Suncity sees its property prices up 20pc

Sunway City Bhd (Suncity), developer of the Sunway Integrated Resort City in Bandar Sunway, expects prices at its property launches to increase by 20 per cent this year from 2008.

Its managing director of property development in Malaysia, Ho Hon Sang, said this was in line with the current market trend.

"Suncity's launches for this year will mainly in the Klang Valley with a gross development value of RM1.5 billion," he told Bernama in an interview.

Suncity, Ho said, believes that its premium pricing strategy of focusing on properties with "green initiatives" that promote quality of life will place it well ahead of competitors.
"Our property prices are usually 10 to 20 per cent above the competitors," he said.

According to Ho, the Malaysian property market is not expected to enter a bubble stage despite rising prices due to the limited supply of land in prime areas, and availability of liquidity at the banks and institutions such as the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

"Malaysian property prices are still lower compared to Singapore," he said. Suncity began its green journey back during its Sunway Integrated Resort City in Bandar Sunway, an iconic project which encompasses a township of medical, university, shopping and retail mall as well as resort and hotels.

"We have also emphasised on security with the implementation of CCTV within strategic roads and location and auxiliary police to ensure proper surveillance," Ho said.

"Sustainable construction is certainly here to stay as
Malaysians are becoming more environmentally conscious. Moreover, it is widely practised by other developers overseas," he said.

He also said that Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd's cement products such as the Phoenix complemented the group's objective to promote sustainable construction.

The group's efforts in going green were given recognition when the Sunway Palazzio development in Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, was awarded the Gold Award in High Rise Residential Development by Singapore's Building and Construction Authority Green Mark Scheme.

Sunway Palazzio is the first high-rise residential development in Malaysia to receive the coveted award based on five criteria -- energy efficiency, water efficiency, site/project development and management, good indoor environmental quality and environmental protection, and innovation.

By Bernama

Mah Sing, Mahajaya to team up

Mah Sing Group Bhd's wholly-owned unit, Grand Prestige Development Sdn Bhd will team up with Mahajaya Bhd's subsidiary, Medan Damai Sdn Bhd, to develop 5.28 hectares in Kinrara.

In a statement, Mah Sing said it would be the developer and Medan Damai the landowner. It said the joint venture (JV) would form part of the on-going mixed project, known as Taman Damai Utama, a matured development with more than 600 units of two- and two-and-a-half-storey terrace houses sold and delivered.

"The commercial portion of the development comprising more than 100 units of terrace shop and offices are also sold except for Bumiputra units," it said.

Mah Sing said it planned to rebrand the JV into a residence development comprising gated and guarded environment with trend-setting layouts and lush greenery.
It said the JV has an estimated gross development value of RM100 million and comprised 180 units of terrace houses which were launched in April this year.

"To date, 53 units with sales value of about RM29 million have been sold while a further 27 units are booked but sale and purchase agreements have not been signed," it said.

It said construction works had started. Group managing director, Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum, said it was an opportune JV for the company to replicate its success in Perdana Residence 2 in Selayang and Garden Residence in Cyberjaya where sales were good due to the good location, strong concept and value proposition backed by the company's brand.

By Bernama

iProperty draws 1.1m visitors in June

iProperty.com Malaysia experienced a record-breaking 75 per cent year-on-year growth to 1.1 million in visits in June 2010.

This growth was attributed to iProperty.com's aggressive marketing efforts to increase traffic to the site via advertising, online marketing and strategic partnership.

"We have broken records in all key metrics as we continue to dominate as Malaysia's No 1 property website," said country manager Ken Tsurumaru in a statement today.

According to iProperty.com, the website also hit a significant milestone of having over 100 thousand registered members, a 155 per cent increase in members since June 2009.
The company said as it continued to gain in popularity among consumers, more real estate agents were turning to the property portal as a means to advertise their properties.

In June this year, the website signed on 452 new property agent advertisers, totalling a 51 per cent growth in agent subscriptions between January and June 2010.

To date, it has over 4,300 real estate agents paying to advertise on the website.

By Bernama

New boss wants UDA to focus on core strengths

The newly appointed chairman of UDA Holdings, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed will stress on the company focusing on three core business areas namely real estate, development of town and management of shopping complexes in three major cities in the country.

This is to make a success of the Bumiputera mission as set out by the government in the 10th Malaysia Plan and the New Economic Model, he said.

