THE state government is concerned over the lack of progress at the RM2.7bil Penang Sentral project in Bagan Dalam, Butterworth.

Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman said the project was launched by former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in July 2007 and the first phase was supposed to be completed by this year.

The project’s first phase costing RM400mil involved the construction of permanent bus and taxi terminals with access to the railway station and ferry terminal, along with retail outlets.

The second phase comprises a commercial hub that includes office towers, service apartments, a hotel and waterfront amenities.

Mansor said the state government would give top priority in assisting the Federal Government in expediting construction work.

“The project developers should let us know immediately if there is anything holding up the project.

“If there is any problem, we will make it our priority to help resolve it as soon as possible,” he said yesterday.

Mansor said the integrated transportation hub covering 12ha of land near the Butterworth ferry terminal was vital for economic activities in Butterworth and surrounding areas.

He said that along with the Second Penang Bridge project, the expansion work on the Penang International Airport and Mengkuang Dam, the Penang Sentral project was critical for Penang.

“It is an integral component in the Greater Penang Transformation Pro-gramme to generate economic activities for the people,” he said.

The Penang Sentral project, deve-loped by Malaysian Resources Cor-poration Berhad (MRCB) in partnership with Pelaburan Hartanah Bu-miputera Berhad, is part of the Nor-thern Corridor Economic Region initiative.

Both companies formed a joint venture company, called Penang Sentral Sdn Bhd, which would un-dertake the development of the transport and commercial hub.

Last November, MRCB executive director Datuk Ahmad Zaki Zahid said the first phase would be ready by December 2013, while the second, third and final phases would be completed in 10 years.

The transport hub, when com- pleted by 2020, is expected to gene-rate economic spillover effects of about RM8bil and would cater to approximately 65 million passengers a year.

A RM5mil temporary bus terminal was completed near the project site in March 2008.

The former bus terminal, sited at the Penang Port Commission (PPC) Complex, could not be used after fire razed the complex in May 2001.

Source: The Star

Seri Jaya Condominium, a 20-storey high rise residential development strategically located in the heart of Bukit Mertajam, Penang. Designed with spacious balconies and large windows, allowing you to enjoy the natural sceneries and breathtaking views. It comes with full condo facilities which includes swimming pool, children’s pool, jacuzzi, BBQ area, children’s playground, gym, tennis court, basketball court and etc.

Property Project : Pangsapuri Seri Jaya
Location : Bukit Mertajam, Penang
Property Type : Condominium
Tenure : Freehold
Built-up Area: 1,000 sq.ft. onwards
Total Units : 135
Developer : Global Megajasa Sdn. Bhd.
Contact No: 04-537 1002 / 537 1003
Indicative Price: RM 248,000 onwards

Petaling Jaya: Bank Negara Malaysia had consulted property developers, seeking their inputs on increasing the real property gains tax (RPGT) to curb speculation, people familiar with the matter said yesterday.

Such a move, if announced in the upcoming Budget 2012, will be the second time the central bank will have moved to curb excessive speculation in the property market this year.

Early this year, the government capped loans for buyers of third property to 70 per cent.

Glomac Bhd's group managing director, Datuk FD Iskandar FD Mansor said the impact of RPGT will depend on what rate and form the RPGT will take.

"Such concerns were possibly relevant last and early this year, but since April, the situation has cooled down," said Iskandar after the company's annual general meeting yesterday.

"I hope they don't do it. It is not necessary," he said. Developers are concerned that imposing fresh regulation will be an unwelcome game-changer. This is because of concerns on the global economic situation.

"What we need are clear and transparent guidelines which will not deter foreign investors away," said Iskandar, adding that for Glomac, only a neglible five to 10 per cent of their buyers are speculators.

In the Budget 2010, government had reimposed the RPGT at 5 per cent, which took effect January 1 2010.

