Government to blacklist abandoned project developers
Property developers who abandon housing projects midway through construction will be blacklisted. Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said board members and directors of property development companies will be blacklisted, and will come into force when the firms apply for advertising and sales permits for their projects. (The Malaysian Insight)
Penang property prices seen falling
Penang, which has already seen drop in property prices on properties above RM300,000 in the last 24 months, is expected to face further drop in prices. Far Capital Sdn Bhd CEO Faizul Azwan Ridzuan said he expects the situation to continue, especially premium-priced properties. He noted that Penang has already experience transaction slowdown in the last three years. The trend is expected to continue due to slower economic growth. The flood is said to have minimum impact towards property values, as it is the only property market in Malaysia where the growth of highrise properties prices outpaces the landed property. (NST Online)
RM150mil for flood mitigation projects in Penang
The Federal Government has approved RM150mil for flood mitigation projects to be carried out in Penang. The government will top up allocation for 13 projects which have been identified by the Penang Drainage and Irrigation Department costing RM1 billion. The projects will begin in stages and will be completed within a few years. Almost the whole of Penang was submerged in 0.2m to 1m of water due to heavy rain since Saturday, which claimed seven lives. (The Star Online)
HSBC hopes for more Islanic financing in SEA rail projects
HSBC hopes to see a lot more Islamic financing instruments used in the development of the Southeast Asia railway network which connects China to the region. The scale of the railway projects would enable components of both conventional financing and Islamic financing “to sit alongside each other quite comfortably”. HSBC has a unique value proposition in this matter, being the first bank to issue sukuk in Malaysia, said HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Mukhtar Hussain. The railway network involves building more than 3,000 km of rail lines from China’s Yunnan province through Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. It is one of China’s seven main transport routes under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). (The Edge Markets)
ML Global bags two contracts worth RM270.5mil
Construction company ML Global’s subsidiary, MITC Engineering, has received contracts for two development projects from Kemudi Ehsan for a combined sum of RM270.5mil. The work involves the construction of housing development projects comprising 1,653 double-storey houses along with other adjacent units in Selangor. The projects are expected to be completed by April 2019. (Nikkei Asian Review)
TM invests RM300mil in data centre in Johor
Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has invested up to RM300 million for the development of the TM ONE Iskandar Puteri Data Centre (IPDC). The new state-of-the-art neutral data centre, located at Nusajaya Technology Park here, also houses TM’s international gateway, serves as a regional hub in providing services to cater for customers in Malaysia and the Asean region. IPDC is the first of two major facilities planned by TM to meet demand, and is also the one and only Tier-lll data centre in Malaysia. The other facility is a twin core data centre in Cyberjaya that is currently under construction, and expected to be completed by June 2018. (NST Online)
TM data centre in Nusajaya (Photo from Nakano Construction Sdn Bhd)
Sabah land office collects RM239mil in taxes
The Sabah Land and Survey Department has managed to collect RM239 million land tax revenue as at Oct. 31 this year. The figure has already exceeded their initial target of RM230 million for this year. For the quit rent collection, they targeted a collection of RM80 million this year and have, thus far, collected 78% of the targeted figure. (Daily Express)
Broken dam contributed to Penang floods, says minister
A broken dam was among the factors behind the deadly floods in Penang besides abnormal weather, said Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar. However, he did not specify which dam and how the water flowed into Penang. Noh advised states to be more responsible when managing green lungs and hillslopes as well as drainage systems. The massive floods over the weekend were touted as the worst ever in Penang’s history. (Malay Mail Online)
Malaysia’s population reaches 32.2 million in Q3 2017
Malaysia’s population reaches 32.2 million in the third quarter (Q3) (July to September) this year, the Statistic Department said. This is an increase of 1.3% compared to 31.7 million in the Q3 2016. 129,500 live births were reported in the Q3 this year, decreasing by 0.3% from the same quarter last year. A total of 40,700 deaths were recorded in the Q3 this year compared to 40,900 recorded in the Q3 last year. (NST Online)
