Kuok company sells KLCC land for RM150m

A piece of land measuring 0.65ha on Jalan Perak next to Wisma Hong Leong was sold for RM2,200 per sq ft, sources say

A Kuok family company has sold a piece of prime land in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre for some RM150 million, making it the family's second land sale in the past six months.

Sources told Business Times that a piece of land measuring 0.65ha on Jalan Perak next to Wisma Hong Leong was sold for RM2,200 per sq ft.

It is understood that the land is currently being managed as a carpark.

The land is said to belong to Wisma Perak Sdn Bhd. A search with the Companies Commission revealed that Wisma Perak is equally owned by FFM Bhd and Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd. FFM Bhd is wholly owned by agri-business giant PPB Group Bhd.
One source said the land has been sold to a local individual. The land also has a development order for a twin tower structure comprising offices and serviced apartments.

In December 2009, the Kuok family sold a piece of land measuring 43,559 sq ft and a vacant two-storey bungalow for RM87.12 million near the Petronas Twin Towers to Ireka Corp Bhd

The land has two frontages, Jalan Kia Peng and Changkat Kia Peng, and was sold for about RM2,000 per sq ft.

The owners of the land are said to be related to Malaysia's richest man, Tan Sri Robert Kuok.

This land will be developed into a single tower of high-end residences with a net sellable area of 212,650 sq ft. The project is expected to have a gross development value of RM272 million and provide a gross margin of some RM58 million.

By Business Times

A new Kampung Baru

To go: Kampung Baru may soon undergo a facelift now that the Cabinet has approved the redevelopment plan

AFTER five decades in limbo, attempts to redevelop Kampung Baru may soon become a reality as the Cabinet has agreed to the concept and redevelopment plans put forward by the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry.

Its minister, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, said even though the Cabinet had given the green light, nothing has been finalised yet as the ministry would have to meet the stakeholders, including residents and landowners at the end of the month.

He also said he would be meeting the government-linked companies (GLCs) that would be involved in the redevelopment plans.

“There are three components to the redevelopment plans — one of it is that the Cabinet has agreed that Kampung Baru will be developed comprehensively — in totality. No areas will be left out — in other words all landowners will get the same deal.

“Secondly, we will set up a Kg Baru Development Corporation, to be endorsed by Parliament, and thirdly only trustworthy developers from GLCs will be identified for the redevelopment,’’ he said.

Asked if he would be using the same formula for Kampung Baru like the one used in Kerinchi flats, Nong Chik said: “No, the Kerinchi flats is only a small area and its owners are strata title holders. Kampung Baru is a much bigger area and there are multi-owners to one plot of land. And also the developers will not come from the private sector but will be a GLC.’’

However, Nong Chik said the monitoring authority would be the Kampung Baru Development Corporation which would ensure that the village’s rustic and Malay identity as well as the people’s interests would be safeguarded.

He added that the corporation would come under the FT Ministry’s purview.

Nong Chik said the ministry had identified a mechanism to resolve the multiple ownership problem, but added that he was not at liberty to divulge it to the press without speaking to the stakeholders first.

“All I can say is we have various mechanisms, but we have to see which one is most agreeable to the landowners. I will present the full picture when I meet them,’’ he said.

Nong Chik said Kampung Baru must be developed no matter what and that the place would look like a modern township in par with KLCC one day. “The Malay characteristics will be retained but in a modern sense — it will not look like the pasar malam that it is now.

“The whole process of talking to the people, setting up the Corporation and identifying the GLCs will take about six months and once we get these technicalities out of the way — only then we can tackle the legal aspects,’’ he said.

By The Star

SunCity to fortify Penang presence

Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) continues to fortify its reach and presence in Penang with the launch of Sunway Aspera, a freehold residential development at Sungai Batu.

"The estimated gross development value of the project is RM47 million and pricing of units, start from RM495,000 onwards," Suncity said in a statement here today.

