PJD to launch projects worth RM2b next year

PJ Development Holdings Bhd (PJD) is set to unveil three new projects worth over RM2 billion next year as it is bullish that market will perform better on pent-up demand for high-end properties.

Managing director Wong Ah Chiew said he is confident that the new projects, located in hot spots like Sri Hartamas, Cheras and Kuantan, Pahang, will do well.

This year, PJD did not launch any new projects except for sub-phases in existing developments because of uncertainties in the market.

The company has five on-going projects, lasting it for the next five years. They are Swiss-Garden Residences at Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, Taman Putri Kulai and Mont' Callista in Johor, Taman Bukit Istana in Kuantan, and Ocean View in Butterworth, Penang.
"These projects have been selling well. For instance, Ocean View, a condominium development, is 80 per cent sold. We have a number of enquiries for new projects and that is why we are launching," Wong said.

In Sri Hartamas, PJD will launch Dutamas Kingsbury, located near Solaris, the bustling commercial centre of Mont' Kiara, by early next year.

Dutamas Kingsbury boasts over 200 condominium units, each with built-up of more than 2,000 sq ft, priced from RM650 per sq ft, and some 60 units of three-storey super link homes, with over 3,000 sq ft in built-up area, selling from RM3 million.

"Demand and choice are there and availability of land is scarce in the Mont' Kiara area. So we hope there will be good take-up," Wong said after the company's extraordinary general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

In Cheras, PJD plans to launch an integrated development featuring retail lots, shopoffices, a mall and high-rise serviced apartments, by mid-2011.

Wong said the best project will be the resort-style development at Sg Karang in Kuantan, located close to Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan.

The project, which is targeted for launch in the second half of next year, will comprise seafront condominiums, and a four- or five-star hotel.

"We expect that from 2011, when all these projects take off, our turnover from property development will increase. We have several other new projects in the planning stage," Wong said.

For fiscal year ended June 30 2010, PJD posted a net profit of RM52.8 million on revenue of RM666 million, whereby 40-odd per cent was contributed by property development.

PJD also runs a profitable power cable manufacturing business and owns the Swiss Garden chain of hotels.

"We will definitely perform better in the current year," he said.

By Business Times

Subang - best choice for city airport

ONE idea that should have been given more prominence in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), in the context of “Greater KL”, is the creation of a city airport.

Specifically, turning the already existing Subang airport into a city airport, with more aircraft plying it, including (albeit, in a limited way), commercial jet aircraft.

City airports are a feature of many major cities the world over and they seem to nicely complement their major airports.

What sets this idea apart from other transport-related ones in the ETP is that it requires so little to get it started. That’s because we already have a city airport in form. What is needed is a mere tweaking of policies. At present, the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang only allows the operations of propeller aircraft (for commercial passenger flights).

Turning the Subang airport into a full-fledged city airport does not require the heaps of investments other transport-related plans mentioned in the ETP.

Furthermore, it requires very little changes to an already choking city. One just has to imagine the major construction works that will be carried out to build the mass rapid transit system over the next few years. And, the astronomical ball park figure of RM50bil to get that project up and running. Until today, it is unclear who exactly is going to fork that money out.

To turn Subang airport into a city airport however, will require a decent dose of political will and careful explanation to interested parties why this is a good idea now.

To be sure, this idea is not new. Everyone following the aviation industry will know of that one very entrepreneurial airline industry individual who had lobbied long and hard for his budget airline to use Subang as its base. The idea even then, made perfect sense but it was never to see the light of day, for one reason or another.

One of those reasons was a determination by the Government to make KL International Airport (KLIA) a success.

Hence the question is, will a move to have a city airport be detrimental to KLIA? From the standpoint of airport operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the concern will surely be that its earnings from KLIA could be cannibalised from giving Subang more flights.

Well, that’s one way of looking at it. Another way to see it is that Subang can play a complimentary role to KLIA, just like how most city airports in bigger cities around the world do. In London, Chicago, New York, Tokyo and Shanghai, the city airports have posed no major threats to the main airports in those cities, as the city airports play a sort of niche and complimentary role. Furthermore, it is very likely that having a city airport would create new revenue streams for MAHB.

City airports tend to cater to shorter flights and appeal largely to businessmen and professionals making short flights to attend meetings.

A well-located city airport (like the one in Subang) will help reduce regional business travel time significantly, which in turn could enhance productivity levels of Malaysian professionals and businessmen.

Subang airport’s transformation into a city airport has other advantages. Since 2008, work had begun to transform it into a modern day airport by its operator Subang Skypark Sdn Bhd, with much success, judging by the growing number of passengers travelling through it. The area is also the home of the Malaysian International Aerospace Centre.

