Saturday 30 March 2013

Kota Kinabalu property prices up and now match KL’s

Wednesday March 27, 2013


PETALING JAYA: Property prices in Kota Kinabalu (KK) have now matched those in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

According to HwangDBS Vickers Research, there is strength seen in KK with new condo launches hitting RM600-RM900 per sq ft and some breaching the RM1,000 per sq ft mark.

The research house which recently conducted a site visit there noted that the peak pricing in the secondary market was RM1,400-RM1,800 per sq ft.

It said in a client note that demand was driven by strong monies made from the plantation sector despite softer crude palm oil prices, improving household income and to a certain extent non-locals.
“The value of property transactions in Sabah had more than doubled over eight years to a record RM4.4bil in 2011 (3% of Malaysia's total).

“Transaction volume has also surpassed 10,000 per annum since 2008, with 2011 chalking an average transacted price of RM429,000 (about 34% higher than Malaysia's average of RM319,000),” the research house added.

Other factors which have contributed to the increase include continued rising urbanisation as greater KK hosts 20% of Sabah's total population of 3.1 million people.

HwangDBS also noted that despite the rise, rental yields were still “relatively attractive” at 4%-5% for terrace houses and 5%-6% for condos.

“Launches in greater KK also saw healthy take-ups, for example the Lido Four Seasons Residences in Penampang (leasehold; 90% take-up; average selling prices (ASP): RM360per sq ft), Taman Rimba phase 2 terrace houses in Bandar Sierra, Menggatal (56% at RM400,000 per unit), and Loft C at KK Times Square phase 2 in town (50% with ASP at RM900 per sq ft),” it said.

The research firm also noted that there was a new trend where condos were becoming more popular with their variety of facilities and because they were more affordable than landed properties which had appreciated significantly in the secondary market.

Big rise in office space supply


By THEAN LEE CHENG
leecheng@thestar.com.my

It has surpassed 100 million sq ft in Klang Valley but situation remains manageable
http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2013/3/22/business/office-space-kl-b4.JPG
KUALA LUMPUR: The supply of office space in the Klang Valley has surpassed 100 million sq ft, making it the largest stock among the neighbouring South-East Asian metropolitan centres, according to property consultants at Jones Lang Wootton (JLW).

Senior vice-president and head of research David Jarnell said the situation remained manageable where supply of office property was concerned but that there could be consolidation of rental levels for the rest of the year.
“There will not be a drastic re-adjustment of rentals although some landlords are offering incentives to prospective tenants in the form of longer rent-free periods while some are not. With the large amount of supply, tenants have a wide range of choices,” he said.

JLW defines office stock as purpose-built, self-contained buildings which are generally five storeys and above.
Jarnell said that in South-East Asia, greater Bangkok had the second-highest office stock, totalling 87.85 million sq ft, followed by the Special Capital Region of Jakarta with 65.66 million sq ft. Singapore, meanwhile, had an office stock slightly less than Jakarta at 64.01 million sq ft.

JLW executive director Malathi Thevendran said the annual supply delivered into the market in 2012 was the second largest (since the turn of the millennium) after 2009. A total of 6.74 million sq ft came into the market last year compared with 7.26 million sq ft in 2009.

The Bangsar/Pantai locality saw the highest growth supply, with a compounded annual growth rate of 29% (1998 to 2012), primarily contributed by the continuing KL Sentral development. The Bangsar/Pantai locality had a total office supply of 11.52 million sq ft as at end-2012.

Another 2.85 million sq ft would be added to the locality this year. The contributors include Menara CIMB (609,000 sq ft), where JLW is the managing agent, and 1 Sentrum (440,000 sq ft), where JLW is the exclusive leasing agent.

Jarnell said the recent trend of strong supply growth came about as a result of the strong and sustainable economic expansion, a growing services sector, good demand for corporate office space and wider-reaching infrastructure and public transportation.

According to Malathi, the trend in supply has been no different than in the 1990s when the gross domestic product was at 7.3% to 9.7% from 1989 to 1997, resulting in high levels of office construction, which peaked in 1998 when the annual supply was at 8.28 million sq ft.

Over the next three years, the Klang Valley development pipeline would comprise a substantial 18 million sq ft of office space.

Jarnell reckoned that better monitoring of developers' intentions by a regulatory body to govern and direct future supply would help ease the growing competition.

Said Malathi, “Developers of office buildings should be fully aware of what they could be up against and act prudently at the master planning stage, particularly the large-scale projects which would need to be phased over many years before they are fully built.”