The development comprises of 76 units of two-storey and nine units of three-storey terrace homes.

"At Sunway City, we placed great emphasis on developing homes with lush greenery to provide families with a naturally relaxing and comfortable environment, such as Sunway Bukit Gambier and Sunway Tunas," said Managing Director, Property Development Division, Malaysia Sunway City Bhd, Ho Hon Sang.

Apart from Sunway Aspera, SunCity has numerous other exciting projects in Penang, including Sunway Merica and Sunway Prima.

By Bernama

Kumpulan Jetson unit set to form JV

PETALING JAYA: Kumpulan Jetson Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary Jetson Construction Sdn Bhd (JCSB) has entered into a joint-venture agreement with China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) Ltd to form a joint-venture (JV) entity.

The company told Bursa Malaysia that the JV would prepare and submit a tender invited by Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd for the proposed development of a 38-storey building with 10 levels of podium for Platinum Park in Kuala Lumpur.

JCSB will have a 60% stake in the JV, which is aimed at pooling and sharing resources in technical and management skills, finance and equipment.

By The Star

China plans new curb on developers

BEIJING: China is drawing up a new curb on property developers as part of a host of measures to cool the country’s red-hot property market, the state-controlled China Securities Journal reported yesterday.

The plan would ban developers from investing revenue from pre-sales of uncompleted property developments in new projects, it said, citing an unnamed source close to the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry.

By Reuters

Plans to build an Empire of hotels

The Empire Hotel in Subang, Selangor, may be a new player in the market, but plans are already afoot to grow the brand and its business.

The RM60 million hotel is part of the RM250 million Empire Gallery project, which is developed and managed by Mammoth Empire Holdings Bhd.

The Empire Hotel is a 198-room boutique business class hotel that is scheduled to open at the end of this month.

Its general manager, Ng Yee Ming, said the company is looking to open a second boutique hotel in Kuala Lumpur and possibly a third in the suburbs of Selangor.
The group may run as many as three hotels in the next three years.

Although a new hotel brand, Ng feels that it can be successful as the combination of location, product and service will surely lure guests to its doors.

"The hotels will be located in prime areas, and we expect that we will do well with competent people on board," Ng told Business Times in an interview.

"Our focus will be on guest experience," he said, adding that it has hired staff from five-star hotel chain.

The hotel, which has four restaurants, has a lean staff to room ratio of 0.65.

For the maiden Empire Hotel, Ng expects that the hotel will be able to rake in an average room rate (ARR) of between RM230 and RM250 per night and fill 65 per cent of its rooms in the first year of operation.

Should the hotel achieve its projection, it would be a commendable feat, as most hotels in their first year of operations garner about 50 per cent occupancy.

Ng said the optimism stems from the fact that its product is new and the Empire Gallery also houses a mall and offices.

In the first year, the Empire Hotel also aims to achieve gross operating profit (GOP) of 32 per cent. GOP is the gross revenue from rooms, food and beverage, laundry or business centre minus cost of operations like wages, electricity and amenities.

In the second year, the hotel is looking to improve occupancy to 70 per cent and post an ARR of RM250 per night.

The hotel, described as having an artistic feel, plays with a lot of colours. The owners brought in 10 carpenters from China to help with the numerous details in the decoration.

The person behind Mammoth Empire is Datuk Sean Ng and the group's projects include The Ara, The Loft and The Atrium in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. It has also done projects in Senawang, Negri Sembilan, and Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.

By Business Times

Iskandar to hold more roadshows in Singapore

Arlida Ariff meeting participants at the Iskandar Malaysia Forum 2010.

Iskandar targets investments in tourism, leisure, services and property sectors

SINGAPORE: Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) will hold more roadshows in Singapore within the next six months to attract more investors to Iskandar Malaysia.

President and chief executive officer Arlida Ariff said IIB wanted to attract more Singaporeans – who were already making inroads in Iskandar in the education and the health sectors – to the tourism, leisure, services and property sectors.

