Marking the Group’s inaugural entry into Penang’s property market, Hua Yang Berhad (“Hua Yang” or the “Group”), a leading property developer in the affordable housing sector, introduced Meritus Residensi today.

Established in 1978, the Group today is recognised as one of the nation’s leading property developers in the affordable housing segment, with a strong footprint in Klang Valley, Perak and Johor. The Group’s foray into the Northern region is an extension of Hua Yang’s vision to help make dreams of affordable home ownership a reality.

Ho Wen Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Hua Yang, said, “Leveraging on our experience in the property sector that spans close to four decades, coupled with our expertise in delivering innovative, quality and affordable homes, we are confident that our expansion into the Penang property market will augur well for the Group.”

According to Ho, demand for affordable homes are expected to continue to be on the rise, especially in Penang where the State is developing rapidly and land close to urban centres are becoming more and more scarce. “We believe that offerings like Meritus Residensi, which are strategically located and features facilities that cater to the contemporary urban lifestyle, will be well-received by first-time home buyers as well as those who are looking to upgrade,” he added.

Meritus Residensi is a 4.32-acre project consisting 480 units of serviced apartments and 15 retail shops. With an estimated Gross Development Value (GDV) of RM220 million, this project makes up the first phase of a 6.98-acre freehold mixed development. Strategically located along the vibrant Jalan Baru thoroughfare, the development is set within a 44-storey tower, which will become a tall iconic structure in the Prai community. The estimated GDV of the overall development is RM324 million.

The serviced apartments come in a variety of sizes, from 945 sq.ft. (square feet) onwards, and are priced from RM364,500. Meritus Residensi is expected to be completed by 2020.

The Group now has a total undeveloped land bank of 331.2 acres in the Northern region with a potential GDV of RM1.5 billion.

* Find out more about Meritus Residensi *

Viluxe, the first gated and guarded residential development by Aspen Group in Aspen Vision City. Strategically located next to the 25-acre lush greeneries of Central Park, just a stone’s throw away from IKEA Store. It is only a mere minutes drive from Penang Second Bridge, about 5 minutes away from North South Expressway interchange.

This development comprises a total of 356 landed properties, to be developed in 3 phases. Featuring a mix of terrace, semi-detached and limited bungalow units with an indicative price starting from RM750,000 onwards.

Phase 1

• 2-storey terrace (170 units)

Phase 2

• 2.5-storey terrace (61 units)

Phase 3

• 2.5-storey terrace (111 units)
• 2.5-storey semi-detached (4 units)
• 3-storey zero-lot bungalow (6 units)

Project Name : Viluxe 
Location : Batu Kawan, Penang
Property Type: Gated & guarded residential
Total Units: 356
Indicative Price: RM750,000 onwards
Developer: Aspen Group

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The Penang government does not have any intention to table an enactment to limit foreigners from buying pre-war buildings in its world heritage zone, state executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo said today.

The housing development and town and country planning committee chairman added that it is not possible to table such an act.

“The building owners have the right to sell their properties and this proposed act contradicts the Federal Constitution,” he replied to an oral question by fellow DAP lawmaker Teh Lai Heng in the state legislative assembly here.

The Komtar assemblyman asked if the state government is considering tabling an enactment to stop or limit foreigners or foreign companies from buying up heritage buildings within the George Town world heritage site.

Jagdeep said the state government, through Penang Island City Council and several other agencies including George Town World Heritage Inc, is now studying the possibility of preparing a Rent Regulation Enactment for the heritage zone.

“This study will enable the state government to collate the latest information that included the ownership of heritage buildings according to nationalities.

“The study is to analyse the current situation of the heritage buildings at the heritage site so that the state government can take appropriate steps based on it,” said the Datuk Keramat assemblyman.

Teh then proposed for the state government to consider tabling an enactment to increase the minimum property price for foreign purchase of properties in the heritage zone to RM200 million.

“The current minimum property price for foreigners is RM2 million so I propose that the state consider increasing it to RM200 million only for the heritage zone,” he said.

Jagdeep said the current state government’s housing policy imposed a minimum price of RM2 million for foreign purchases of properties on the island and RM1 million on the mainland.

He said Teh’s proposal is one of the ways to limit foreign purchases in the heritage zone but the minimum price of RM200 million will need to be carefully considered.

“As for the original question on restricting purchases by foreigners, this is under the National Land Code and out of the state’s jurisdiction so we will need to work with the federal government to see if the National Land Code could be amended to limit foreign purchases,” he said.

Earlier, Jagdeep said there have been numerous reports on the alarming increase in rental rates within the heritage zone due to foreign purchases but the state needed to complete its studies first before taking the next step.

“The Penang chief minister and state government proposed the Rent Regulation Enactment because of these reports but we needed to conduct a thorough study to get the actual facts of how many properties are actually bought up by foreigners,” he said.

On the legal aspect, Jagdeep said the enactment can be legally tabled by the state but the final decision on whether to table it or not depends on the results of the study.

Muhammad Farid Saad (Barisan Nasional-Pulau Betong) then asked why the state did not make use of its Penang Heritage Act to regulate the rent and foreign purchases of buildings in the heritage zone.