It is located not too far away from the KTM Komuter station in Subang Jaya. This poses the possibility, again without a massive amount of capital expenditure, to link the airport up with the city via KL Sentral. Imagine the connectivity and time-savings for a business traveller flying in from say, Bangkok or Singapore for a meeting in Shangri-La hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Hence more little more needs to be done other than a change in government policies, to give this facility a chance to become a full-fledged city airport.

Jet aircraft plying Subang however, had been contentious in the past for another reason – some residents of Subang didn’t quite like it, and understandably so. But smaller narrow-bodied jet aircraft should be less offensive to the residents.

Also, to be noted is that Subang airport already has jet aircraft flying into it, in the form of private jets and Transmile Group Bhd’s cargo planes. Furthermore, if indeed, Subang airport is made the city airport, the township of Subang should see a multiplier effect as the connectivity would bring in more travellers needing services such as eateries and hotels. Property prices in Subang will also likely to benefit. All that may be needed is careful planning and proper communication and the chances are, there would be more people supporting the idea of making Subang airport, Greater KL’s much needed city airport.

Deputy news editor Risen Jayaseelan, who lives less than 20km from the Subang airport and who loves to travel into the region, openly declares that his arguments for more flights out of Subang Airport is partly driven by personal interests.

By The Star (by Risen Jayaseelan)

Property tax likely to be launched soon

BEIJING: China will soon start to levy a property tax on a trial basis to curb speculation and contain housing inflation, an industry group said yesterday.

Talk about a property tax has swirled in China for many years and has weighed on the domestic stock market this year amid signs that the government was about ready to implement such a levy.

“It will be launched within months, not in years,” Nie Meisheng, president of the semi-official China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce, told a forum.

The central government said at the end of September that it would accelerate efforts to launch a property tax trial, though it gave no details.

He Ken, deputy head of the economic committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s largely ceremonial parliament, told the same forum that the tax rate would be higher on bigger homes and that homes below a certain size would receive exemptions.

“Imposing a property tax is a major way to curb speculation,” Mr He said. “All other measures are unable to help China fundamentally solve the housing problem.”

The municipalities of Shanghai and Chongqing have already submitted proposals to the central government for how to design a property tax. Nie said China would experiment with multiple alternatives in the trial stage.

China unveiled a battery of policies to cool its real estate market earlier this year and reinforced them at the end of September with a move to raise downpayments on some home purchases.

There had been signs of a pick-up in property transactions and prices in recent weeks but the latest steps appear to have taken the wind out of the market’s sails.

“A rebound in housing prices is unlikely this year,” Nie said.

By Reuters

Mah Sing: Keep tax relief on housing loans

Mah Sing Group has called on the government to maintain the tax relief on interest up to RM10,000 per year incurred on housing loans.

This was initially announced for sale and purchase agreements executed between March 2009 and December 2010.

"In fact, it would be good if the tax relief is extended to all interest incurred on end financing for the first home," said Mah Sing's chief executive officer Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum in a statement today.

In line with government's initiative to promote affordable home ownership, he said the government could also consider providing grants for first-time house owners.

On the proposal for the loan to value ratio to be reduced to 70 or 80 per cent for third and fourth property, Leong said any implementation should take into consideration the industry feedback and current market consideration.

"We are confident that banks are very selective and have their own set of strict guidelines when giving out loans to ensure high quality of loans," he said.

Leong said for Malaysia to become a high-income economy, the mandatory delivery of a given percentage of low-cost houses by developers should be reviewed.

"In selected locations with high land cost, this can be replaced by the delivery of low-medium cost houses so that it will be more equitable for developers," he said.

He also hoped that the government will further ease policies to encourage foreigners to buy properties in Malaysia as this can be significant source of foreign direct investment.

By Bernama

iProperty.com launches ad-free portal

IPGA Ltd, owner of Asia's number one network of property portal under the iProperty.com umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), has launched an ad-free property portal Propertyguru.com.my.

The portal is for use to test innovative interface design concepts and technologies, iProperty.com said in a statement today.

The group's chief executive officer Shaun De Gregorio said the new beta site is a platform to safely test new technology and products and set new industry standards for Malaysia and the region.

"The launch of our new beta test site, Propertyguru.com.my, is a welcome addition to the iProperty.com group of website," he said.

"It is a testament to the iProperty.com group's commitment to innovation and to providing our consumers with a different search experience."

Launched as an extension of the iProperty.com Malaysia brand, all property data on Propertyguru.com.my, including its 120,000 property listings for sale and rent, is powered by iProperty.com.my.

By Bernama