Meanwhile, Iskandar told reporters that Glomac will be launching properties with gross development value of RM3.8 billion in the next few years Its current unbilled sales stand at RM550 million.

This year, it will launch several projects such as RM250 million Mutiara Damansara residences, RM250 million commercial project Glomac Cyberjaya 2, and RM400 million mixed development project, Glomac Utama, in Petaling Jaya.

He is confident that Glomac will maintain its good earnings in the current financial year ending April 2012.

"We have various types of property. Our township projects are doing well with record sales, there is a good take-up rate for our commercial property, while our strata title properties are still doing good."

He pointed out that withbanks being in strong position and highly liquid, the property market, especially in Kuala Lumpur, is still in good demand with confidence level still strong.

Iskandar said Glomac is not active in exploring opportunities abroad as "there are plenty of opportunities in Malaysia itself, especially in the KL Greater Area which cannot be missed". – By Roziana Hamsawi

SOURCE: Business Times

PETALING JAYA: Property stocks face pressure in the coming months with foreign shareholders expected to pare down their stakes on concerns over the weakening ringgit and less bullish housing sales next year due owing to an anticipated global economic slowdown.

RHB Research has downgraded the property sector to “underweight” from “neutral” for the fourth quarter on lack of short-term catalysts, and said it expected the sector to continue underperforming the broader market.

“Valuations of many property stocks have become cheaper, but we continue to see further downside for the sector due to the two reasons given.

“We are also advising investors to avoid high beta tactical property sector play, given that heightening market risk premium of the global economy slipping into a double-dip recession is rising,” it said.

In tandem with other falling Asian currencies, the sharp weakening of the ringgit by 8% in less than two months suggests there would be more foreign equity selling going forward.

“This is reinforced by the declining liquidity in the system that has just started to come off in recent months. We take particular caution on large-cap stocks such as UEM Land, SP Setia and Mah Sing Group,” the research house said.

It expects developers to set less aggressive sales targets for 2012 after enjoying a good run in the past two years.

“While the effect of our expected sector-wide slowdown in property sales by 5% to 10% (based on a protracted growth assumption) has yet to be seen in the physical property market, as it takes time to filter through, the situation may become worse than expected if the global economy slips into a double-dip recession,” it said.

Kenanga Research, in a recent note, had also downgraded the property sector to “underweight” from “neutral” as good news flow from the sector seemed to have no positive impact on share prices.

“Developers did some landbanking during this quarter, but no real share price avail. We highlighted in our last third-quarter sector report that news flow is unlikely to re-rate developers’ share prices convincingly, but rather lend support to current levels.

“We felt the sector had outlived its bull run as the Kuala Lumpur Property Index uptrends tended to last no longer than 1½ years. This time around, the bull run lasted for 1¾ years,” it said.

The research house noted that the Sime-E&O merger and acquisition play had not resulted in an overly exciting share price performance for either party.

Also, Bank Negara was contemplating changing the computation of property mortgages to net pay from gross pay, which could be a negative for the sector, it said.

“Loans approved for residentials have also eased slightly. Malaysian real estate investment trusts, like CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust which is attempting to acquire East Coast Mall (in Kuantan), saw some share price rally. It does indicate investors are moving toward lower beta or more risk-averse stock,” Kenanga said.

SOURCE: The Star

The Curve, condo by the bridge. Located just next to The View Condominium with unobstructed view of the sea and the Penang bridge. This residential scheme comprises two 31-storey condominium blocks with a total of 296 units.

* THIS PROJECT HAS ALREADY BEEN CANCELLED *

Project Name : The Curve Condominium
Location : Batu Uban, Gelugor, Penang
Property Type : Condominium
Built-up Area : 1,000 sq.ft. – 2,000 sq.ft. onwards
Total Units : 296
Land Tenure : Freehold
Developer : Lengkap Impresif Sdn. Bhd.
Contact No : 04-226 2000
Indicative Price : RM380/sqft. onwards