Malaysian retail property 'attracting attention'

Article Date : 10 May 2012
News Section: Malaysia

Many commercial real estate investors in Malaysia are focused on the country's retail sector at present. This is the finding of a new Savills report into property investment markets in the Asia-Pacific region in the first quarter of this year. The firm predicted there will be "major shopping centre transactions" in the three months from April to June, highlighting several deals and developments in the pipeline. In addition, the hospitality sector was described as "quite bullish", with an increasing number of local businesses ploughing their money into this part of the Malaysian commercial property market. The study concluded: "The success of the retail sector is closely linked to tourism. Nearly 25 million tourists arrived in the country last year, with receipts edging close to RM60 billion (£12.1 billion)." In the latest Global Commercial Property survey published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, sentiment among commercial real estate professionals was largely positive for Malaysia. Rental expectations for the coming quarter were in positive territory, while the supply of distressed assets is set to be balanced by demand. However, capital value and investment expectations were both slightly negative.