth of the asset valuation industry.

Valuation firms making submissions for asset valuations for public-listed companies must now have at least one equity owner at head office with a minimum of seven years’ post-registration experience.

The firms must also not be issued with more than two sanctions by the SC and Bursa Malaysia in the past three years.

Association of Valuers and Property Consultants in Private Practice Malaysia president James Wong says: “While we appreciate SC’s requirements for higher standards of valuation submission, we want the commission to consider whether the amendments made will result in discrimination of the smaller firms, emerging firms and sole-proprietorships.

“We request that the minimum post-registration experience for equity owner be reduced from seven years to five years.

“We also recommend that firms which have no prior experience and track record but have external valuation experts to assist be given the opportunity to seek approval from SC to submit the valuation for the commission.”

DTZ Nawawi Tie Leung Property Consultants senior director Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin says the move is good to ensure certain level of competence within the industry players but this will also restrict young valuers from being able to carry out asset valuations for the SC.

“With the new guidelines, it will not be easy for new and smaller firms to penetrate the market in asset valuation,” he tells StarBizweek. “This might have an impact on the growth and prospects of the profession.”

Ernest Cheong PTL Chartered Surveyors principal Dr Ernest Cheong says the amendments made is a good move to filter those who are under qualified and inexperienced valuers from undertaking assets valuation worth millions of ringgit for the SC.

“It is a good move but I think it is not stringent enough,” he says.

He opines that any valuer found to misbehave or has been issued a warning letter by the SC should be barred from submitting valuation to the commission for a three-year period after receiving its first sanction.

“If they repeat the same offence, the punishment should be doubled to six years instead. They should be barred for life should they be doing it for the third time,” says Cheong.

He says valuers undertaking asset valuation for the SC, which usually involve asset of public-listed companies, should exercise the utmost professionalism and integrity in view of public interest.

“We fully support the amendments made as this would help prevent property valuers from colluding with public-listed companies’ directors from intentionally over-valuing property assets.”

Under the new guidelines, property valuers carrying out valuations must possess minimum requirement of five years post-registration experience compared with three years previously.

Valuation firms are also required to have sufficient internal controls and procedures, including having an established peer review process and head office that oversees all its branches.

CH Williams Talhar & Wong Sdn Bhd managing director Goh Tian Sui says the stringent requirements imposed by the SC will tighten up the quality of reporting work on asset valuation.

“This is a process we have to go through to have a higher standard of reporting in Malaysia,” he says.

By The Star (by Shannen Wong)

Sunrise mulls keeping cash for strategic buys

Property developer Sunrise Bhd may not pay dividends this year to keep cash so that it can snap up strategic land buys.

The company has a policy of paying 35 per cent of its net profit as dividends. However, its board has yet to decide and it will also consult institutional investors first.

"I personally would like a high dividend payout to shareholders, but this year is different," executive chairman Tong Kooi Ong said.

"Sunrise is being offered tremendous opportunities. Cash kept in the company can come in handy," he told reporters after a briefing on the company's performance in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The group's current net borrowing is RM346.7 million. This is expected to fall further, thanks to future cash flow of unbilled sales. (Unbilled sales are sales that have yet to be booked in its accounts.)
In the nine months to March 31 2009, the group chalked up new property sales of RM247 million despite economic uncertainties.

"We've recorded property sales every single month during this challenging period, even in the last quarter of 2008 when conditions were weakest," Tong said.

On Sunrise's proposed development in Canada, Tong said it will be on a build-and-sell basis. However, the group has not decided on the timing of the launch.

On the home front, property sentiment has improved, with interest rates falling sharply and borrowing costs at just between 3.2 per cent and 3.5 per cent.

Many developers deferred property launches last year, allowing for existing units to be taken up.

"There are signs of nascent economic recovery," Tong said.

"We expect a property boom towards the end of 2011, based on historical two-year lag after the global economy bottoms out at the end of this year."

In its filing to the stock exchange yesterday, Sunrise said its third quarter net profit jumped 48 per cent to RM30.57 million from a year ago, thanks to positive contributions from its Solaris Dutamas, Mont Kiara Meridian, 10 Mont Kiara and 11 Mont Kiara developments.

It is hopeful of performing better than in the last financial year given its substantial unbilled sales of RM970 million as at end-March this year.

By Business Times (by Ooi Tee Ching)

Bungalow project to help Sunrise lower gearing

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunrise Bhd expects to reduce its net gearing level of 37.5% with proceeds from The Residence @ Mont’Kiara project, which has registered bookings totalling RM88.4mil.