“There seems to be renewed interest from investors in the republic in Iskandar following the economic recovery both in Singapore and Malaysia,” she told journalists yesterday after presenting a keynote address in the Iskandar Malaysia Forum 2010 jointly organised by IIB and the Institute of South-East Asian Studies.

Arlida said Singapore was one of Iskandar’s top investors with its private companies holding more than RM2.64bil worth of investments in the manufacturing sector.

In fact, long before Iskandar was launched on Nov 4, 2006, Singaporeans already formed a large group of foreign property buyers in Johor and had regarded the state as their second home, she said.

Now, more Singaporean property buyers were attracted to Johor’s real estates, especially with the upcoming business and lifestyle developments that were due to be completed in Iskandar, she said, adding that Singapore investors would normally give their first preference to invest in Malaysia, particularly in Johor, before looking at other areas in the region.

“This is due to the close proximity between Singapore and Johor and historically both countries have been interdependent on each other economically.”

Arlida said the forum was a good platform for potential investors from Singapore to get a first-hand information from IIB on the opportunities in Iskandar and the development taking place in Malaysia’s first economic growth corridor.

She said many participants at the forum wanted to know whether Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was committed to continuing the development in Iskandar as the corridor was the brainchild of his predecessor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

She said stakeholders of Iskandar – the Federal and Johor Governments and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority – and IIB had assured investors that the policies remained unchanged despite the change in leadership.

By The Star

Loh & Loh expects to do better this year

LOH & Loh Corp Bhd, owned by construction outfit UBG Bhd, hopes to do better in the current financial year ending December 31 2010 in view of new projects in hand.

The major jobs it has secured over the past 18 months are RM142 million worth of infrastructure works in Medini in Johor's Iskandar Malaysia and a RM273 million job in the Seremban-Gemas double-tracking railway project.

"We are a healthy company. We should continue to do well this year. Our property development is building up and we expect higher contribution from the division," its chief executive officer Jason Loh said.

Its new projects are Idaman Hills in Selayang, comprising 38 semi-detached homes and 142 bungalows, and The Peak, a high-end residential project in Bandar Sri Damansara, worth more than RM300 million.
Last year the company posted a net profit of RM27.5 million, 16 per cent more than in 2008.

Loh & Loh was set up in 1965 as a civil construction company by the late P. K. Loh.

The company's first contract was for earthworks for a housing project in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, for RM6 million.

The company grew quickly and over the past 45 years has built 15 dams, 48 water treatment plants and over 50 water intakes and pumping stations.

It has also constructed and installed over 250km of large diameter pipelines, and built sewerage plants, river gates, reservoirs, buildings, roads, bridges and golf courses.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Ivory Properties all geared up to join big players

Ivory Properties Group Bhd, one of Penang's top property companies, plans to join other big players in the country by expanding into Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Indonesia.

Its group managing director Datuk Low Eng Hock said the company has been building itself from scratch for the past 11 years and is now setting its sights on projects outside its traditional stronghold.

"We have received numerous enquiries to carry out property projects in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Medan, Indonesia.

"We are in the midst of talking with various parties, including listed property companies, to carry out projects either on a joint venture basis or on our own," Low told Business Times in an interview in Penang.
Soon-to-be listed Ivory expects to raise RM44.9 million via its initial public offering (IPO) slated by June 10, after postponing its listing plans since 2008 due to the weak market situation.

Low said the company's forte include adding value to existing but slow-selling projects as well as rescuing and reviving abandoned projects, rejigging them and then reconceptualising the projects to catch the attention of buyers.

This provides a win-win situation for Ivory, buyers, authorities and the land owners.

"Although land is limited in the Klang Valley, there are many slow- selling projects or abandoned projects which we can turn around together with our joint-venture partners or carry out on our own," he said.

Low added that Ivory plans to grow beyond its "rescue mission", but to do so would require massive capital expenditure which is a handicap for a private limited company such as Ivory Properties.

