Mah Sing expects more foreign buyers

KUALA LUMPUR: Mah Sing Group Bhd, Malaysia's second largest listed developer by sales value in 2011, expects more foreign buyers for its properties, and the driver will be the new 21 projects announced recently, with committed investment of RM20.46 billion.

"These projects will attract more foreigners to invest in Malaysia's real estate sector. By having the right products in good locations, we will be able to attract them," said Mah Sing group managing director cum group CEO, Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum.

Leong said despite the gloomy global economic picture, Mah Sing experienced strong take-up from foreign property buyers in the last two years, increasing from five per cent to around 10 per cent.

They are mainly buying into projects like M City at Jalan Ampang, Icon City in Petaling Jaya, and Southbay Plaza in Penang, he said yesterday, at the sidelines of Invest Malaysia.

Leong said Mah Sing is setting up offices in Jakarta, the UK and Singapore to woo foreign buyers here. It already has an operating office in China to do that.

On the property market outlook, Leong expects robustness in selected segments. Leong expects stronger demand for properties, especially in gated and guarded schemes, priced above RM1 million, in Greater Kuala Lumpur.

Mah Sing currently has 39 residential, commercial and industrial projects in Greater KL, Johor, Penang and Sabah, with remaining gross development value (GDV) and unbilled sales of RM18.2 billion.

Some 30 per cent of its residential projects are in the RM1 million to RM3 million range, and they comprise mainly semi-detached homes and bungalows.

By Business Times