GEORGE TOWN: The state government should not be blamed for the increase in land premium charges as the rate is fixed by the Valuation and Property Services Department.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was commenting on the statement by Penang Barisan Nasio- nal working committee deputy chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman who had accused the state government of increasing the land premium rates resulting in a rapid rise in property prices in the state.

Zainal Abidin alleged the state government had hurriedly increased the land premium rates to cash in on the demand for property in the state.

He said when the premium was increased, developers were forced to increase the price of their houses.

Lim said the state government was merely following the rate set by the department, which is a body under the Federal Govern-ment.

“If he (Zainal) is not satisfied with the current rate, he should raise the matter with the department,” he said at a press conference here yester- day.

SOURCE: The Star

KEPALA BATAS: Penang Barisan Nasional claims that the state’s move to increase land premium charges, has inadvertently led to a rapid rise in property prices in Penang.

State Barisan working committee deputy chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman said the DAP-led state government had apparently hurriedly increased the land premium rates so it could cash in on the demand for property in the state.

“When the state government increases the premium as it wishes, the developers are forced to increase the value of the houses. It is a simple cause-and-effect factor,” Zainal Abidin said.

The low to middle-income local residents were the victims, as they could not afford to buy even low to medium-cost houses in Penang, he told a press conference before a Barisan walkabout at the Pasar Ramadan here yesterday.

Also present were Penang Gerakan chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan, state MIC chairman Senator Datuk P.K. Subbaiyah, PPP chief Datuk Dr Loga Bala Mogan, state Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir, Kepala Batas MCA division head Goh Poh Chuan and state Gerakan Wanita chief Ng Siew Lai.

Penang Barisan also challenged Lim to produce the statistics concerning the total of low to medium-cost units approved by the state government since 2008.

Zainal Abidin said he was issuing this challenge to Lim after the latter wrote in his blog that Penang had approved 11,596 low and medium-cost units priced between RM42,000 and RM72,500.

“We would like to know whether the approval was for houses built by the state or Federal Government,” he added.

SOURCE: The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Property developer Mah Sing Group Bhd is confident that the recently completed Southgate project in Sungei Besi here will be a success and the group plans to replicate the model elsewhere.

Mah Sing Properties Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Andy Chua feels that there are at least two other other locations where the Southgate model can be duplicated – in Johor and Penang.

Chua, however, said they must be in the right location.

Southgate, a development project on 1.93ha with RM466 million gross development value, comprises office-cum-retail building. All units have been sold.

The project, comprises two main blocks – Apex and the Corporate Building – and three other blocks named Vox, Vivo and Vertex. Together, they offer 600,000 sq ft of net lettable area.

The eight-storey main block has three storeys of retail space and is owned by Kooperasi Permodalan Felda Bhd.

Felda bought this block for RM226 million and has leased it back to Mah Sing’s unit. For the first two years, Felda will receive a guaranteed 8 per cent monthly rental based on the purchase price. Thus far, 60 per cent of the main block has been leased.

Total retail leasable area is 200,000 sq ft in Southgate, of which 40 per cent is yet to be rented out.

Chua expects the retail portion to be 90 per cent tenanted within a year’s time. The average rental for the retail portion on the ground floor is RM10 per sq ft, including service charge.

“This is not a conventional mall. It is more like street mall, where it is about al fresco dining where one can have a stroll. It is a covered area, but sunlight can come in,” he told Business Times in an interview.

The tenants are predominantly from food and beverage business, he added. Its retail tenants include Nichi Fashion, Georgeous, OverTime, Papa King and Sushi King.

Southgate’s target market during the day will see the the office tenants complementing the retail component. At the same time, Chua expects people driving by the area to stop for breakfast and lunch at Southgate.

He said for dinner, Southgate will attract those heading home from Kuala Lumpur and will use the place as a meeting point. “This is the southern gateway out of KL,” he added.

SOURCE: Business Times

A property bubble burst is unlikely to happen in the Asia Pacific, including Malaysia, as there are no signs to indicate such a trend in the next two years, says AmInvestment Bank Group.

Director for Retail Funds Ng Chze How said real estate investment trusts (REITS) would also not experience a burst including those acquired by the group.

“I don’t see a burst or a crash in the property market. “You have high wages, ample liquidity, small percentage of non-performing loans and these plus steps taken by the government to prevent the economy from
overheating, augur well for the property market.

“I don’t see a property burst (happening) in the next six months, one year or two years down the line,” he told reporters at the launch of Malaysia’s first

Asia Pacific REITs fund, AmAsia Pacific REITs, here today.

He said with these factors in place coupled with an economic recovery, there
would be more upside in the market. AmAsia Pacific REITs invests in a diversified portfolio of REITs listed in the Asia Pacific region.

Ng was optimistic the REITS selected by the group would see high occupancy
rate and increasing rental.

“Selected Asian properties have yet to reach their previous peak, as such,
there is room for potential growth,” he said, adding that properties were seen
as a good hedge during the current inflationary period. — Bernama

Source: Business Times

Seri Anggun is a residential development located near to Penang Pesta site, within  Sungai Nibong, Penang. This development comprises 33 units 2-storey terrace houses, 12 commercial units and  2 blocks of apartment buildings. Strategically located with easy access to Bayan Lepas FIZ and a mere minutes drive to Penang bridge.

Property Project : Seri Anggun
Location : Sungai Nibong, Penang
Property Type : Apartment, 2-storey Terrace, Commercial lot
Tenure : Freehold
Built-up Area: 900 sq.ft. (apartment), 1,500 sq.ft (2-storey terrace)
Total Units : 340 (apartment), 33 (2-storey terrace)
Developer : JKP Sdn. Bhd.
Indicative Price (Apartment): RM 170,000 onwards
Indicative Price (2-storey Terrace): RM 490,000 onwards