As the bungalow development was already completed, all proceeds would immediately reduce the company’s current net borrowings of RM346.7mil, said executive chairman Tong Kooi Ong.

On new projects, he said Sunrise would time and price future property launches based on prevailing market conditions.

“We will take into consideration what the market demands are when establishing our costs and product mix,” he said at an analysts briefing yesterday.

The high-end segment would take longer to recover from the current economic downturn, Tong said, adding that there would be greater demand for affordable properties.

“We have a range of potential projects that we can scale up or down depending on the market situation,” he said.

Among the developments in the pipeline are its MK 20 and MK 28 projects within the Mont’ Kiara area and its Solaris Towers project off Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur.

Tong said Sunrise would launch one of these projects by 2010.

On another note, Tong said the company’s directors had yet to decide whether to declare dividends for the financial year ending June 30.

“We are still undecided. While people buy shares because of the dividends, for this year, we feel that would not be the best decision. We feel our shareholders will benefit more if we invest in assets instead.”

Tong hinted that Sunrise was looking to purchase land for development purposes within Kuala Lumpur but outside the Mont’ Kiara area.

Meanwhile, the company’s net profit for the third quarter ended March 31 surged 48% to RM30.57mil from RM20.64mil in the previous corresponding period.

Revenue rose 5.3% to RM165.22mil against RM156.96mil previously.

The rise was attributed to new sales of some of its property projects, primarily 11 @ Mont’ Kiara and 10 @ Mont’ Kiara. For the nine months ended March 31, Sunrise chalked up new property sales amounting to RM247mil.

“As of March, we have unbilled sales totalling RM965mil which will underpin earnings until end-2011,” Tong said.

By The Star

CIMB: Local real estate deals may fall up to 50% in 2009

DESPITE the impressive rise in the Malaysian stock market in recent days, local real estate supply and demand dynamics still paint a tougher picture for the sector as the nation’s economy braces for a contraction this year.

The combined threats of weaker demand and larger supply of properties have lent credence to analysts’ anticipation that local real estate transaction and prices will fall this year.

The expected decline is, however, not across the board. More glaring examples include luxury condominiums within the Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Mont’Kiara enclaves where prices of high-rise units could tumble up to 40% from their peak.

At the same time, the spotlight also fell on office and retail space, (except hotels), whereby fresh supply could impose downward pressure on occupancy rental and room rates.

CIMB Research wrote in a note yesterday that local real estate transactions and prices could decline in 2009, in line with the projected 3% contraction in the nation’s real gross domestic product (GDP).

Transactions could fall up to 50% in the worst-case scenario, matching the performance seen during the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis, according to CIMB’s note which was released in response to the latest updates by the Valuation and Property Services Department’s (JPPH).

"However, we believe the fall in residential property prices, particularly, for landed properties, will be less than the drop in the overall economy as property prices have lagged behind economic growth since 2001," said CIMB which rated the local sector a trading buy.

According to JPPH’s latest property market report, in 2008, the country’s transaction value rose 14.5% to RM88.34 billion from RM77.14 billion a year earlier.

The growth in the transaction volume was led by agriculture land, and commercial properties, while the rise in transaction value was spurred by development land and agriculture real estate,

Residential properties made up the bulk or 63.7% of total volume, and 46.8% of transaction value. All states registered an increase in volume except for Putrajaya, Kelantan and Melaka.

The decline in the primary market is worth noting. According to JPPH, the number of newly-launched houses fell 7.3% to 48,830 units in 2008 from 52,664 a year earlier, while residential property overhang rose 9.1% to 26,029 from 23,866.

CIMB said the rise in transaction value for development land could mean that developers were actively acquiring landbank.

Based on the historical strong correlation between property sales, and GDP growth, besides the fact that real estate sales lag GDP expansion by about three months, the market is predicting that the country’s property sales could bottom, at the earliest, in the first quarter of 2010.

Real estate, and equity prices tend to move in tandem, although, equities prices tend to reach the equilibrium faster because stocks are deemed easier to liquidate compared to properties.

According to CIMB, the fact that shares of real estate firms were heavily sold down in recent months could mean a potential upside in their prices as the broader market recovers.

"We recommend investing in selected property stocks as they provide investors a leveraged exposure to the stock market.

"We are more bullish about the stock market’s outlook for 2009 and expect the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index to end the year at 1,060 points," said CIMB.