"The cities would be Johor Baru (Johor); Kuala Lumpur and George Town (Penang)," he told reporters in Johor on Saturday.

Nur Jazlan said he had received the official briefing from the managing director of UDA, Datuk Jaafar Abu Hassan, and had directed that all management of UDA focus on the businesses in the three cities.
He said he wanted the existence of UDA to enable the Bumiputera community to compete with other communities and at the same time did not want to hear incidents of them having to move out of the cities because they could not afford to buy residences or business premises in the cities.

UDA has strength in the management of shopping complexes being the sole Bumiputera company managing properties in the cities such as BB Plaza, Pertama Complex and Daya Bumi in Kuala Lumpur and Plaza Angsana in Johor Baru.

This is an edge UDA has and it should be fully exploited to ensure that the Bumiputera community can do businesses in the main cities, he said.

UDA has been delisted from Bursa Malaysia and is under the patronage of the Minister of Finance Inc and the government wants it to be a corporation as was its mission during its establishment 40 years ago.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is very concerned and wants to see UDA return to the root of its establishment which is to strengthen the ownership of properties by Bumiputera be it business or residential in the city area, Nur Jazlan said.

Nur Jazlan who is also member of parliament for Pulai, was announced as the new chairman of UDA in mid-June, replacing Datuk Hilmi Abd Rashid, for a two-year term.

By Bernama

YPU to invest RM40mil to build two hotels

KUALA TERENGGANU: Yayasan Pembangunan Usahawan Terengganu (YPU) will build two three-star hotels, costing more than RM40 million, in the state.

"This is the first hotel project to be undertaken by the foundation," said its Genera Manager Azmi Razik in an interview with Bernama on Monday.

He said the "T Hotel" chain would create employment opportunities for 100 people when they begin operations in mid-2012.

Azmi also said the RM15 million three-storey T'Hotel would be built on a one hectare site near the Sultan Mahmud airport and have 76 rooms to cater for tourists arriving in the state.

The hotel would also boost of other facilities such as a convention hall, shops and a cafe.

Meanwhile, YPU is currently building a RM26 million entreprenuer complex in Kampung Banggol Tuan Muda, near here, which would comprise a hotel, batik village, an entreprenuer training centre and offices.

Azmi was confident the complex would enjoy good business as it was strategically located near institutions of higher learning and residential areas.

In another development, he said YPU would soon establish a RM100,000 T'Shop in Sungai Petani, Kedah, which would sell a variety of made-in-Terengganu products including batik, songket and brassware.

By Bernama

E&O water limousine to boost Penang allure

EASTERN and Oriental Bhd is set to add to Penang's attractions with one of its newest offerings: a water limousine service operating between the 125-year-old Eastern and Oriental (E&O) Hotel and the Seri Tanjung Pinang development.

Executive director Eric Chan Kok Leong said the E&O water limousine will ferry passengers between the new pier at the E&O Hotel Annexe and the retail marina at Straits Quay in Seri Tanjung Pinang in Tanjung Tokong.

"These plans are subject to the authorities' approval and we are currently evaluating potential partners with the necessary expertise in type of craft and caliber of operations management," he told Business Times.

Construction of the 15-storey E&O Hotel Annexe, which is estimated to cost RM150 million, is slated for completion by the end of next year.
Chan said the ground floor of the annexe will have new restaurants and 5,000 sq ft of retail space.

As for the seafronting Straits Quay, which is sited within Phase 1 of Seri Tanjung Pinang, the E&O group will be announcing its retail partners soon.

"We are on track to open by the end of this year," Chan said, adding that construction is in its final phase. When launched, the sea-facing galleria will occupy 4.4ha, out of which the nett lettable area is approximately 270,000 sq ft.

"Straits Quay is sectioned into three thematic zones and, to date, a good mix of tenants have been secured, appealing to tourists and local residents living within a 15km radius," Chan said.

The food and beverage precinct centres around the marina and offers alfresco dining on the water fringe.

Chan said that in addition to outlets offering Asian, Japanese and Italian cuisines, to name a few, there will be seafood restaurants, bars and bistros dotting Straits Quay's outdoor dining boulevard.

"The tourist belt will offer souvenir and gift concessions, and feature Penang artisans."

The Suites at Waterside's serviced apartments, launched two years ago, will be handed over to buyers this month.

By Business Times