In reply, Jagdeep said the heritage act was only to regulate the management of the heritage zone but could not be used to regulate rent or property purchase within the site.

Read More: TheMalayMailOnline.com

Paramount Property, the property development division of public-listed Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount), today marked its debut in the Penang property market with the unveiling of Utropolis Batu Kawan, Penang’s first university metropolis.

Utropolis Batu Kawan mirrors the successful, award-winning university metropolis concept first introduced by Paramount at its Utropolis Glenmarie development in Shah Alam, Selangor. The Utropolis Glenmarie development, launched in 2013, marked the first time Paramount had brought its two businesses of property development and educational services together in one location. The launch captured the imagination of the property market, resulting in its first phase being sold out in a matter of days.

The 44.3-acre Utropolis Batu Kawan development, with an approximate Gross Development Value (GDV) of RM1.8 billion, comprises well-integrated residential, commercial, retail and hotel components, anchored by a new flagship campus for KDU Penang University College, owned and operated by Paramount Education. The 10.5-acre campus will be the biggest purpose-built campus in Batu Kawan when fully completed.

Speaking at a preview of the Utropolis Batu Kawan development held in Shah Alam today, Paramount Group Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Chew said, “Utropolis Glenmarie is a visionary development that successfully showcases Paramount’s strength-through-synergy business strategy, which is anchored on generating maximum value by bringing together our two core businesses of property development and educational services in one location. Three years and two property awards later, Utropolis Glenmarie is fast transforming the industrial area of Glenmarie with its unique live-and-learn, work-and-play lifestyle.”

He added, “This is our vision for Utropolis Batu Kawan – to support Penang’s aim of making Batu Kawan its third satellite city, and the Central Business District & Lifestyle Hub of the Northern region. At over 6,000 acres, Batu Kawan is not just a major development, but also the only landbank in Penang and the entire Northern region that has infrastructure completed ahead of property developments.”
He said that university metropolises were unique in that they never grow old – the constant infusion of new students acts as a catalyst to attract lifestyle businesses and support services, creating a dynamic and evolving community.

“This in turn creates a vibrant real-estate market, with a constant demand for investment and rental residential properties, as well as commercial, retail and office spaces. As a pioneer participant of the Batu Kawan vision, we are well-positioned to take advantage of the growth opportunities this address offers with our unique university metropolis concept,” Chew concluded.

He added that Batu Kawan’s well-crafted masterplan was already attracting many international and lifestyle retail brands, led by Swedish giant IKEA and Design Village Penang, the Northern region’s first outlet mall.

Utropolis Batu Kawan, at the heart of Batu Kawan, Penang’s third satellite city, is strategically located one kilometre away from the Second Penang Bridge and the North-South Highway. It will consist of commercial, retail and residential properties, all surrounding the purpose-built KDU Penang University College campus.

Work on the development has commenced; the campus is scheduled for completion by 2019, while property components will be completed progressively from 2016. The first phase of the property development offering, comprising offices and retail shops, is now on sale, with gross prices starting from RM326,600.

For more information on Utropolis Batu Kawan, please visit the website www.paramountproperty.my. Enquiries can also be directed to the Paramount Property Sales Gallery at 604-506 0350.

* Read more about Utropolis @ Batu Kawan *

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The proposed paired road from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang will reduce the travelling time between the two places by more than half, said project director Mazlan Ali.

He said it now took about 20 minutes to drive on the 10.9km existing stretch from Tanjung Bungah (where Jalan Lembah Per-mai meets Jalan Tanjung Bungah) to Teluk Bahang.

However, the journey will take just nine minutes on the highway which will be 10.6km long.

Mazlan said this during a public briefing on the highway which is one of the three paired roads proposed to be built under an infrastructure package which includes the proposed undersea tunnel linking Penang island to the mainland.

Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd is the main project contractor.

About 100 people turned up for the briefing at the Tanjung Bungah community hall on Saturday.

It was reported earlier that the road is to run along the foothills starting about 200m from the Teluk Bahang roundabout and ending in Lembah Permai near the Sri Vazhikattum Muniswarar shrine.

It will have three interchanges at Jalan Sungai Emas and Persiaran Sungai Permai and near the Chin Farm Waterfall.

Various environmental concerns were raised at the briefing, including by city councillor Dr Lim Mah Hui who said the billions of ringgit to be spent on road projects would be better channelled towards improving public transport.

Joleen Yap, 26, a zoology student from Universiti Sains Malaysia, said she was concerned that the project would threaten the existence of the Dusky Leaf Monkeys found in the jungles along the Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang corridor.

Katharine Chua, a director of Tropical Spice Garden, called for the Environmental Impact Assess-ment report to be made public to ensure that the ecotourism belt remains sustainable.

Consortium Zenith executive vice-chairman Datuk Lee Chee Hoe said the paired road project was important as an alternative road.

“The existing road is already very congested along Batu Ferringhi,” he said.

State Public Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said the project was expected to commence in mid-2018 and scheduled to be completed in three years.

READ MORE: TheStar.com.my