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Aye to new housing loans

KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed new housing loan scheme for those in the low and middle income group here can keep the city “thriving, vibrant and youthful,” said the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda).

Its president Datuk Seri Michael Yam said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Ministry should be complimented for proposing the scheme.

However, he stressed that the scheme’s terms and conditions would have to be well drafted if the proposal was to be a success.

Factors such as geographic boundaries and income limits would also have to be properly defined, Yam said.

“Another thing that should be considered is risk management.

“This scheme will be very attractive to people who are otherwise unable to obtain bank loans due to the lack of steady income or personal reasons. We have to be able to properly deal with these high credit risks.”

Najib had announced on Saturday a special funding scheme to help low and middle income families own homes in the city.

The scheme, which comes into effect on March 1, will cover units built under the National Economic Action Council’s People Housing Programme as well as City Hall’s public housing programme.

“In Kuala Lumpur, many young people are now moving to other places because of high costs of living, and transportation issues. This scheme can attract people from elsewhere to live and work in the capital, and retain those already living here,” said Yam.

Many young Malaysians have expressed positive views about the proposed scheme.

“It can improve living standards for those in the city,” said university student Asyraf Syahir, 20.

“I hope the scheme’s terms will be favourable because houses in Kuala Lumpur are expensive. I would like to own a house here some- day,” said IT specialist Christine Leong, 24.

Marketing executive Lee Kim Kong, 25, said although the initiative was good, more holistic solutions were needed to address rising house prices. - The Star

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BSG Property to replicate Precinct 10's success in Malacca

GEORGE TOWN: Boon Siew Group's property arm BSG Property, is looking at replicating its new commercial property development project Precinct 10 in Penang down south at its Melaka Straits City project.

BSG Property's business development manager Koay Wei Loong said the proposed street mall comprising food and beverage offerings in Malacca is likely to be ready by the end of 2013 and the company has earmarked some RM40 million.

"The positive response we have received from tenants of Precinct 10 and customers since we opened in Penang has been encouraging and we see no reason why the same model cannot be successful in Malacca," he told Business Times.

Precinct 10 is located at Tanjung Tokong on Penang island and consists of 2-storey shop offices and F and B outlets.

Since its soft opening last month, the project has seen the entry of Burger King, Chez Weng, Winter Warmers, Old Town White Coffee, Sushi Zento and HSBC Bank as tenants.

"We are looking at potentially bringing in one more financial institution, an Italian food-dominated wine house, and a Chinese restaurant chain here," added Koay.

"With the surface parking offered to customers at Precinct 10, our plan is to enable the medium to upscale eateries transform this location into a Penang version of Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur."

Precinct 10 sits on a 1.7ha area and boasts a net lettable area of 47,000 sq ft.

BSG Property invested RM16 million in the project. - Business Times

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Housing fund from March 1

KUALA LUMPUR: A special funding scheme will be available from March 1 to help those who are keen on the National Economic Action Council's People Housing Programme as well as Kuala Lumpur City Hall's public housing.

“Through the scheme, problems in obtaining loans can be overcome. This will help the low and medium-income families to own a house,”Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

“I'm confident that the scheme will be able to assist prospective buyers and resolve numerous problems in obtaining loans,” the Prime Minister said when launching the 2012 Federal Territories' Day at Dataran Merdeka here yesterday.

Present were Najib's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.

Najib said the scheme would be managed by Syarikat Perumahan Wilayah Persekutuan, set up under Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan, with funds from the Employees' Provident Fund.

Najib also spoke about the Federal Territories as a reflection of Malaysia's future and a showcase of a holistic and responsible development planning.

He said the Government was striving to transform Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley so that it would be among the world's 20 most livable cities by 2020.

“Several mega projects are on-going under the Greater KL/Klang Valley initiative, including the My Rapid Transit, River of Life, iconic places, pedestrian walkway, Greener KL as well as the sewerage and solid waste management projects.”

The allocation for these projects this year is about RM1.49bil.

Livable city: The launch of the Federal Territory celebration day at Dataran Merdeka yesterday. (Inset) Najib enjoying a walk at the KLCC-Bukit Bintang pedestrian walkway. — AHMAD IZZRAFIQ ALIAS / The Star

For Labuan, he said, the Government had set its development target based on three key elements, namely as an oil and gas trading centre, an international business and financial centre, and as a tourism destination.

As for Putrajaya, he said it would be a smart and green city.

“I'm very proud of Putrajaya because it is not only popular as an administrative centre but also known throughout the world as a tourism destination.” - Bernama

2012 outlook remains strong

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): Any fall in transaction numbers or prices within the local property market is merely a technical correction and does not translate to a bearish property market, according to the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) director Dr Zailan Isa.