By The EDGE Malaysia

LBS Bina in JV for mixed property project

PETALING JAYA: LBS Bina Group Bhd has formed a joint venture with Astana Modal (M) Sdn Bhd for a 70-ha mixed property development project in Puchong.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, LBS said its subsidiary LBS Bina Holdings Sdn Bhd had been appointed the project manager of the development by Astana.

The project, with a gross development value of RM1bil, comprises 1,100 property units including bungalows, semi-detached homes, superlink houses, luxury condominium and commercial units.

Astana is providing the land while LBS would have to bear the cost of development, to be funded via internally and bank borrowings. The construction is expected to be completed in five years with the profit ratio at 70:30 for LBS and Astana.

LBS said the project, which was expected to contribute positively, would add 70ha to the group’s existing landbank, giving a total of 1,080ha for future growth and profitability.

LBS director and substantial shareholder Badrul Ahmad is also a director of Astana in which he owns a significant stake.

By The Star

LBS Bina clinches deal for Sepang project

PROPERTY developer LBS Bina Group Bhd has clinched a contract as a project manager to carry out a mixed property development project on 70.81ha in Sepang.

The project, which is being developed by Astana Modal (M) Sdn Bhd, has a gross development value of RM1 billion.

LBS said it expects the development to contribute some RM1 billion income to the company over a period of five years.

By Business Times

Property stocks up midday

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets were off their morning’s low at the midday break on May 8 , with the KL Composite Index also following suit on some buying interest in lower priced stocks.

Property stocks were among the major gainers which included Bina Darulaman, Magna, UEM Land, KLCCP and Sunrise.

At 12.30pm, the KLCI was up 0.07 of a point to1,023.54. Turnover was 1.85 billion units valued at RM939.3 million. Advancers led decliners 395 to 227 while 189 stocks were flat.

Light crude oil continued to advance, adding 50 cents to US$57.30. Crude palm oil futures fell RM4 to RM2,616.

Among key Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 9,414.27, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.2% to 17,253.63 while Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.9% to 2,262.22.

Bloomberg reported Japan’s economy was no longer in freefall and would rebound as global demand picks up, according to a member of the government committee that charts the economic cycle.

“The worst is over,” Takao Komine, 62, an economist and professor at Hosei University in Tokyo, said in an interview yesterday. “We’ll probably see the beginning of recovery at the end of this year.”

Property stocks topped the gainers list with Bina Darulaman surging 28 sen to RM1.10 with 1,800 shares done. Magana added 23 sen to RM2.60, UEM Land 18 sen to RM1.38, KLCCP 12 sen to RM3.30 and Sunrise 11 sen to RM1.57.

MISC and Bursa added 15 sen each to RM8.65 and RM7.20 while Petra Energy gained 12 sen to RM1.64 and Dutch Lady 10 sen to RM10.20. Compugates was the most active with 126 million shares done, added 0.5 sen to 15 sen.

BAT was the top loser, down 25 sen to RM41.75 while DiGi and BCHB fell 20 sen each to RM21.80 and RM8.75 while UBG and Top Glove shed 15 sen each to RM2.72 and RM5.80 and Kulim-WB 12 sen lower to RM3.24.

By The EDGE Malaysia

Dubai residential rental prices drop 23pc in Q1

DUBAI (United Arab Emirates): New research has shown Dubai residential rental prices dropped 23 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 as the economic downturn forced foreign workers to pull out of the fast-expanding city.

Yesterday’s report by real estate company CB Richard Ellis has attributed the decline to job losses among expatriates, a drop in tourism and a considerable new supply of homes.

By AP

LBS ties up with Astana for RM1b Sepang project

KUALA LUMPUR: LBS Bina Group Bhd is teaming up with Astana Modal (M) Sdn Bhd (AMMSB) to carry out a mixed property development project worth RM1 billion in Sepang, Selangor on about 175 acres (70ha) of land.

LBS told Bursa Malaysia today the project will comprise a total of about 1,100 units of bungalows, semi-detached houses, superlink houses, luxury condos and commercial units.

AMMSB appointed LBS as project manager to carry out the development.

LBS and AMMSB will share the development profit in the ratio 70:30.

LBS said the project was expected to generate RM1 billion in revenue over the next five years, and contribute positively to its profitability.

For the year ended Dec 31, 2008, LBS posted a net profit of RM15.42 million on the back of RM266.44 million revenue. Earnings per share was four sen.

