Three Penang-based large local companies (LLC) are reinvesting RM520 million through expansion projects in the Batu Kawan Industrial Park, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow announced today.

He said the three companies, in the equipment manufacturing supply chain, are collectively taking up 35 acres of land in Batu Kawan Industrial Park for their respective expansion projects,

“All three projects are slated to commence in the first quarter of next year and are expected to create up to 1,300 new job opportunities for locals,” he said in a press conference announcing the investments at Penang Development Corporation (PDC) this morning.

Chow said the LLCs and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) have been critical in promoting the growth of the manufacturing and electronics (M&E) sector in the state.

“Penang now has a comprehensive supply chain in the M&E and automation domains, which is led by local companies with a diverse range of core competencies such as Greatech, Pentamaster and UWC,” he said.

The three LLCs that are expanding in the Batu Kawan Industrial Park are Greatech Technology Berhad, Pentamaster Corporation Berhad and UWC Berhad.

According to Greatech board chairman Ooi Hooi Kiang, their new RM150 million facility will cover an area of 265,000 sq ft and will house high-value designing and assembly activities for new products.

“We target to complete the construction by the third quarter of 2022 and the new facility will create 500 new jobs, of which, 300 will be engineers and the remaining 200 will be assembly workers and machinists,” she said.

She said once the new facility is fully completed, the company will hire up to 1,300 new employees in total.

As for Pentamaster, its executive chairman Chuah Choon Bin said the new facility will be the company’s third plant in Penang.

“With a RM120 million investment, this 500,000 sq ft facility will create 300 job opportunities for engineers and bring our total built-up area of all our facilities to 750,000 sq ft,” he said.

Meanwhile, UWC executive director and group chief executive officer Datuk Ng Chai Eng said UWC will be investing RM200 million into the expansion project over the next three years.

“This expansion will create 300 engineering positions and 200 technician positions for local talents,” he said.

Chow said the reinvestments by the three LLCs underlined the continued confidence of both domestic and international investors in Penang.

“Penang not only has a solid reputation as a preferred location for MNCs, but it is also known as an entrepreneurial state that provides a conducive environment for homegrown companies to scale and thrive,” he said.

He said the LLCs in Penang have seen tremendous growth over the past five years.

He said Penang’s domestic direct investment climbed to a decade high of RM3.6 billion in 2020, which is 25 per cent of the state’s total direct investment.

“In the first half of 2021, local companies contributed RM700 million of direct investments, equivalent to 54 per cent of the total direct investments in Penang,” he said.

Source: MalayMail.com

Eco World Development Group Berhad or more commonly known as EcoWorld is one of the largest public listed property developers in Malaysia which currently has a total of 20 ongoing projects across numerous locations throughout the country – which include Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia and Penang. At EcoWorld, you will be able to find a widely diversified property portfolio ranging from innovative home concepts that are strategically located at the heart of conventional townships to attractive commercial listings.

As a brand with a sizable global presence in the United Kingdom and Australia, engineering ideal ways to further refine the home living experience to the next level has always been EcoWorld’s core mission. In order to realise its vision of Creating Tomorrow & Beyond, EcoWorld has always strived to achieve newer heights by constantly pushing boundaries which then creates a positive impact towards the economy, society and environment.

With the aim of catering to the needs of the M40 group, EcoWorld successfully launched a sub-brand – duduk in 2020 which capitalises on existing excellent infrastructure, built environment and comprehensive amenities within existing matured EcoWorld townships.

EcoWorld’s latest campaign focuses on its unique co-creation concept. Despite their familiarity with the concept of co-creation prior to this, it was only formalised in 2019 when they began exploring the idea of constructing homes for all generations.

As their vision suggests, EcoWorld is always committed to guide its customers one step at a time to co-create the lifestyle, business and community that fulfill their aspirations in order to create tomorrow and beyond. After all, it’s not just about building homes or spaces, it’s about completing lifestyles as well as nurturing thriving and sustainable communities.

As the co-creation partner for their customers, EcoWorld is committed towards listening to the needs and demands of their customers. These will then be incorporated into design concepts and green innovations of the homes to create a space where their customers and their loved ones will call home for generations to come. As part of EcoWorld’s continuous commitment to their customers, the process does not end after they receive their keys to their home, EcoWorld will continue to offer them a comprehensive range of post purchase services.

EcoWorld prioritises their customers’ satisfaction, and hence each product is a one-of-a-kind creation specially inspired by THEM and their life aspirations that is uniquely incorporated into the design of their home.