"That is why we are going for listing to raise money required for our future expansion as well as boost our credibility," said Low, who is a civil engineer by training.

Low said he gets ideas to boost sales of slow-selling properties from looking at newspaper advertisements in countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore, and emulating and inspiring his staff on how property players there do sales as well as come up with revolutionary building designs.

By Business Times

Danajamin guarantees Asian Pac unit’s PDS

PETALING JAYA: Danajamin Nasional Bhd has guaranteed the RM200mil private debt securities programme of Asian Pac Holdings Bhd’s subsidiary, property development company Syarikat Kapasi Sdn Bhd.

In statement, Danajamin said Syarikat Kapasi would be utilising the funds raised to finance the construction of a real estate development project in Kota Kinabalu known as KK Times Square II, which would comprise a retail shopping mall, serviced apartments and shoplots.


Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn says guarantee enables companies to access the bond market for funding

Danajamin chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said Danajamin’s financial guarantee enabled a wide spectrum of companies to access the bond market for funding.

“The increased accessibility allows more companies to raise long-term borrowings to finance their businesses at a reasonable cost of financing,” he said.

Danajamin is the nation’s first financial guarantee insurer, which was established to provide financial guarantee insurance for bond/sukuk issuances to enable viable Malaysian companies to access the bond/sukuk market for capital-raising.

It has approved a total of RM1.7bil guarantees as for to-date for companies in various industries including oil and gas, property and construction, plantation and infrastructure.

By The Star

Aussie home prices surge, set stage for rate rise

SYDNEY: Australian house prices surged 20% in the year to March, the fastest pace on record and a powerful argument for the central bank to raise interest rates this week.

Other data released yesterday showed Australian manufacturing activity running at its fastest pace in eight years, while a private gauge of inflation pointed to percolating price pressures as the economy gained steam.

All of which stoked speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would pull the trigger on another rate rise at its monthly policy meeting on Tuesday, which would be the sixth increase in seven meetings.

“All the various measures of house prices are now growing in the double digits and that’s a major plus for household wealth, consumption, building employment and the like,” said Brian Redican, a senior economist at Macquarie.

“It’s a big tick in the box for a rate hike tomorrow.”

A Reuters poll of 21 analysts taken on Friday found 16 expected the cash rate to be raised 25 basis points to 4.5%, making 150 basis points of policy tightening since October.

Investors were reluctant to bet too heavily on a rate rise, having been burned badly in February when the central bank chose to skip a move.

Interbank futures showed a near 60% chance of an increase while a measure from Credit Suisse put the probability at 66%.

If the central bank does choose to keep its policy rates steady on Tuesday, the market is almost certain it will get to 4.5% in June and then keep nudging up rates to 5% or 5.25% by the end of 2010.

Some had thought that market uncertainty over debt stricken Greece could deter the central bank from raising rates this week, but that risk had diminished after Athens agreed to a 110 billion euro aid deal.

The Australian dollar bounced from its lows on the day following the housing data.

By Reuters

Hunza Properties net profit doubles

PETALING JAYA: Penang-based Hunza Properties Bhd’s net profit surged 95.26% to RM11.29mil for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 compared with the previous corresponding period on higher property sales and contributions from the Gurney Paragon project.

The company said in an announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday that revenue for the quarter jumped 214% to RM58.52mil.

By The Star

Sunway-Opus alliance

SUNWAY Holdings Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary Sunway Marketing Sdn Bhd will partner Opus Developers and Builders Pte Ltd to set up a joint-venture company and expand its business to India.

The joint-venture group known as Sunway Opus International Trading Pte Ltd, will import and sell finishing products like sanitary wares and fittings, ceramic tiles, marble, pipes, iron-mongering and hardware products, paints and home furniture.

Opus has several construction and property development projects in Hyderabad, India, including the iconic Sunway Opus Grand, a joint venture between Sunway City Bhd and Opus.