It said the new development, which brings the group's existing land bank to about 2,700 acres, would place the group in a good position to sustain its growth and profitability.

It said the land was strategically located in Puchong and would be well connected via the LDP and accessible from the Elite Expressway linked by the Cloverleaf Interchange-Putrajaya in the near future.

LBS said the development land was a piece of island-featured land with the bulk of it surrounded by water. "This island feature makes the development land a perfect place for a truly unique island resort living with scenic natural panoramic view of the surrounding lake and the mainland green ranges," it added.

By The EDGE Malaysia

Sunrise records higher profit of RM152m

SUNRISE Bhd recorded a pre-tax profit of RM152.1 million for the nine-month period ended March 31, 2009, a four per cent increase from RM145.6 million seen in the previous corresponding period.

Revenue went up 32 per cent to RM566.6 million, from RM427.7 million previously, it said in a statement.

For the third quarter ended March 31, 2009, the company registered a pre-tax profit of RM42.7 million, a 41 per cent increase from RM30.2 million in the previous corresponding quarter.

However, when compared with the preceeding quarter ended Dec 31, 2008, there was a drop of RM23.9 million in profit, due to a one-off gain of RM18.7 million from sale of office units in Plaza Mont'Kiara recognised in the preceeding quarter.

The prevailing economic conditions have not significantly affected the group's financial accounting performance due to its unbilled sales from ongoing commercial and residential developments, namely Solaris Dutamas, Mont'Kitara Meridin, 10 Mont'Kiara and 11 Mont'Kiara, the company said.

It said the 10 Mont'Kiara and 11 Mont'Kiara projects were also recently awarded the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2009 for Best High Rise Architecture in Malaysia and Best High Rise Development in Malaysia respectively.

The Main Board listed company said it is confident of the current financial year, given its substantial locked-in unbilled sales of RM965 million as at March 31, 2009.

By Bernama

SunCity unit secures RM98mil financing

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) subsidiary Sunway D’Mont Kiara Sdn Bhd (SDMK) has secured RM98mil banking facilities from Public Bank Bhd.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, SunCity said the banking facilities were to part-finance the development cost (including consultation fees) of six blocks of condominiums comprising 228 units under Phase 3 of Kiara Hills known as Vivaldi as well as for SDMK’s working capital.

SDMK has an authorised and paid-up share capital of RM500,000 and RM250,000 respectively, with principal activity being property development

By Bernama

The RM5.2bil Light project to shine on IJM Land

An artist’s impression of The Light Waterfront Penang residential precinct

PETALING JAYA: IJM Land Bhd should see a boost in income with the launch of its flagship project, The Light Waterfront Penang, in the third quarter, analysts said.

The project has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM5.2bil. It has been scheduled for launch in the first quarter but was deferred when the property market softened under the pressure of the global recession.

Located on 61.5ha just off the Penang Bridge on the eastern coastline of Penang island, it will be developed in three phases over 12 years.

AmResearch said with the launch of The Light project, IJM Land’s three-year earnings compounded annual growth rate would be strong at 49% over financial years ending March 31, 2010 to 2012.

“The company’s annual sales are expected to rise from RM750mil in FY10 with the maiden launch of The Light Linear and The Light Point to more than RM1bil in FY11 with the launch of The Light Collection low-rise residences and sea-front bungalows,” it said in a report.

The research house’s earnings estimates are underpinned by unbilled sales of RM700mil and sales of IJM Land’s existing projects, including Seremban 2, S2 Heights, Taman Perling and Bandar Utama Sandakan.

The freehold integrated waterfront residential and commercial development of The Light will comprise 1,177 residences, including waterfront villas and condominiums.

The first phase of the residential series will be The Light Linear, comprising 328 units with built-up from 1,475 to 1,539 sq ft. With prices at around RM400 per sq ft, this phase will have a GDV of RM200mil.

The next phase, The Light Point, offers 88 condominium units with built-up from 1,830 to 4,090 sq ft at a GDV of RM100mil.

Priced around RM500 per sq ft, or an average of RM1mil a unit, the condos will have sweeping views of the Penang Bridge, the marina and George Town city.

Subsequent phases will be The Light Collection with GDV of RM600mil and sea-front bungalows worth RM300mil.

According to IJM Land managing director Datuk Soam Heng Choon, The Light represents the company’s initiative to showcase the best in integrated seafront living with residential, entertainment, business and hospitality in one dynamic hub.

