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

Rising confidence in property mart: Napic

KUALA LUMPUR: Higher housing starts and building plan approvals last year signify confidence of developers and investors in the development activity, said National Property Information Centre (Napic) director Dr Zailan Mohd Isa.

Some 400,000 transactions valued more than RM100 million were undertaken during the first three quarters of last year.

Zailan said the second quarter of 2011 was the most active period during the period with more than 115,000 transactions recorded.

Housing starts, a key economic indicator, refer to the number of residential building construction projects begun during a particular period.

Speaking at the 5th Malaysian Property Summit 2012, Zailan said residential property sub-sector expanded significantly by 23.2 per cent after recording a 8.8 per cent growth for similar period in 2010.
At a media briefing, summit chairman and real estate agency CH Williams Talhar and Wong (WTW) managing director Foo Gee Jen does not expect prices to soften within KL although the external uncertainties may have led property buyers to be more cautious.

Choy Yue Kwong, who is president of the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector (PEPs) said past crises have shown that although property prices may drop in cities like Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya for a short period, prices also pick up as fast.

Zailan expects the vacant space in the retail and office sectors to be absorbed as more space taken up from the market as private investment spurred by the Economic Transformation Programme takes place.

He described the outlook for the 2012 property market as bright with strong demand as developers and investors capitalise on the government's incentives.

Demand for development land will also increase from the spillover effect of projects such as highways such as Ampang-Cheras-Pandan Elevated Highway, Guthrie-Daman-sara Expressway, Damansara-Petaling Jaya Highway, Pantai Barat-Banting-Taiping Highway, Sungai Dua-Juru Highway and Paroi-Senawang Highway. - Business Times

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Volatile year for real estate investment trusts

PETALING JAYA: Headwinds from the gloomy global economic and financial fronts, particularly in the United States and the eurozone, will pose challenges to the performance of the local real estate investment trusts (M-REITs) this year.

According to Malaysian REIT Managers Association chairman Stewart Labrooy, the M-REIT sector will face slower growth and competition for tenants as an oversupply situation emerges in the office market leading to lower rental yields.

“It is going to be a volatile year ahead with the eurozone uncertainty coupled with low growth in the European and US markets. These markets are very important to growth in Asia and the impact would be felt in all export-led countries. Capital market activity will remain muted worldwide in 2012,” Labrooy told StarBiz.

In Kuala Lumpur, property prices are expected to remain flat for 2012 with some weaknesses in the high-end residential and office markets.

The recent listing of the Pavilion REIT has improved the liquidity of the domestic market

In the office sector, the seven million sq ft of new office space scheduled for completion this year would result in softening in rental and occupancy.

Despite the gloomy outlook, Labrooy said the Malaysian capital markets were expected to remain healthy this year with a significant number of deals notably the listing of Felda's assets in the first half of 2012.

“We are fully aware of the issues involved as some of the M-REITs have been through the 2008 global financial crisis and are taking a pro-active stand to retain their tenants through this period and manage their gearing leverage conservatively.

“Most M-REITs have strong tenant covenants and long leases to counter cyclical financial events. They also practise very conservative valuations so we don't see any downward pressure on them in 2012 and beyond.

In addition, the average gearing of most M-REITs are in the range of 20% to 40%, precluding any event of a default on their loan covenants,” he said.

Labrooy said a silver lining from the uncertainty and volatility of the global markets was that investors and fund managers had started shifting to dividend stocks with strong asset backing and renewed their interest in M-REITs as defensive stocks in uncertain times.

“I believe that we will continue to see a strong subscription in the M-REIT sector this year bearing in mind that the sector performed fairly well to outperform the KLCI in 2011,” he added.

He said the local market still faced liquidity problem as the size of M-REITs was still small by international standards with only five having market capitalisation of over RM1bil. This has contributed to the weak participation among retail investors.

Although the combined market capitalisation of M-REITs has climbed to over RM15bil, its market capitalisation is still way behind that of Singapore which has US$27bil in market capitalisation.

Labrooy, who is also the chief executive officer of Axis REIT Managers Bhd, said the recent listing of Sunway, CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust and Pavilion REITs had improved the liquidity of the domestic market.