By Business Times

Magna Prima to start project in 2011

Property developer Magna Prima Bhd plans to start development work on its 6.95-acre land in Petaling Jaya by next year. To be known as Jalan Gasing project, Magna Prima has purchased the land for RM48.5 million cash from Petaling Garden Sdn Bhd.

Magna Prima Chief Executive Officer Yoong Nim Chee said the company would develop a neighbourhood type lifestyle centre consisting of commercial and retail outlets.

"The Jalan Gasing development's estimated gross development value is RM300 million," he said in a statement today.

Located at the intersection of the Jalan Gasing/Jalan Templer roundabout, it is one of the last parcels of prime freehold land in Petaling Jaya, and one of seven projects in the Klang Valley that Magna Prima will be launching over the next 18 months.
"We are looking at the possibility of commencing development by next year once the planning, zoning and other permits come through. Completion is slated to occur within four years," Yoong said.

The Jalan Gasing project is part of the RM1 billion worth of projects that Magna Prima will be launching over the next 18 months.

Yoong said Magna Prima had also secured full project financing totalling RM59 million from CIMB and EON Bank for two of its projects in Selayang and one in Bukit Jalil respectively.

By Bernama

Tap opportunities in Vietnam, developers told

Real estate adviser CB Richard Ellis (Vietnam) Co Ltd says Malaysian developers should take the opportunity to make inroads into Vietnam as the economy is improving.

Its managing director Marc Townsend said there was more affordability in the market, coupled with transparency and clearer rules regarding when a developer can sell a property and collect deposits.

But he cautioned developers that the market was still volatile and subjected to speculative swings.

Townsend said developers looking to explore Vietnam should study Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi as there was a lot of land for development.

"Foreigners are restricted to land development in Vietnam. They should form joint ventures with the locals to enter the market," Townsend said.

He added that the focus for foreign developers in Vietnam currently was to build condominiums with "selling off" as their exit strategy.

Berjaya Land Bhd and Perdana ParkCity Sdn Bhd are looking to develop new projects in Vietnam.

Perdana ParkCity, the subsidiary of the timber-based Samling group, will launch its maiden township project in Hanoi, worth some RM6 billion by June or July this year as it is bullish on the market.

Berjaya Land, which had bought Sheraton Hanoi Hotel and Towers and InterCon Hanoi Hotel previously, will start to develop its US$6.3 billion mixed project in Dong Nai Province in two years.

Other companies that have forayed into Vietnam include SP Setia Bhd, Ireka Corp Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, Sime Darby Group and Sunrise Bhd.

"Among the developers, SP Setia has had some success in Vietnam," Townsend said.

Sunrise and Sime Darby had respectively ventured into hospitality projects in Hanoi and Vung Tau.

"Other developers have sniffed around since 2006 but did not commit as the process to identify sites, structure a joint venture, find funding and clear land for development takes a long time," Townsend said.

Department store operator Parkson Holdings Bhd owns three stores in Ho Chi Minh City, and one each in Hanoi and Hai Phong. It has talked about setting up more stores in Vietnam in the future.

By Business Times

Sepang's Sea Tropics ready for launch this year

The management of Sepang Gold Coast project in Selangor will launch the RM300 million Sea Tropics Resorts & Hotel later this year.

To be ready in end-2012, Sea Tropics will have two blocks with water features.

The management is yet to decide if it will be owned and operated by them, or sold and leased back or a combination of both.

"Sea Tropics will be our third phase and it will be on land hotels and villas. We are looking at 300 to 400 rooms and to be categorised in the four- or five-star category," general manager of Golden Palm Resort & Spa Sdn Bhd Francis Lee said.
The Sepang Gold Coast first phase is the 392-unit Golden Palm Tree Resort & Spa water villas.