For the project’s construction, IJM Land will leverage on its parent IJM Corp Bhd’s construction expertise.

IJM Corp is a contractor for several high-end condominium projects in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) area such as The Binjai and Commerce Asset’s headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut.

In its report, AmResearch said IJM Land had the attributes of a blue-chip proxy to the listed property sector.

This is given the potential enlargement of its market capitalisation and gradual improvement in its free float from future placements by parent IJM Corp.

“We understand from management that IJM Corp plans to gradually trim its holding in the property vehicle to 60% from the current 77% to promote greater institutional shareholding,” it said.

It added that the move would promote greater trading liquidity in IJM Land’s shares.

Also planned for launch in the third quarter is the Nusa Duta development on 127 acres in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.

The RM320mil project will comprise mainly landed properties priced from RM300,000.

By The Star (by Angie Ng)

Sheung Shui site fetches HK$61m in first land auction in 12 months

The government yesterday sold a small piece of land for twice the floor price in its first auction in almost a year while an official report showed property sales rose to a 10-month high last month, indicating that sentiment may be warming up.

The Sheung Shui site attracted 11 bidders and was sold for HK$61 million, more than double the HK$30 million opening bid, and beat analysts' expectation of between HK$39 million and HK$50 million.

The auction was the first since May last year as developers shied away from buying land amid the weak property market and the global financial turmoil. Surveyors said the aggressive bids showed small developers were hungry for sites although key players were still cautious.

Coda Properties chairman Richard Tong Kwan-ming won the site on the 90th bid. The company plans to invest HK$20 million to turn it into an office with two shops. Since no residential units are planned for the development, Coda will get 40 per cent more space than if flats are added to the project.

As a gross floor area of 22,054 square feet of commercial property can be built on the 3,292 square foot site, the land price will be HK$2,766 per square foot. The location is a former water pump station opposite the Shek Wu Hui Post Office.

Mr Tong has been an active buyer in the investment property market, usually focusing on commercial and luxury residential properties in the urban area.

"I want to invest in urban areas, but there is no choice. So I have to pick the site in a prime location in a suburban area," he said.

"Demand for office and retail space is strong in Sheung Shui, where the parallel-import groups are active. Office rents may reach about HK$20 per square foot."

Auctioneer Chris Mills and property agents said the land sale result would not have an impact on property prices because of the site's small size.

Savills Valuation and Professional Services managing director Charles Chan Chiu-kwok said the site was well received by small developers because of its low investment cost and prime location. "It shows they are desperate for development sites," he said. "But it doesn't mean major developers are also interested in land acquisitions as they remain cautious due to the global financial crisis."

Meanwhile, the Land Registry said 11,148 property units were sold last month, up 38.28 per cent from March or 1.85 per cent from April last year. Sales value surged 41.03 per cent from March to HK$40.32 billion, 20.32 per cent higher than the HK$33.51 billion recorded in April last year. The figure is also a 10-month high since a sales peak of HK$57.48 billion in June last year.

By South China Morning Post

MRCB rises on winning RM239m jobs

MALAYSIAN Resources Corp, a property developer and builder, rose to an 11-month high after RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd said the company won two building contracts valued at RM239 million (US$68 million).

The shares advanced 3.3 per cent to RM1.25, the highest close since June 17. The stock has surged 78 per cent this year, making it the third best performer on the benchmark Composite Index.

“The key new jobs and internal work will underpin construction profits,” RHB said in a report today. RHB increased its target price on the stock to 86 sen from 69 sen, maintaining its “underperform” rating.

The contracts are the first building jobs the company has secured so far this year, increasing its order book to RM2 billion, RHB said.

It raised its profit forecast by 34 per cent for 2010 and 36 per cent for 2011 to reflect higher earnings from construction. Malaysian Resources reported a RM39.3 million loss in the fourth quarter of last year as sales slid.

One of the projects include upgrading a road network of Kuala Lumpur Sentral, which comes under the government’s stimulus package, RHB said. The government unveiled RM67 billion of stimulus measures to help revive economic growth.

Malaysian Resources is the builder of Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Malaysia’s biggest bus and rail transport hub, where it is also constructing offices and condominiums.

The other contract is the “rehabilitation” of a condominium project, the report said.

The company also secured a key tenant for its 40 per cent- owned 348 Sentral, a RM650 million office and serviced apartment project, RHB said. The foreign oil company took 80 per cent of the total office space there, the report said.

