Industry ‘gems’ honoured at National Real Estate Awards
The MIEA National Real Estate Awards unearthed the “jewels” of the real estate industry during its gala dinner held at Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The annual awards were presented to 31 individuals and firms who have achieved excellent results in 2016 despite a challenging market. This year, the Real Estate Agent of the Year award recipient was Y.Y. Lau of JLL Property Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and the Real Estate Firm of the Year award went to Hartamas Real Estate (M) Sdn Bhd. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Raymond Tang King Seng from Uptown Realtors. A new award was also introduced and presented this year – the MIEA Chief Executive Officer Award, which went to Reapfield Group founder and president David Ong. The mantle of MIEA president was also officially passed from Erick Y.T. Kho to Hartamas Real Estate Group’s managing director Eric Lim for 2017-2019. (The Star Online)

Malaysia gets ‘C’ in Global Pension Index
The Malaysian Global Pension Index, part of the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (MMGPI), increased to 57.7 in 2017 from 55.7 in 2016 primarily due to the inclusion of the new economic growth question in the sustainability sub-index. Malaysia scored a ‘C’ rating, signifying that it has a system that has some good features, but also has major risks and/or shortcomings that should be addressed. At 57.7, Malaysia is ahead of most Asian countries, but still with lots of room for improvement. Denmark retained the top stop for the sixth year running with overall score of 78.9, followed by Netherlands (78.8) and Australia (77.1). The MMGPI uses three sub-indices – adequacy, sustainability and integrity – to measure each country’s retirement income system against more than 40 indicators. (The Sun Daily)

T7 Global partnering 3 firms to bid for ECRL project
T7 Global Bhd is partnering with Eastern Pacific Industrial Corp Bhd (EPIC), CMC Engineering Sdn Bhd and China State Construction Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd (CSCEM) to bid for the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) project. EPIC is a Terengganu GLC, CMC is a bumiputra Malaysian company specialising in turnkey services, while CSCEM is a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corp Ltd (CSCEC) in Malaysia. (The Sun Daily)

AmanahRaya to sell assets in Klang Valley, Penang
Amanah Raya Bhd (AmanahRaya) has put several of its assets in the Klang Valley and Penang up for sale as part of its plan to dispose of non-strategic and ageing assets. Comprising office buildings and shopoffices, the assets have a total estimated value of RM109.3 million. The properties include three adjacent office buildings in Kuala Lumpur, one office building in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, nine shopoffices in Kuala Lumpur and 15 shopoffices in Kepala Batas, Penang. The assets were not injected into AmanahRaya REIT as they did not meet the Class A office building requirements of the trust. (The Edge Markets)

Klang’s Berkeley Corner loses appeal, ordered to close
Popular Indian food outlet in Klang, Berkeley Corner, is forced to cease operations after its proprietor failed to obtain leave to appeal for land ownership of the site of the restaurant from the Selangor government. The eatery began operations in 2000 after it obtained a Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) from the Selangor government. Since 2004, the licence could not be renewed, but the restaurant continued to operate until now at the site which had been gazetted as a public area. (Malay Mail Online)

Berkeley Corner, Klang (Photo from OpenRice Malaysia)

I-Bhd 9mth earnings up 10.2%
I-Bhd posted a stronger set of earnings in the nine months ended Sept 30, 2017 with unbilled sales of RM303.3mil, underpinned by the property development segment. Earnings rose 10.2% to RM57.79mil in the nine months ended Sept 30, 2017 from the previous corresponding period, and revenue rose 19.7% to RM335.97mil. The property development segment continues to be the key driver to the performance, with the major contribution coming from i-Suite, Liberty Tower, Parisien Tower and Hyde Tower in i-City. (The Star Online)

Titijaya compensated RM65mil over use of its land for LRT3
Titijaya Land Bhd said it will receive compensation totalling RM65.25 million over the temporary occupation and usage of its land in Shah Alam for the upcoming LRT3 project. Of the amount, RM7.95 million will be the preliminary rental paid every six months for a period of three years, starting from Nov 1, while subsequent rental would amount to RM39.73 million. The remaining components of the compensation package are RM16.42 million for preliminary costs, and RM1.15 million in land holding costs. The compensation will be awarded to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shah Alam City Centre Sdn Bhd, which is the registered owner of the 65,216 sq m land. (The Edge Markets)

Berjaya Land sells 0.9% stake in 7-Eleven for RM14.9mil
Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) has sold 10 million shares or a 0.9% stake in 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd for RM14.9 million. The buyer of the shareholding was not disclosed. BLand said the disposal, which is expected to record a gain of about RM1.5 million for the group, was done via a direct business transaction last Friday. (The Edge Markets)

Seibu department store in Ikebukuro (Photo from Tokyoblaze)

Japanese retailer Seibu to set up shop in Malaysia
High-end Japanese departmental store Seibu will open in Kuala Lumpur in 2019, following the luxury retail chain’s earlier set-up in Singapore and Indonesia. It is set to house a four-storey store in Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), the 28.3ha development in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, and will target high-income clientele at the financial hub. The Malaysian store will offer items ranging from food to clothing and will be run by Malaysian retailer Sogo (KL) Department Store. (The Malaysian Insight)

Singapore to stop adding cars on its roads from February 2018
Singapore, among the world’s most expensive places to own a vehicle, will stop adding cars on its roads next year. The government will cut the annual growth rate for cars and motorcycles to zero from 0.25% starting in February. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the zero-growth target will affect vehicles in Categories A, B and D under its permit system — these include cars and motorcycles. The changes are not expected to significantly affect the supply of Certificate of Entitlements (COE) since the quota is determined largely by the number of vehicle deregistrations. (Malay Mail Online)