The second phase is the Escapade. The Escapade, described as the epicentre for fun and entertainment at the resort, will offer water surfing, canoeing, kayaking, and archery, canopy walk and yoga gym. It will also have a large number of food and beverage outlets.

Lee, in a recent interview with Business Times, said that 80 per cent of the water villas have been sold, with studio units costing RM740,000 and a three-bedroom unit at RM3.1 million. The developer is keeping the remaning 20 per cent of the units.

Golden Palm Tree has provided an eight per cent guarantee on returns in the first two years for the first set of purchasers and a seven per cent guaranteed return over seven years for the second batch of purchasers.

The resort will be operational by the end of June and is forecasting an average occupancy of 30 per cent to 35 per cent in the first six months of operations.

Lee said that it is looking at an introductory price of RM599 per night for the six-month period, which will include five meals and alcoholic drinks.

The hotel expects customers to be mainly Malaysian (40 per cent) and Singaporeans (20 to 25 per cent). The rest are expected to be from North Asia.

Sepang Gold Cost Sdn Bhd, the project developer, is a 30-70 joint-venture between Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) and Sepang Bay Sdn Bhd.

Sepang Bay is owned by Bapak Yanki Regan, who is also the founder of CNI International.

By Business Times

SunCity, SSTEC to develop Tianjin project

Ngian Siew Siong (far left) exchanges a collaboration agreement with Goh Chye Boon. Witnessing the signing are Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah (second from left) and Dr Lee Boon Yang.

PETALING JAYA: Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) has inked a collaboration agreement with Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co Ltd (SSTEC) for a RM5bil eco-themed project in Tianjin Binhai New Area in China.

The integrated development on 110 acres within the 30 sq km Tianjin Eco-City will be a 60:40 joint venture between SunCity and SSTEC.

SSTEC, a 50:50 joint venture between a Chinese consortium led by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co Ltd and a Singapore consortium led by the Keppel Group, is the master developer of the eco-city.

Signing on behalf of SunCity yesterday was international property development division managing director Ngian Siew Siong while SSTEC was represented by chief executive officer Goh Chye Boon.

The signing was witnessed by SunCity chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah and Keppel Corp Ltd chairman Dr Lee Boon Yang.

According to Ngian, the development would comprise 90% residential component or about 5,000 residences and some commercial properties, including a retail centre. It will have an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM5bil.

The houses will mostly be medium-range condominiums of 900 to 1,200 sq ft priced at about RM500 per sq ft.

The project is expected to take off in the first quarter next year and will take five years. It will start contributing to SunCity’s earnings from 2012.

Ngian said Tianjin Eco-City was currently the largest eco-city being developed in the world and it was expected to have a population of 350,000.

“As the first eco-city in China, the aim is to promote an ecologically and socially sustainable environment, and be a model for sustainable development for other cities in the future,” he added.

Ngian said the company’s development would be based on the lifestyles of health and sustainability philosophy that would elevate the green status of the city.

He said SunCity, which was a pioneer in developing green buildings in Malaysia, was the only local developer to be selected for the project. The other regional developers include Keppel Land of Singapore, Farglory Group of Taiwan, Shimao of Hong Kong, Mitsui Fudosan of Japan and Vanke of China.

With a fast growing middle class population and high urbanisation, China will be one of the biggest foreign markets for SunCity.

Projects from there were expected to make up more than 50% of the company’s foreign earnings in the coming years, Ngian said.

SunCity’s maiden project in China, the 17-acre Sunway Guanghao project in Jiangyin, is targeted for launch by June. The project, comprising medium-end condominiums and specialty shops, has an estimated GDV of RM492mil.

It is a 39:26:35 joint venture between SunCity, SunwayMas Sdn Bhd and Shanghai Guanghao Real Estate Development Group Co Ltd.

By The Star

SunCity keen to work with Keppel

Property developer Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) hopes to commence talks with Singapore's Keppel Corp Ltd over a possible future collaboration, following its agreement to jointly develop a RM5 billion residential project in Tianjin, China.