Malaysian Resources managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan didn’t answer calls to his mobile phone or immediately respond to a text message.

By Bloomberg

Developers in Negri Sembilan get lifeline

The Negri Sembilan government will be reviewing its bumiputera housing quota policy to assist developers sell unsold bumiputera housing units and shoplots.

Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the review would be restricted to a "one-time" offer and was aimed at helping housing developers survive the economic recession.

"The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) had a discussion with us on this. One of the resolutions discussed was allowing them to sell housing units and shoplots reserved for bumiputeras to non-bumiputeras," he told reporters after the weekly state executive council meeting today.

However, he said it was conditional that houses and shoplots meant for non-bumiputeras must be sold off first.

The current policy requires housing developers to allocate 30 per cent of units built to be sold to bumiputeras at a discounted rate.

By Bernama

Home ownership fair expected to triple PKNS sales

The Selangor State Development Corp (PKNS) aims to triple its sales this year, by offering some 3,400 properties for sale this month and in August.

For the 12 months in 2008, PKNS sold RM220 million worth of properties.

"This year, even though the economy is slow, PKNS will be able to beat the RM500 million mark," said its deputy general manager for administration and development, Md Nasir Md Arshad.

Nasir said PKNS has achieved RM54 million sales for the first four months of the current year.

From May 8 to June 7, PKNS will run the home ownership fair themed Rumah Pilihanku@PKNS, where it will offer for sale 2,300 units of low-, medium- and high-end houses, and 60 units of commercial properties, worth RM456 million.

Nasir said 70 per cent of the properties are new launches in Shah Alam, Kota Damansara and Bangi. The rest are old stocks in Kota Puteri, Antara Gapi and Bernam Jaya, Selangor.

He added that PKNS is optimistic of achieving 65 per cent sales, or RM298 million, by the end of the campaign, and 80 per cent, by end-July.

To boost sales, PKNS is offering home buyers an attractive financial package, which includes RM500 downpayment for every property bought and zero entry cost.

Buyers will also get cash rebates of up to RM20,000, depending on the type of property and location.

Nasir said PKNS is giving away six units of apartments in Klang, worth RM280,000 in total as lucky draws and electronic and household goods.

"Our properties are 10 to 15 per cent cheaper than rivals and there is guarantee that the houses and shop offices will be completed. So we are optimistic of achieving our target for 2009," he said.

Nasir said the August launch will feature some 1,000 new houses worth RM300 million, a bulk of which, will be located in Alam Nusantra, Shah Alam.

PKNS expects to sell 80 per cent of the properties by end-December, he added.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Dubai World to delay new developments

DUBAI: Dubai World said on Sunday it would complete all projects currently under construction but would delay any new developments, including a plan to build the world’s tallest tower, until market conditions improve.

Dubai World unit Nakheel, developer of Dubai’s palm-tree shaped islands, said in January it would halt work on a one kilometre tall tower for a year as the former boomtown suffers from a downturn in its property market.

By Reuters

Iskandar attracts strong interest at Abu Dhabi property expo

ISKANDAR Malaysia drew encouraging response from potential investors in the Middle East during the recent four-day Cityscape Abu Dhabi property exhibition, according to its developer Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB).

IIB managing director Arlida Ariff said there were more than 1,500 visitors to its booth, which showcased the Medini Iskandar Malaysia and Iskandar Waterfront Development projects. The exhibition was held from April 19 to 22,

"We were overwhelmed at the response we received from investors, in spite of the current weak global economy," she said in a statement yesterday. "We will now work hard to translate this positive interest into real investments."

Arlida said Medini Iskandar Malaysia recorded interest from investors from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, South Korea, United States and Lebanon. The main areas of interest were in education, hotel and residential landbanks.

As for the Iskandar Waterfront Development project, the focus were the Iskandar Residences and A2 Villa projects which received interest mainly from UAE investors.

"Despite the global economic slowdown, the Middle East remains one of our main target markets for investment for Iskandar Malaysia," said Arlida.

Part of IIB's delegation at the exhibition was a Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) agent, who received around 50 serious enquiries on the programme.

The MM2H is an international residency scheme promoted by the government to allow foreigners to live in the country on a long-stay visa of up to 10 years.

"The relevance of this programme to the development of Iskandar Malaysia is that we are not just looking for people to buy property but also need the population to build and sustain the development corridor."

More than 300 companies from over 30 countries took part in the property exhibition.

By Business Times (by Shahrum Sayuthi)