The notorious COVID-19 has robbed the life of yet another prominent individual in the Malaysian property circle.

Paramount Corp Bhd chairman and executive director Datuk Teo Chiang Quan, 72, passed away at 6.38pm two days ago due to health complications after battling COVID-19 for 21 days.

“It is with profound sadness that Paramount Corp Bhd announces that Datuk Teo Chiang Quan passed away this evening (May 24, 2021) due to complications from an unexpected illness,” read a media statement from Paramount last tonight.

Over and above being an astute businessman and property developer, Teo can be described as a nation-builder, described Paramount Corp of Teo.

Starting his career in Malaysian Rice Mills (MRI) in 1976, which was renamed to Paramount Corp Bhd in 1980, Teo has shaped Paramount into a public-listed company that focuses on property, coworking, education, F&B and office solutions provider business.

According to Paramount Corp’s director profile, Teo joined the board of Paramount on Jan 19, 1977 and has been active in the management of Paramount Corp since 1981 when he first served as the principal officer of the group’s insurance division.

Over 29 years, Teo had held the positions of group managing director & group CEO), deputy chairman prior to assuming the company’s chairmanship on June 8, 2015.

During that period, he had been instrumental in shaping Paramount into a reputable and financially-sound by guiding the management in the formulation of the group’s long-term strategic plans, particularly in land banking, and ensuring effective communications with stakeholders.

He was also a firm proponent of Paramount’s core values encapsulated in T.R.I.B.E (Trust, Respect, Integrity, Bravery and Energy) and was highly committed to ensuring the delivery of meaningful and sustainable outcomes for all stakeholders.

He was named as “FIABCI Malaysia Property Man of 2019” at the FIABCI Malaysia Property Award 2019 for his contributions to the property industry over the years.

His son, Benjamin Teo Jong Hian, is an executive director of Paramount Corp.

Source: FocusMalaysia.my

About Beacon Executive Suites

the latest addition to landmarks in the heart of George Town by Aspen Group. Strategically located along Jalan Sungai Pinang, this freehold development comprises 227 units of executive suites with standard unit size of 980 sq.ft. and a state of art roof top bar & lounge.

Find out more about Beacon Executive Suites

The Penang government has provided low-cost, low medium-cost and affordable homes to nearly 7,000 frontliners, including civil servants, since 2008.

State Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh said the state would continue to provide these homes to lower-income group even when the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging.

“We want to ensure that those who are eligible are only selected. We give priority to the frontliners, including all our civil servants, who are exposed to so much risk. In all, 6,695 frontliners have received the units.

“Business must go on; people need roofs over their heads. This morning, we continue with our work to select 1,000 individuals for these homes,” Jagdeep told a press conference via Zoom from Komtar today.

He said Penang has set a target of building 200,000 such units by 2030 and has so far achieved 53.2% or 117,049 units (that have been built, in the process of being built and approved to be built).

Commenting on the 80% government servants to work from home (WFH) under the tightened standard operating procedures (SOPs), Jagdeep said the instruction was not a green light to relax at home because “we have a lot of services to be delivered.”

He reiterated that discipline in observing the SOPs was the key to overcoming the Covid-19.

In addition, he also encouraged the public to register for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

To underline the seriousness of the Covid-19 situation, Jagdeep said the country registered a record 6,976 cases while Penang reported 372 cases yesterday, its second highest after registering 395 cases on May 13.

“As the number of Covid-19 cases rises, all of us should rise and step up our fight against the virus,” said Jagdeep, adding that both the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) have been instructed to up the ante in the Covid-19 fight.

Thus far, he said the two local authorities have conducted a total of 1.88 million checks on premises on both island and mainland and found the SOP compliance rate to be above 99 per cent.

He said while the Federal Government has urged the people to practise self-lockdown rather than a total lockdown to balance lives and livelihoods, he has called on MBPP and MBSP not to compromise on SOP adherence.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

(This is one of the latest valuable insights from the prominent property consultant the late Michael Geh)

The Malaysian property market seems to be gradually recovering from the turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, with more transactions being recorded. In Penang, the property market trended upwards in 2H2020, which saw 9,936 deals worth RM4.57 billion.

This was an improvement from 1H2020, when 5,836 transactions valued at RM3.25 billion were recorded, according to data provided by the National Property Information Centre (Napic). However, the performance was somewhat mixed compared with the figures from 2H2019,  which had fewer transactions (8,858) but a slightly higher total value (RM4.59 billion) than in 2H2020.

In presenting the 1Q2021 Penang Housing Property Monitor, Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd senior partner Michael Geh notes that residential units made up the bulk of transactions in 2H2020. About 85% of these residential units were on the secondary market.

“A total of 7,443 residential units (valued at RM2.91 billion) were sold in 2H2020 versus 4,293 transactions in 1H2020 (worth RM1.68 billion). The secondary market commanded a large portion of the residential property transactions at 6,330 (valued at RM2.38 billion) out of the total of 7,443 transactions during the period in review,” he tells City & Country.