"Keppel is a global player and we would like to work with them on their projects internationally.

"There is no serious discussions as yet," SunCity international property development division managing director Ngian Siew Siong said.

SunCity yesterday signed a collaborative agreement with Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co Ltd (SSTEC) to develop the project on 41ha, which is within the 3,000ha Tianjin Eco-City integrated development.

SSTEC is the master developer for Tianjin Eco-City, a 50:50 joint venture between a Chinese consortium led by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co Ltd and a Singapore consortium led by Keppel Group.

Ngian said the new project will create a platform for more collaborations for the firm, especially with Keppel in future.

SunCity has completed a six month feasibility study and a business model for the 41ha project.

A 60:40 joint venture company between SunCity and SSTEC will build 5,000 units of luxury homes comprising bungalows, villas, semi-detached and terraced houses and low-rise condominiums. There will also be a street mall with small office home office (SOHO).

Ngian said the five-year project will incorporate the concept of lifestyles of health and sustainability (Lohas) and sell mainly in the Chinese market.

Lohas is a concept dedicated to promoting and improving health and fitness, environment, personal development, sustainable living and social justice.

"We are bullish on the market as this is the first-of-its-kind Lohas-centric development in China," Ngian said.

He added that houses in the first phase of construction, which will start early next year, will be priced from RM500 per sq ft.

The project will be funded through bank borrowings.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)

Budget travellers to drive demand for more affordable lodging

MALAYSIA’S hospitality industry can look forward to stronger growth as there is room for more niche facilities.

In the next three years, the industry will see the addition of about 5,600 new four-star and five-star hotel rooms. New facilities such as limited service hotels and service apartments are also expected to come on-stream.

Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector (PEPS) president James Wong believes the tourism market is bound for healthy growth as there is a need for more hotels and related facilities.

“The fastest growing markets are expected to be China and India, and as there are more budget travellers from those countries, we will need to build more affordable yet good quality accommodation including no-frills hotels,” he says.


Previndran Singhe says low-cos carriers have boosted tourism.

Zerin Properties chief executive officer Previndran Singhe says low-cost carriers have boosted the tourism industry. He says the country’s competitive rating has made it one of the most popular value-for-money destinations in the region.

Previndran says to continue attracting tourists into the country, air fares and travel packages must continue to remain competitively-priced.

Citing Malaysia’s ranking in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009, he said there is opportunity for more varied hospitality products and established brands to come into the country. These include spa resorts, premium hotel groups, branded budget facilities and heritage and eco-friendly facilities.

Knight Frank Research, in its latest Real Estate Highlights, says some of the proposed hotels in the capital city include a boutique hotel in KL Sentral, a 200-room Dorsett Regency business boutique hotel in Sri Hartamas, a 7-star Palace Residential Suite at the Mines Resort City with 430 suites, and a business or 5-star hotel from the redevelopment of Bangunan MAS along Jalan Sultan Ismail.

Other upcoming projects include the redesign, renovation and rebranding of the Crown Pricess Hotel as Doubletree, an upscale hotel brand under the Hilton group.

Schedule to open in the second quarter, Doubletree will form part of The Intermark, a mixed-use property development in KL.

Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur will undergo a RM40mil facelift over the next three years.

The 502-room Grand Dorsett Subang (formerly Sheraton Subang Hotel) was opened last October after a RM60mil renovation and refurbishment exercise.

One of the trends in the local hospitality market is the growing popularity of service apartments as an alternative to hotels, especially for long stay visitors.

“With relatively lower rates and more living space, including facilities for light cooking, service apartments are suitable for longer-term stay. This suits newly posted expatriates who need a few months accommodation as they search for a permanent residence,” says Wong.

Home-grown hospitality brand, Fairlane Hospitality, which manages Fairlane Residences in Bukit Bintang and myHabitat 2 service studios at Jalan Aman, sees potential to grow into a bigger hospitality company.