Together We Create Joyful Living

EcoWorld’s homes and spaces are specially designed to satisfy the various needs and demands of modern living. Regardless of generation, owning a home in EcoWorld is equivalent to owning a dream home. Apart from your practical needs and aspirations which are flawlessly incorporated into the building of your home, you will also be the co-creator to craft your dream lifestyle.

Based on EcoWorld’s in-depth analysis of current property buying trends and consumer insights, they discovered gaps in certain product offerings. For instance, there is a lack of property listings in the market catering to first-time homebuyers and young families as well as families who want to live within close proximity with each other but not under the same roof. Thus, the creation of Co-Home and ErgoHomes to address those concerns.

Applying the revolutionary idea of hybrid landed living concept, Co-home is a hybrid single floor living concept, where you can choose to purchase either an upper floor unit or a ground floor unit. By introducing Co-Home, EcoWorld is able to provide aspiring homebuyers with a landed living lifestyle that is relatively more affordable. Apart from that, this concept also allows different generations to reside in close proximity to each other but still enjoy their privacy.

Taking inspiration from the science of ergonomics, ErgoHomes is the innovative idea that showcases the objective of ‘communal sprit meets efficient space planning’. Contrary to the conventional layout of terraced homes, each unit is designed to be a corner unit because of its unique placement and hence, enabling landed property to be equally spacious and affordable simultaneously.

Coupled with attractive pricing, these unique concepts and ideas are more appealing to first-time homebuyers and young families.

Apart from those products mentioned, there is also the Garden Homes which feature an innovative home unit that allows you to enjoy the best of indoor and outdoor living lifestyles. Situated within the Eco Grandeur township, each Garden Home comes with a 5-feet side garden* which can be converted into a mini zen garden or recreational spot. Besides that, there is also the option of a Garden Home at Eco Botanic which boasts a spacious 10-feet lifestyle porch* that offers you stunning views of both the front and back gardens. You can set up your very own indoor WFH space, entertainment area, kids’ play area or even an alfresco BBQ and dining spot! What’s even better is the 20 to 30-feet wide Backlane Garden* where kids can get to enjoy their leisure time in the outdoors safely in the absence of motor vehicles.

Garden Homes are now available at Eco Grandeur @ Klang Valley and Eco Botanic @ Iskandar Malaysia. Get in touch with Eco Grandeur’s Sales Representative or Eco Botanic’s Sales Representative for further enquiries.

With the objective of being able to utilise more spaces for your family and friends, the Semi-D and Bungalow homes at Eco Horizon are uniquely designed based on a flexible layout that offers you maximised space for living and entertainment. With a private greenery area and a well-landscaped yet spacious backlane garden, you will certainly get to enjoy the ideal indoor and outdoor living lifestyle of your preference. On top of clubhouse facilities that are exclusively for residents’ use, the gated residential precincts at Eco Horizon are closely monitored with 360-degree CCTVs and hence will ensure the safety and security of not only you but your loved ones as well. Get in touch with Eco Horizon’s Sales Representative to get further details on these Semi-D and Bungalow homes.

Together We Create Thriving Communities

For young entrepreneurs, EcoWorld’s rapidly developing townships present themselves as an ideal business environment where new business ventures can be established with great prospects. As strong relationships and the pursuit of common goals are what it takes to build successful communities, EcoWorld is undoubtedly the prime address where you would want to set up your business. With the relative advantage of owning an EcoWorld business address, you will be able to propel your business to achieve new milestones by capitalising on their extensive business networks, connectivity, innovation and focus on sustainability.

Together We Create Sustainable Businesses

With a well-equipped and dedicated EcoWorld team at their Eco Business Park (EBP), you will definitely be able to find every solution to your business needs all in one location. As EcoWorld strives to realise your true potential, your business venture will be further empowered by the diverse range of green industrial products, innovative solutions and strategic locations that the Eco Business Park has to offer.
Strategically located in Tebrau, Eco Business Park 1 is specially designed to fulfill the various needs of corporate offices, retail outlets, showrooms, warehouses and many more by providing them with a flexible space concept featuring a whole floor loading of 10kN/m2 which is tailored for commercial purposes. Furthermore, the energy-efficient skylight installed in each unit will ensure a low maintenance cost while simultaneously helping to minimise the usage of artificial lighting. Eco Business Park 1’s unique design also allows owners to further expand the mezzanine floor for future development. Learn more about EBP by reaching out to Eco Business Park 1’s Sales Representative.

