27 news malls to enter Greater KL market by 2021
Property consultancy firm Savills (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd expects the retail space market to remain challenging with 27 new malls anticipated to enter the market in Greater Kuala Lumpur by 2021. It estimates that Greater KL will have 197 malls in the next three years, with a total of 86.2 million sq ft retail space. The additional space will definitely increase the total supply available in both sectors which may result in lower occupancy rates if not supported by market demand. Suria KLCC, Pavilion KL, Mid Valley Megamall, Sunway Pyramid and 1Utama Shopping Centre are examples of the top performing malls in Greater KL, with an occupancy rate of more than 90% for each mall. The incoming megamalls in the region include The Exchange Mall, Mitsui Shopping Park Lalaport, Merdeka PNB118 mall, Pavilion Damansara Heights, Pavilion Bukit Jalil, Tropicana Gardens Mall, CentralPlaza mall and Empire City mall. (The Sun Daily)
Mah Sing targets RM1.8bil property sales in 2018
Mah Sing Group Bhd is targeting a minimum sales target of RM1.8bil in property sales this year, matching last year’s figures. It’s sales for 2018 would consist of 74% of residential property sales that are priced RM500,000 and below, focused on Greater KL. group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum said that this is due to the mismatch in terms of location and pricing. “Demand for properties in strategic locations and right pricing continues to be strong,” he said. (The Star Online)
Boustead Plantations sells Penang land for RM136mil
Boustead Plantations Bhd is selling three parcels of land totalling 139ha at Seberang Perai Utara, Penang for RM136 million. It had entered into sales and purchase agreements with Sunrich Conquest Sdn Bhd for the proposed disposal of one parcel of land and Titanium Greenview Sdn Bhd for the proposed disposal of two parcels of land. Boustead Plantations expects a total estimated gain of RM116 million upon completion of the proposed disposal. (NST Online)
Sime Darby Property to focus on Klang Valley key townships
Sime Darby Property Bhd, which had just been listed two months ago on the main market of Bursa Malaysia, will continue to focus on developing key townships mainly in Klang Valley. The property developer will be focusing on developing townships such as Elmina, which has an average take up rate is 70% to 80%. It plans to enhance its GDV, which currently stands at RM100 billion. With a large landbank of 21,000 acres, Sime Darby Property will be continuously assessing its lands to either develop on its own or to look for joint ventures JVs to strategically monetise the lands. (The Edge Markets)
Econpile eyes Malaysia infrastructure sector
Piling and foundation specialist Econpile Holdings Bhd said it is eyeing the Malaysian infrastructure sector to secure more projects. The increased focus on affordable, high-rise projects in the property market augurs well for a piling specialist like Econpile because high-density housing projects require more technicalities in substructure works. There will also be many local jobs coming up like the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) and MRT3. (The Edge Markets)
UOA REIT 4Q rental income falls 40%
UOA REIT’s net rental income for 4QFY17 fell 39.9% to RM8.98 million, from RM14.94 million in 4QFY16, on lower gross rental and higher borrowing cost. For the full year, net rental income declined 23.68% while gross rental income dropped 8.2%. Taking into consideration a 95% distribution, the trust has set aside RM18.48 million as provision for distribution, and declared a final income distribution of 4.37 sen. (The Edge Markets)
Ireka inks MoU with CRRC Group unit, STO Express
Ireka Corporation Bhd, China based CRRC Group’s unit and STO Express Co Ltd are teaming up to look into expanding the logistics business area in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Ireka, which is involved in infrastructure and real estate, said the move would enable them to look into investment and development of logistics warehouses, distribution centres and other ancillary real estate facilities. (The Star Online)
MACC seizes RM4mil in connection with Sabah infrastructure probe
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has seized RM4 million in connection with a corruption case involving a transportation infrastructure project in Sabah. The seizure followed the arrest of four people, including a deputy director of a government department. The four people arrested and remanded for seven days from yesterday were in connection with the emergency maintenance and repair of rail transport that was found to be a fake project. (Malay Mail Online)
Photo from AsiaOne
CPI higher on transport, F&B
Malaysia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures headline inflation, rose by 3.5% to 120.9 in December 2017 from a year ago, mainly due to transport, food and beverages. According to the DoS, among the major groups which recorded increases were transport, food & non-alcoholic beverages, restaurants and hotels. In terms of overall CPI, four states surpassed the national CPI rate of 3.5 per cent namely Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor and Federal Territory (FT) Putrajaya. The increase in the index for food & non-alcoholic beverages was reflected in most states in Malaysia. (NST Online)