Ariff Ng at the myHabitat 2 service apartments.

General manager for area operations and business planning, Ariff Ng says well managed service apartments with good facilities are still in short supply.

“Fairlane Hospitality offers a truly Malaysian hospitality service that is set to redefine business and executive travel.

“Each apartment unit is designed with high quality fittings and furnishings that include a fully equipped kitchen with cooking implements, cutlery and clothes washer-dryer,” says Ng.

The company’s main target market is business travellers, corporate executives and families on vacation.

The myHabitat 2 service studios is a project by Asia Pacific Land Bhd and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. The studio and two-bedroom apartments, with a built-up of 600 sq ft to 1,140 sq ft, are priced from RM760,000 to RM1.3mil.

By The Star (by Angie Ng)

Should house buyers be wary?

Property consultants say the recent price rise in properties in select locations reflect pent-up demand after the market slump in the first half of last year.

Should house buyers be wary of rising property prices? Anecdotal evidence seem to point to significant price increases in the Klang Valley and Penang although the National Property Information Centre report for 2009, which was released on April 23, noted that residential property prices remained stable for the year.

The all-house price index, which is a gauge of national prices, saw a gain of only 1.5%.

ECM Libra Capital Sdn Bhd research head Bernard Ching says in a report dated April 26 that the gain is “the lowest annual gain since 2001.”

Several property consultants say the recent price rise in properties in select locations reflect pent-up demand after the market slump in the first half of last year.

They also say that the Malaysian residential property market sentiments are, while not immune to global economic factors and price movements, largely driven by house buyers here.

It was recently reported that the uptrend in property prices was driven by easy financing schemes offered by banks in partnership with developers and that this had led to some speculation in the market.

However, the consultants feel that any increase in property prices will still be selective and overall prices will not rise drastically but gradually.


Paul Khong says prices for the luxury condominium sub-segment of the residential property market, are still between 10% and 20% below the market’s peak.

CB Richard Ellis Sdn Bhd executive director Paul Khong says there have been some price increase but only for landed residential properties and in selected locations.

“Over the past one year, residential landed property prices have gone up 15% to 20% in good locations in and around Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya,” he says.

Khong says prices for the luxury condominium sub-segment of the residential property market, are still between 10% and 20% below the market’s peak.

This sub-segment has been badly hit by the financial crisis as a considerable portion of sales are to foreigners. The number of foreign property buyers have dropped since early last year.

Khong feels that fewer launches and higher demand will affect the prices of landed residential properties.

Ching says property launches have been moderate after bottoming out in the first quarter of 2009. This trend was in line with on-the-ground observation of developers preferring to launch in smaller parcels.

“We expect moderate growth in property launches to continue in 2010. This is supported by declining building plan approval,” he says.

Ching says the last quarter of 2009 was a record quarter for both the residential and commercial segments of the property market despite the uninspiring set of numbers for the year as a whole.

He says in 2009, the residential segment recorded a marginal improvement in overall transaction value of 1.3% to RM41.8bil while the commercial segment contracted marginally by 1.4% to RM16.4bil.


Dr Teoh Poh Huat says the recent property price increases reflect the different economic fundamentals at play compared to a year ago.

Henry Butcher Malaysia (Penang) Sdn Bhd director Dr Teoh Poh Huat says the recent property price increases reflect the different economic fundamentals at play compared to a year ago.

He says the property market is driven by the sentiments of Malaysian buyers although these buyers may take into consideration factors at the macro or global levels. “But these factors are short-term whereas investing in property is long-term,” Teoh says.

He says the significant increase in transactions for the first quarter of this year is a reflection of these sentiments following an unexpected expansion of the economy in the final quarter of 2009.

“Confidence in the economy is quite strong. There is liquidity due to pump-priming measures as well as the high savings rate in the country. This is reflected in the transactions,” Teoh says.

By The Star (by Fintan Ng)