Looking for a Dream Home Package? Or a Business Launchpad Package? Click here to search for your preferred EcoWorld location and product!

*Terms and Conditions Apply

Proposed development by Jayamas Heritage Sdn. Bhd. at Sungai Dua in Butterworth. Located on a 3.5-acre land along Jalan Merbau Indah 16, right opposite SMK Desa Murni. It is less than 5 minutes drive from North-South Expressway/Sungai Dua Exit, with an abundance of essential amenities with 5km radius.

This development comprises a mix of drive-thru restaurants, shop offices and residential units, to be developed in a few phases. The residential component will feature 39 units of 2-storey terrace houses with 2 different design types.

The project is still in its planning stage. More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Sungai Dua, Butterworth
Property Type : Mixed development
Tenure: (to be confirmed)
Built-up Size: (to be confirmed)
Total Units : 39 (2-storey terrace)
Indicative Price : (to be confirmed)
Developer : Jayamas Heritage Sdn. Bhd.

DISCLAIMER: This article is solely based on research done using publicly available data. This is not an advertisement. Any claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a project or service should be verified with the developer, provider, or party in question.

A home is a basic necessity but for many, acquiring one is just an unattainable goal.

For some, even renting a house is a luxury.

However, little can be done to ensure that it is within the means of every family to have a house they can call their own.

The numbers are just not in their favour. According to the National Property Information Centre, the median price of a house now is RM295,000. But data from Bank Negara Malaysia shows that the median household income is only RM5,873.

At that level of income, a family cannot afford anything that costs more than RM211,000. That puts most houses beyond their reach.

However, it is not as simple as abolishing taxes on building materials and putting a cap on land prices to make houses more affordable for the average Malaysian family.

Tan Hun Beng, chairman of the Penang chapter of the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda), pointed out that levying taxes is a source of revenue for the government.

“If taxes are eliminated altogether, there will be nothing left for the government,” he told theSun.

“It is not unusual for taxes to be imposed on these items (building materials),” he said.

Tan agreed that taxes in Brunei and some countries in the Middle East are waived but only because they have an abundance of other resources. “The best way forward is to scale down taxes. With taxes reduced, the cost of building materials will come down. That will bring some benefits to the end-user.”

Tan pointed out that it would also be difficult for the government to determine the price of land.

“Ours is a market-driven economy and the price of land is determined by market forces,” he said. “In places where there is a higher demand for property, prices will, of course, be higher.”

For instance, he said, land along Gurney Drive in George Town, Penang costs RM1,200 to RM2,300 per square foot. In contrast, the price of land in mainland Penang may be as low as RM30 to RM40 per square foot. “And the distance between these two areas is only 50km.”

However, property developer Datuk Toh Chin Leong agreed that tax exemptions for selected items could help in bringing home ownership to a wider community.

Nonetheless, Toh told theSun, such exemption should be limited only to affordable home projects.

“This can entice developers to help meet the market demand for affordable housing,” he said.

Toh also agreed that it is difficult to put a cap on land prices. “So many factors determine the price of land, such as the zoning status, the location and the title,” he said.

Tan and Toh agreed that temporary occupational licences (TOL) could be converted into permanent tiles to make more land available for affordable housing.

A TOL is a short-term permit to occupy a piece of land for agriculture or housing. The permit has to be renewed annually or every two years, depending on the land code of each state.

Tan proposed that to accommodate the need for affordable housing, the government should first launch a survey to determine the level of affordability in each location, based on average income and land prices.

“We have to find a balance. Otherwise, there will be an over-supply. After all, affordability differs from one place to another,” he said.

On the other hand, Toh said social housing should be a responsibility of the government. “The government can use revenue from corporate taxes to finance such projects,” he added.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) called for the government’s attention in encouraging M40’s homeownership by extending the housing loan scheme to M40 income group as well as a move to stimulate the property market.

The recently unveiled Budget 2022 is a commendable budget as it has offered various incentives to assist the B40 income group, but Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) called for the government’s attention in encouraging M40’s homeownership by extending the housing loan scheme to M40 income group as well.

“As Real Estate Agents we did not envisage this as it did not meet our expectations of stabilising the real estate sector especially in the secondary market in a challenging market. While we realize the budget detailed the need to take care of the Rakyat especially those in the B40 segment, those in the M40 has been somewhat left out.

“The M40 is an important sector that caters for the mid segment of the property market and they play a critical role in the new properties and the secondary market. Not all property owners are financially strong,” said the association.