Properties continue to attract investors

SINGAPORE: The global economic crisis has not slowed down the property development sector, particularly in Malaysia's southern region.

SP Setia Bhd Group president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said people still had the means to invest in property.



"In these trying times, selling (property) is not easy to do. But the good thing about the current situation is that people have money. In 1997 and 1998, people had no money.

"As far as the Malaysian market is concerned, the banks are flush with money. None of the banks are in trouble," said Tan, after launching SP Setia's Singapore sales office at Harbourfront Tower One here.

Tan said SP Setia had taken advantage of this situation by offering the "5/95 Home Loan Package" where buyers pay a five per cent downpayment and service the remaining 95 per cent through a bank loan.

Maybank, CIMB, Public Bank and EON Bank are involved in this three-month offer which ends April 19.

Tan, who admitted that Johor Baru continued to be an attractive area for property sales, said SP Setia recorded almost RM500 million in sales since the "5/95" offer was launched.

The offer is also open to buyers from Singapore.

SP Setia has property developments in Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang. The group has also teamed up with a Vietnamese conglomerate, Becamex IDC Corp for a development project near Ho Chi Minh City.

Tan said that the group was further expanding its products to Singaporeans with the opening of its first sales office at the Harbourfront, which is located in the heart of the republic's busiest trade district.

Currently its Singaporean clientele stands at 800 with accumulated property sales of RM300 million.

Singaporeans make up five per cent of the SP Setia property buyers, and Tan said the group aimed to increase it up to 10 per cent.

By Business Times (by Ahmad Fairuz Othman)