BLand unit to acquire land from Selangor Turf Club

By Bernama
Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:21

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): Berjaya Land Bhd's (BLand) unit Selat Makmur Sdn Bhd has proposed to acquire 99.06 hectares of leasehold land in Sungai Besi from Selangor Turf Club for RM640 million.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today (Tuesday), BLand said the acquisition included all existing buildings and structures erected.

BLand said Selat Makmur has also proposed to acquire about 303.514ha of freehold land in Sungai Tinggi from Berjaya City Sdn Bhd.

The company has also proposed to appoint Berjaya City as the turnkey contractor to carry out the construction of the new turf club for RM605 million, it said.

BLand said Selangor Turf Club and Selat Makmur had agreed on the layout and building plans, designs, drawings and specifications for the new turf club. — Bernama

Malaysian economy to grow 5.5% next year

By Farah Wahida:

Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected grow between five percent and 5.5 percent in 2013, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai.

The good economic growth will likely be driven by healthy domestic demand and more income inflow from the tourism, construction and services sectors, he said in a report by The Borneo Post.

“On fiscal deficit, we expect it to be reduced to four percent or below next year, from the current 4.7 percent.”

Furthermore, the government aims to cut Malaysia’s fiscal deficit to three percent by 2015.

Investments to see boom time in 2013

By Farah Wahida:

More investments are expected to flow into Malaysia in 2013 given the number of ongoing and upcoming projects, according to Frederico Gil Sander, World Bank Senior Economist for Malaysia.

Majority of these projects are from the property, infrastructure, as well as oil and gas (O&G) sectors.

“Notable projects in the O&G sector include the RM60 billion Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang, Johor and the RM3.8 billion Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) in Kimanis.”

Moreover, progress of various property and infrastructure projects such as the RM26 billion Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), the RM4.45 billion Second Penang Bridge and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project will also encourage investors to invest more.

“These investments are directly and indirectly linked to the structural increase in commodity prices over the past six or seven years. The challenge for Malaysia going forward is to ensure investments in non-commodity sectors, such as manufacturing and knowledge-intensive services, also pick up,” he noted.

“With respect to portfolio investment, we expect these flows to remain volatile as they depend on the sentiment of foreign investors, which is likely to shift as countries approach and turn back from various policy cliffs. For example, the United States fiscal cliff or the debt overhang issues in the Eurozone.”

Nonetheless, Malaysia is expected to remain an attractive destination for overseas investors in the long-term due to its potential for higher-than-average growth.

BCB gets good response to condo project

By Wong King Wai of The Edge Financial Daily
Friday, 21 December 2012 12:29


KUALA LUMPUR: The second phase of BCB Bhd's Concerto North Kiara condominium project, which was launched on Dec 1, has already attracted some RM52.3 million in sales.

Phase 2 of the condominium development, situated north of the main Mont'Kiara area which borders Segambut in Kuala Lumpur, offers 162 units housed in two blocks called Ballade and Carol, each with 81 units.

Concerto North Kiara has an overall gross development value of RM520million and offers a total of 440 units. It is the Johor-based BCB's maiden property venture in the Klang Valley.

Phase 1, which was launched on July 7, featured two blocks named Adagio and Etude. They also featured a total 162 3-bedroom units with built-ups starting from 1,500 sq ft and prices from RM1.1 million. All the units have since been sold.

"Concerto North Kiara has been very well received by our purchasers and has also been receiving good comments from property investors, real estate agents and visitors in general," said project general manager Sean Tan. "Our pricing is below RM700 psf. For such exclusive condominiums which emphasise privacy and security, they are definitely a good buy."

The 3+1 bedroom units in Phase 2 will have built-ups from 1,590 to 1,818 sq ft and are priced from RM1.1 million onwards. Each unit comes with a private lobby measuring 120 to 156 sq ft that belongs to the purchaser.

Concerto's unique selling point is its same floor drainage system that prevents water leakages from affecting the units below. When completed in 2015, Concerto will feature five blocks.

On the outlook in the coming months, Tan acknowledged that the economic climate is still uncertain but he is positive 2013 will see better growth in Malaysia and the region. US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's pending visits to this region show that opportunities abound in Malaysia, said Tan.

"Our Ministry of Tourism will also be embarking on an MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) programme roadshow to China's major cities to attract investors to come to Malaysia to stay and do business … I foresee a good market for our Concerto North Kiara units for Phase 2 and Phase 3 next year," he said.

BCB's next yet-to-be-launched project is in Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam, where 513 bungalows and 49 shophouses will be developed. The RM1.8 billion project will offer bungalows priced from RM2 million. The built-ups will be between 4,500 and 6,000 sq ft, with land area sizes from 6,000 sq ft.

BCB's main development activity is centred in Johor, particularly in Batu Pahat and Kluang. Besides residential projects, such as Taman Bukit Perdana, Evergreen Heights and Bandar Putra Indah, the company is also the developer of BCB Plaza in Kluang and U-Mall in Skudai, as well as a hotel, Prime City Hotel, in Kluang.

This story first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily edition of Dec 21, 2012.

Intro of PEMUDAH Malaysia

The idea for a high-powered task force to address bureaucracy in business-government dealings was first introduced in the Prime Minister’s annual speech to the Civil Service on 11th January 2007. It was recognised that a concerted cross-ministerial initiative was needed to effect greater improvement in the way government regulates businesses. To be truly relevant, it was also essential to have active participation by the private sector.

On 7th February 2007, the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business or PEMUDAH (taken from the task force’s Malay name ‘Pasukan Petugas Khas Pemudahcara Perniagaan’) was established. Reporting directly to the Prime Minister, the team comprises 23 highly respected individuals from both the private and public sectors. It is co-chaired by Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, the Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia and Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Datuk Yong Poh Kon, President of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers.