“A similar trend happened in 1H2020, when the secondary market recorded 4,025 transactions, compared with 268 transactions on the primary market. However, the primary market saw a rebound to 1,113 transactions in 2H2020.”

Commercial and industrial properties also saw a greater number of transactions but a lower total value in 2H2020. In all, 813 units of commercial properties worth RM620 million were transacted in 2H2020, compared with 511 transactions valued at RM690 million in 1H2020. During the period in review, 210 industrial properties worth RM400 million were sold, compared with 152 transactions valued at RM410 million in the first half of the year.

Geh explains that while the higher transaction volumes indicate a brisk market, the lower total value means that property prices have softened. “Serious sellers have placed their properties at lower asking prices, which have resulted in lower transacted prices. Home Ownership Campaign-related discounts and developer rebates have also contributed to the lower prices,” he says.

In Penang, the sales of both development and agricultural land increased in 2H2020. A total of 609 parcels of development land (valued at RM320 million) were transacted during the period in review, compared with 390 tracts (worth RM290 million) in 1H2020. Meanwhile,  861 parcels of agricultural land (valued at RM320 million) were transacted in 2H2020 versus 490 (worth RM180 million) in 1H2020.

Property overhang

According to data provided by Napic, 2,069 units of completed residential properties in Penang remained unsold at end-2020. These included 1,559 apartment units, 194 two- and three-storey terraced homes, and 180 two- and three-storey semidees. About two-thirds of the properties were priced above RM300,001, with 666 units (32%) priced between RM300,001 and RM500,000 and 675 units (33%) priced between RM500,001 and RM1 million.

There were also 579 units (28%) of unsold completed residential properties priced between RM100,001 and RM200,000 and 53 units (3%) priced between RM200,001 and RM300,000. These properties are mainly in Seberang Perai Tengah (37%) and Timur Laut (26%), followed by Barat Daya (19%), Seberang Perai Selatan (10%) and Seberang Perai Utara (8%).

Flat performance

Geh says there weren’t any major launches in Penang during the period in review. “In terms of upcoming major launches, Eco World Development Group Bhd is planning to launch co-home units within Camdon Collection @ Eco Horizon, but has yet to reveal the date,” he adds.

On the 1Q2021 Penang Housing Property Monitor, Geh says it has been a somewhat flat performance in the schemes sampled after slight movements in price and stagnant rents in previous quarters. That is because the schemes sampled are mature traditional residential areas.

“Everybody appears to be happy living in these areas and the families are not selling their homes. Developers are aggressively selling their existing stock, especially the completed projects. It seems that clearing unsold stock is taking priority over new launches,” he says.

Schemes that saw price movements, albeit marginal, during the period in review included 1-storey terraced houses (1,200 to 1,600 sq ft) in Sungai Dua, where the average selling price fell RM10,000 to RM770,000. The last time this scheme experienced a decline was in 2Q2020, when it dropped RM20,000 to RM780,000. The 2-storey semi-detached houses (3,000 to 4,000 sq ft) in Sungai Dua also saw the average selling price fall to RM1.5 million from RM1.6 million in the previous quarter.

Another area where prices dropped were the standard 2-storey terraced houses (1,300 to 1,800 sq ft) in Green Lane, which fell to RM1.1 million from RM1.25 million on average in the preceding quarter.

Rents in the schemes sampled remained stagnant in general. Due to the lower prices but unchanged rents, the yields for 1-storey terraced houses (1,200 to 1,600 sq ft) in Sungai Dua, 2-storey semi-detached houses (3,000 to 4,000 sq ft) in Sungai Dua and standard 2-storey terraced houses (1,300 to 1,800 sq ft) in Green Lane increased to 1.9%, 1.3% and 1.6% respectively in 1Q2021.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets.com

The Department of Environment (DOE) has yet to receive the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the Penang South Reclamation project in the southern waters of Penang (PSR) based on the original order, said its director-general Norlin Jaafar.

She said the department had not received the EMP based on the original order in line with the concept of the project.

According to her, SRS Consortium (a partner of Penang Infrastructure Corp Sdn Bhd or PIC) had submitted an EMP report to the Penang DOE, but it did not follow the original order of reclamation as in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report approved on June 25, 2019.

“It is not appropriate for the developer to refer to the EMP report that has been submitted, which can confuse the public. Therefore, the developer must submit the new EMP report according to the original sequence of reclamation to be implemented,” she said in a statement today.

Norlin issued a statement in response to a report by a local English-language newspaper titled “Project to create 15,000 jobs” on Monday, which claimed that Penang is now just waiting for the DOE’s approval to begin the reclamation work.

The report quoted PIC chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Farizan Darus as saying that the company is now waiting for the DOE to give the “green light” to the EMP, which is expected to be issued at the end of this month, before it can implement the project in accordance with the approved guidelines.

The implementation of the PSR of almost 17 sq km involves the development of three artificial islands, with a land mass of 1,700 hectares in the waters of Permatang Damar Laut near Bayan Lepas, to fund various infrastructure projects in the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) worth an estimated RM46 billion.

Source: EdgeProp.my