"Our country has a lot of different cultures and trends," she said. "The behaviour of the industry varies. We have to take into account the season of spending and the celebrations. So, any drop in property transactions is normal and is merely a technical correction. But it doesn't mean the property market is bad."

Zailan added that because of this, NAPIC monitors both the half year trends and the full year trends to truly understand the market. However, she said the property market is still moving strongly.

Giving an overview of the Malaysian Economy and the Malaysian Property Market at the fifth Malaysian Property Summit on Tuesday, Zailan stressed that in 2011, the volume of transactions has reached 400,000 translating into RM101 billion worth of properties.

The Malaysian economy in 2012 is expected to grow by 3.8% to 5% with the government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) boosting the local property scene.

She added that the overall property market activities sustained by higher housing starts and building plan approvals signify confidence among developers and investors.

Vacant space in the retail and office sectors will be taken up by the market as private investments are spurred by the ETP, she said and expects the ETP within the Greater KL Plan will continue to give positive impacts on the property development within the coming two to three years.

Zailan remains bullish on the market as she expects the banking industry to continue supporting the market with ample funding. - The Edge Property

Ministry targets 38,000 people's housing project units under 10th plan

ALOR SETAR (Jan 25): The Housing and Local Government Ministry is to build 38,000 units of houses under the People's Housing Project under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015), Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said on Wednesday.

He said many of the houses are under construction and they are being built in Sabah, Selangor, Pahang and Kelantan.

"We also had an application from Kedah but the request could not be met because no land is available. If the state government provides the land, we will build the houses there," he told reporters after the presentation of 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) vouchers, here.

Chor said the completed houses would be handed over to the local authorities or the state government to manage the sale and rental.

He said the value of each house is between RM100,000 and RM130,000.

"The sale price is only RM35,000 and the rental RM124 a month," he said. — Bernama

Buyers of abandoned housing projects lodge report with MACC

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 25): Fifty of the more than 1,200 buyers of abandoned housing projects in Pulau Indah, Port Klang, Selangor on Wednesday filed a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) here for alleged corruption. However, only two were allowed to enter the office to lodge reports on behalf of the other victims. Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) activist Abdul Karim Said, 57, said they came to the MACC office today to help the buyers make the report. "We hope the MACC can investigate this matter so that those involved will get justice," he said. A buyer, Salmah Bakri, 38, said the MACC and Selangor government must take action as the projects were left abandoned for almost 10 years. She added that her husband had paid installments from 2002 until 2005, but the project had yet to take off. — Bernama

 

Gurney Paragon set to welcome RM35m F&B investments Read more: Gurney Paragon set to welcome RM35m F&B investments

GEORGE TOWN: Penang is set to welcome investments totalling RM35 million this year from food and beverage operators into phase one of the Gurney Paragon development on Gurney Drive.

The project's developer, Hunza Properties Bhd (HPB), has already seen the entry of nine tenants into Phase 1B of its multi-billion ringgit waterfront development with capital investments in excess of RM10 million.

"We are working hard to continue bringing in established names which have yet to set up a presence in Penang to open their businesses in Gurney Paragon," HPB executive chairman Datuk Khor Teng Tong told Business Times yesterday.

Phase 1B of the project comprises some 100,000 sq ft of lettable space, and its developers are touting the entire Gurney Paragon project as the only one in the country for now which integrates a restored heritage building amidst modern residential, retail and commercial spaces.
The company last night officially opened its "St Jo's@Gurney Paragon" building, which is the restored heritage building built in 1918.

The building is flanked by two towers which house 220 high-end dwellings, along with eateries on its first three levels.

St Jo's, which was formerly known as St Joseph's Novitiate, was initially started by the De La Salle Brothers to train young Catholic men to enter the religious order.

The colonial building, which was restored by HPB for RM10 million, was also once the site for Uplands School now known as the International School of Penang.

The restoration works include retaining the building's teakwood floors, roof trusses, window frames, stairways and clay tiles.

Khor said the current tenants surrounding St Jo's are Goku Roku Ramen, Pacific Coffee Co, T.G.I.Friday's, Brussels Beer Cafe, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Meet Fresh.

The tenants who will open soon for business, he added, are Italiannies (serving Italian cuisine), Wong Kok Char Chan Teng (Hong Kong's foods and treats eatery), Share Tea (Taiwanese bubble tea beverage) and Petite Millie (casual French cuisine).

Khor said HPB is expecting at least 30 per cent of its new tenants to be first-time investors in Penang where a lifestyle mall - the Gurney Paragon Mall - is due to be completed by the end of this year. - Business Times