Intrinsically, assessing the demand drivers is one of the key factors in ensuring sustainable occupancy rates.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Film exposes anomalous land deals in Sarawak



By Farah Wahida:

A short film released by international NGO Global Witness documents the shady land deals in Sarawak, associating the state’s Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and his relatives.

Posing as potential plantation buyers, the NGO’s investigative team discovered how Taib’s cousins and several other intermediaries have acquired thousands of hectares of forest land.

“This film proves for the first time what has long been suspected — that the small elite around Chief Minister Taib are systematically abusing the region’s people and natural resources to line their own pockets,” said Tom Picken, Forest Team Leader at Global Witness.

Specifically, the captured conversation of sisters Norlia and Fatimah Abdul Rahman — first cousins of the incumbent Chief Minister — revealed that the siblings are the owners of 5,000 hectares of land given to them by Taib for a nominal sum, and which they were planning to sell under their company, Ample Agro.

“Ample Agro belongs to my family, but my sisters, the four elder ones are in the company. The Land and Survey Department, they are the ones who issue this licence... Of course it’s from the CM’s directive but I can speak to the CM very easily,” said Fatimah.

“And you think he’ll agree?” asked the cover team.

“Yeah, he was the one who gave us the land. He’s my cousin [laughs]. His mother and my father are sisters and brothers, siblings. He’s my cousin so it’s quite easy,” claimed Fatimah.

Notably, this is not the first time that Sarawak’s government had been accused of profiting from the state’s natural resources. Bloomberg reported in 2009 on hundreds of legal cases lodged by Sarawak’s indigenous Dayak people, alleging seizures of their land without proper compensation.

The rapid destruction of the state’s virgin rainforests also attracted similar international attention. Based on a report from The Economist, Sarawak “has lost more than 90 percent of its ‘primary’ forests to logging, and has the fastest rate of deforestation in Asia.”

Overall KK Market Summary Year 2012

http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/property/226921-new-launches-push-up-secondary-market-prices.html

Monday 18 March 2013

Malaysia in RM26b investment deals with Abu Dhabi



By Farah Wahida:

Banking on Malaysia’s strong appeal for Gulf countries, Abu Dhabi has inked a number of agreements to invest in multiple projects here, expected to generate a gross development value of US$8.25 billion (RM26 billion), according to media reports.

The projects, which range from property development to the construction of petroleum storage facility, attest to Malaysia’s popularity among Gulf governments who share the same Islamic roots.

Earlier, government-based agency Qatar Investment Authority has also pledged to invest in the country.

Meanwhile, the recent agreements see Abu Dhabi developing a RM21billion strategic petroleum reserve facility in Johor, which can store 60 million barrels of petroleum and crude oil for the sole use of Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm Aabar Investments PJS plans to work with 1Malaysia Development Bhd to develop a financial centre in Kuala Lumpur. This makes Aabar Investments the first major anchor investor of the government’s proposed financial hub.

Thursday 7 March 2013

MBSB to open 4 new branches



By Farah Wahida:

The Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) is looking to add three to four new branches to its 37 existing branches nationwide, said Chief Executive Officer and President Datuk Ahmad Zaini Othman in a report byBernama.

In line with this, MBSB aims to boost this year’s loan disbursements to RM14 billion from RM12 billion a year ago.

Moreover, the company is also bullish that it can achieve better results this year despite the local and global economic uncertainties.

“Maybe the first quarter results to be released by month-end will give more indication,” he said.

Notably, MBSB is a provider of financial products such as mortgages, personal financing and other types of loans.

KL unveils new lighting masterplan



By Farah Wahida:

In line with energy conservation efforts in Kuala Lumpur, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has unveiled a new lighting masterplan, which was designed through a joint venture between local and Singaporean consultants, reported The Star.

“The lighting masterplan will be made available to developers soon and they must abide by the requirements under the plan,” said Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib.

“New buildings are required to use the LED technology for lighting, as they are brighter and will reduce energy consumption in the long run,” he added, speaking at a press conference after the launch of 60+ Earth Hour 2013 jointly organised by DBKL and WWF-Malaysia at Menara DBKL.

The masterplan, which was approved last month, will also help enhance the city’s image as well as draw attention to safety and security systems in buildings.

Ahmad Phesal added that the government is also planning to use LED technology for heritage buildings in Kuala Lumpur, to “improve the overall look of the buildings by emphasising the architectural character through lighting.” These iconic buildings include Masjid Jamek and Bangunan Sultan Sulaiman.

LED technology was also approved for new streetlights, but “since the initial cost to use the technology is high, we will only look at changing lights on existing roads where necessary.”

However, Ahmad Phesal did not provide figures on the project’s cost.