Labrooy also said there was an absence of listing of foreign assets as REITs on the local bourse, adding that those who wanted to go for listing had opted to do so in Singapore due to its much higher liquidity and better tax structure. The local regulatory and tax framework must be improved to be on par with Singapore, and a comparable tax code would assist in getting greater retail participation.

On whether there was a scope for other types of REITs to come into the market, Labrooy said: “Malaysia probably has one of the most diversified REIT offerings in Asia. We are currently offering hospitals, plantations, office, retail, education, hospitality, industrial and diversified REITs.

“In addition three are syariah-compliant to cater to the Islamic investors.

“The sectors that will see growth are in industrial, medium cost housing, healthcare, education and tourism. These growth areas are in the Iskandar Malaysia in Johor, Greater Kuala Lumpur and Penang.”

Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin concurred that the prospects for the REIT market has not been fully tapped in terms of awareness among potential investors.

He said M-REITs were viewed as a safer investment compared with other REITs in the region. This was due to the domestic-centric focus of their property investments, lower refinancing risks and relatively lower foreign shareholding.

“Malaysia is in a strong position for greater growth and has the potential to lead the REITs market in Asia given its good track record and stable market conditions in Malaysia.

“Generally, potential investors are not well informed about REITs. We believe the level of awareness can be increased nationwide as knowledge plays an important role,” he said.

Lodin pointed out.

On the types of M-REITs, he said: “It would be good if the market

could diversify to different types of REITs. Malaysia has a lot of

property related assets with the potential of being “REITed”. The

only factor at play right now is time. Once the conditions are

favourable, industry specialists should develop these assets into

REITs.” - The Star

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A magnet for shoppers

1ST Avenue, one of Penang’s newest malls, has proven to be a popular shopping destination.

The nine-storey mall, which boasts of high fashion and big brands, has been attracting a steady increase of shoppers since its soft opening in November 2010.

Its shopper traffic count has increased from 520,000 people in December 2010 to 770,000 people last month, said Victoria Shigehira Sharpe who is the chief executive officer of Pramerica Real Estate Investors (Asia) Pte Ltd.

The mall, located in the heart of George Town, is a joint venture project between the Belleview Group, The Lion Group and Asian Retail Market II Limited which is a subsidiary of Pramerica.

“While we are already impressed with these numbers, we are confident they will rise even higher as we work towards more innovative advertising and promotion activities as well as loyalty programmes for our shoppers,” Sharpe said at the official opening of the mall yesterday.

Shopping boost: 1st Avenue is strategically located in the heart of George Town.

The opening was a grand affair. Lion dances and drums welcomed guests through the main entrance of the mall facing Magazine Road while the ground floor concourse was decked in the mall’s official colours of blue and green.

Belleview Group managing director Datuk Sonny Ho said they had put in extra efforts to bring in brands which had not arrived in Penang before to make 1st Avenue different from other shopping malls in the state.

“Among them are Coach, M Stores, Cotton On, Payless Shoesource and the first Hush Puppies flagship store in the state,” Ho said in his speech at the opening ceremony which was officiated by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said tenancy rate of the mall now stood at almost 90%, with three strong anchor tenants — departmental store chain Parkson, retail giant Carrefour and TGV Cinemas.

“TGV has introduced its very interesting ‘cinema with bean bags’ called the Beanieplex to Malaysia, having its debut in 1st Avenue,” Ho said.

Ho, Sharpe, Lim and The Lion Group executive director Lionel Cheng took a short tour of the mall after the opening ceremony.

The mall is already decked with brilliant Chinese New Year decorations, including five enormous red lanterns that stand as the centrepiece.

Guests were then treated to a scrumptious lunch on the eighth floor that included some of the island’s most famous street food such as mee goreng from Bangkok Lane, Teochew cendol from Penang Road and curry puffs from the Pulau Tikus market.

Ho told reporters later that the mall’s tenancy rate was expected to reach close to 100% by the middle of the year.

“We will be welcoming a theme restaurant to occupy this empty area on the eighth floor while a well-known European household store will take up 5,000sq ft (465sq m) opposite the Carrefour supermarket,” Ho said. - The Star