Terms of Reference:
To review the status of the public services delivery system in terms of processes, procedures, legislation and human resource and to propose new policies for improvements;
To benchmark best practices to improve the ease of doing business;
To enhance collaboration among public and private sector agencies to improve Malaysia’s competitiveness;
To monitor the implementation of policies, strategies and procedure that would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public and private sector delivery system; and
To take appropriate action to address issues in line with the National philosophy of 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now. Vision and Values



To achieve a globally benchmarked, customer-centric, innovative, entrepreneurial and proactive public and private sector delivery service in support of a vibrant, resilient and competitive economy and society, driven by the following:
A sense of urgency
Proactive public-private sector collaboration
Facilitation, not hampering
No more regulation than necessary
Zero tolerance for corruption

Govt to implement build-and-sell concept by 2015: Pemudah

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is to implement the build-and-sell concept by 2015 to stem the problem pf abandoned housing projects, according to the 2012 annual report of the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (Pemudah).

The report, which was issued Monday, said the concept would be implemented through the financing of houses based on Syariah to buyers.

The government also imposed tighter laws through an amendment to the Housing Development Act (Control and Licensing) 1966 (Act 118), it said.

Among others, the deposit was increased from RM200,000 to three percent of the cost of physical development, including professional fees for the Housing Development Account, and a maximum penalty of RM50,000 has been set, compared to RM20,000 previously for offences under any provision of Act 118.

The amendment, passed by Parliament, also gave buyers more rights on matters of house buying, including the choice to cancel the sale-and-purchase agreement if there is no progress at the site six months after the date of agreement.

The scope of the House Buyers Claims Tribunal was also expanded to enable buyers to seek compensation from unlicenced housing developers.

A list of developers who were blacklisted and problematic housing projects were also displayed on the website of the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

According to the report, 32 abandoned housing projects had been revived by the Special Task force for Revival of Abandoned Housing Projects last year.

"The remaining 62 abandoned projects with 26,486 units and 17,400 buyers, are at various stages of revival while 22 other projects are in the planning stage to be revived by developers identified by the government," said the report. - Bernama

Property buyers seen shifting to affordability in 2013

By Kamarul Azhar of theedgeproperty.com
Thursday, 13 December 2012 13:38


PETALING JAYA (Dec 13): The trend of property buying in the country will shift towards affordability in 2013, which will see buyers gravitating towards products with lower absolute pricing, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank analyst Sean Lim.

He said property developers should respond to the shift in preference, by cutting back on the scale of property launches, reduce absolute selling price by selling smaller units and transit from selling high rise to landed units.

"Going into 2013, we expect the challenges to intensify as both property developers and buyers undergo a transition phase, with buyer preference undergoing a dramatic shift towards affordability," said Lim.

He added launches and sales is expected to moderate in 2013 compared with 2012, dismissing talk that the property market will see a hard landing next year.

"We still do not believe that a hard landing scenario is likely to transpire in 2013. Asset quality for loans continued to improve with NPL (non-performing loans) ratio at all-time low of 1.9% for residential property loans," said Lim.

However, a major risk of rising NPL ratios among banks due to Malaysians losing holding power of their properties still lingers, according to Lim.

Property developers also face the risk of margin erosion in 2013 if material prices spike or pressure from lower selling price of properties, slow down in sales or cut back in launches.

Major catalysts for the industry in 2013 include the RM46 billion worth of investments announced to be implemented in Iskandar Malaysia starting next year, and also the completion of the second Penang bridge.

"The RM46 billion of developments announced in last week's WIEF (World Islamic Economic Forum) should help sustain interest for UEM Land Holdings Bhd.

"Penang mainland is also set to benefit from the opening of Penang Second Bridge in Sept 2013. Within our coverage, Mah Sing looks set to be the biggest beneficiary, as its Southbay City integrated development has balance GDV of RM2.1 billion," he said.

As the responsible financing guideline started to take effect on property transactions, the operating environment of the property sector is expected to get more competitive next year.

Some property analysts are of the opinion that property developers with strong branding and big land bank are the ones who can remain positive above the rest.

Among the property developers with large land bank and strong brand in Malaysia include Sime Darby Bhd, UEM Land Holdings Bhd, IJM Land Bhd, S P Setia Bhd and WCT Bhd.

S P Setia targets an ambitious FY2013 property sales of RM5.5 billion, after managed to surpass its target RM4 billion of sales this year. The group's achieved record new property sales of RM4.2 billion in FY2012, an increase of 28.6% year-on-year.

However, other differs saying that gearing level and valuations are more important for property developers next year, citing the lower expected growth rate.

Meanwhile, Affin Investment Bank's analyst Isaac Chow, whose property stock top pick include UOA Development Bhd and KLCC Property Holdings Bhd, said it is more important for investors to choose property stocks with appealing valuation and strong brand equity.

In a report on UOA Development, Chow stated that the group remains Affin IB's top pick among the property development stocks because of its undemanding valuation, high dividend yield, strong cash position, strong track record and management experience.

"UOA Development remains our top pick for exposure to the property sector and we continue to like the company for its undemanding valuation at 6.5 times CY13 core EPS, 1.1 times NTA and high dividend yield of over 5%,

"Strong cash position of RM274.7 million, strong branding, strong execution track record, and experienced management team who are highly adaptable to changes in market dynamic," stated Chow.

Affin IB has a target price of RM2.40 on UOA Development, based on 25% discount on its revalued net asset value (RNAV) of RM3.17.

UOA Development share stood at RM1.70 per share as at 11.48 am this morning, up 1 sen or 0.59% from yesterday's (Wednesday) close of RM1.69.