KUALA LUMPUR: More Malaysian developers are expected to invest abroad to diversify their source of earnings and avoid tough industry rules at home.

"Increasing affluence would accelerate these outward investments," The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda) president Datuk Seri Michael Yam Kong Choy said after Rehda's first half 2011 property update yesterday.

Recently, SP Setia Bhd said it is buying land in Melbourne, Australia, for RM81 million cash, its second foray into Melbourne.

Other developers that have been investing overseas include Berjaya Land Bhd, Lion Group, Sunway Group, PJ Development Holdings Bhd, WCT Bhd, Glomac Bhd and Gamuda Bhd.

Yam also said more individuals will invest in properties overseas as part of their portfolio diversification strategy.

In the last few years, property developers from Australia and the UK have been showcasing more of their products in Malaysia.

Yam also thinks that more regulations and legislation imposed by the authorities would accelerate such overseas investments.

Rehda vice-president and ex-chairman of its Selangor branch Mustaza Mohamad said there are too many laws governing the property sector in Malaysia.

"This is a very rigid industry. We need to have flexible policies. Whether the Ministry Of Housing And Local Government, Bank Negara Malaysia or state authorities, we need to know if the policies are good for us or not," he said.

Rehda council member and head of property operations at Sime Darby Property Bhd, Wan Hashimi Albakri, said Malaysia should be a more free market economy.

"Developers are pressured to sell cheaper houses. But in reality, there are no more cheap houses as the cost has gone up from 30-odd per cent to more than 80 per cent in the last few years.

"The government should be putting in more money in peoples' pockets. There should be more wealth creation. Banks also should take a haircut for those buying properties," he said.

SOURCE: Business Times

SA65 signifies the 65 acres utilised in the development of this residential enclave within Simpang Ampat which is oriented towards the experience of ideal home living.

The specially designed features of SA65 fulfills the true needs of every home. The emphasis is on what contributes towards making a residence what it should be. Comfort freedom and convenience are the prime considerations. Hence the importance given to space allotment. With a sizeable built-up average of about 3500 sq ft for Terrace ‘T1’ and 4500 sq ft for Semi Detached Home ‘S1’, you are assured of more than enough indoor space to ensure not only total living comfort but individual privacy.

SA65 further incorporates a commercial sector which comprises 4-storey bunglow-style commercial blocks which impart a distinctive corporate image. The flexible features of these units, each of which comprises at least 10,000 sf and above, are a boost to any commercial operation where space and top functionality are of primary importance.

Each phase is a guarded community with a single-entry point and guarded-house to ensure the safety and peace of mind of the residents within.

Property Project : SA65 @ Taman Perdana Utama
Location : Simpang Ampat, Penang
Property Type : 3-Storey Terrace & Semi-D
Tenure : Freehold
Built-up Area: 22′ x 50′ (Terrace), 26′ x 50′ (Semi-D)
Total Units : 67 (Terrace), 30 (Semi-D)
Indicative Price: RM 525,000 onwards
Developer : Great Marvel Sdn. Bhd.
Contact No.: 04-588 4992

GEORGE TOWN: Prospective home owners and investors made a beeline for SP Setia Bhd Group’s ‘Setia 4U Showcase’ featuring a vast range of its impressive developments at the Gurney Plaza here.

It comprised both existing and upcoming projects in the northern, central and southern regions of the country, as well as those in Singapore and Australia.

Datuk S. Sundarajoo, the company’s general manager, property division (north), said the showcase laid out all their offerings to prospective customers in a one-stop setting.

‘Instead of having people come to us, we’re going to them.

‘There are people in Penang who might be interested in property in Kuala Lumpur, and vice versa. This way, one can purchase one of our property in another region of the country without having to go far,’ he added.

Among the new offerings are the Setia V Residences along Gurney Drive, and Fulton Lane in Melbourne, Australia. The latter, according to Sundarajoo, has been 70% sold out since its launch at the end of June.

Adding intrigue to the showcase were a group of 200 flash mobbers, all dressed in orange, who spontaneously gathered to dance and freeze in weird poses around the exhibition area.

From now until Oct 31, the group is also offering easy ownership packages and between 20 and 50 times rewards points under its Setia Privilege Program (SPP), which can be converted to offset part of the down payment at a rate of RM1 per point.

The showcase next moves on to PWTC in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 30 to Oct 2, followed by City Square in Johor Baru from Oct 7 to Oct 9.

SOURCE: The Star

THE state government may reject applications by housing developers to pay premium in the event they could not build low medium-cost (LMC) and low-cost (LC) units.

State Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the state might reject such applications if they were to involve squatters and relocation issues which were yet to be resolved.

He said the option for developers to pay premium if they could not build the LMC and LC units was stipulated under the new housing guidelines.

The new guidelines, which came into force in May, state that developers will have to pay RM30,000 for each LMC unit and RM40,000 for each LC unit, in lieu of not building them in new housing developments.

“Whether or not a developer can just pay the premium is subject to the state’s approval.

“We need to look into the public’s interest as well,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He added that under the new guidelines, developers also had the option of ‘buying’ the quota from other developers who had built more than the required LMC and LC units.

“However, developers still have to pay the premium to the state but at a 25% discount,” he said.

Wong said the payment by the developers would be used by the state to finance public housing projects.

It was reported on Aug 9 that Penang Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan, who is also Penang BN Working Committee chairman, had queried whether the state was collecting premium from developers for not building LMC and LC houses.

Wong said since May, the state had not approved any housing projects under the new guidelines.

He also said a total of 11,596 LMC and LC units had been approved in the state since Pakatan Rakyat took over the government in March 2008.

Source: The Star

GEORGE TOWN: A PKR assemblyman, alleging fraud in the allotment of low-medium cost units, wants assemblymen from Pakatan Rakyat to be involved in the selection process.

Kebun Bunga assemblyman Jason Ong Khan Lee said this was because those who were not entitled were given approval by the State Housing Unit.

“The recipients later sell off the units to make profits. This is causing the price of the units to rise,” he said.

Ong, who is Bukit Bendera PKR division head, claimed the present process of selecting recipients by the State Housing Unit had led to corruption and incompetency.

“The prices of properties are shooting to a record high due to land shortage in Penang.

“The assemblymen are in the forefront when dealing with complaints from the public who can no longer afford to buy properties. So they know best who should get the units,’’ he added.

Ong proposed the selection panel include the 39 Pakatan assemblymen and 11 constituency coordinators overseeing the 11 seats held by Umno assemblymen.

He is the third Pakatan representative to voice complaints over the selection of unit recipients, following reservations expressed by Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi and Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff.

Ooi was recently quoted as saying that he had evidence of “black market activities” in the allocation process.

SOURCE: The Star