Retail subsectors preferred for 2018 investment
The retail sector is still the preferred portfolio among investors this year despite the glut it is currently experiencing. According to Knight Frank’s Commercial Investment Survey 2018, all key players are also rather intent on deploying more capital even with the overall pessimistic view towards the office and retail market. The sector will continue to attract investment as developers are expected to collaborate with mall managers to remain competitive in the challenging environment. However, the outlook for the retail industry remains bleak this year as an immediate rebound in consumer spending is highly unlikely. The Consumer Sentiments Index (CSI) stands at 82.6 points, indicating the lack of confidence, and consumers will continue to be prudent about their spending habits. (The Malaysian Reserve)
China investment in Malaysia may double by 2025
China investment in Malaysia’s residential real estate could double by 2025, driven by the investment market and education, according to Juwai.Com. Millionaires in mainland China now dominate the buying of international property, said Juwai.Com CEO Carrie Law in a report entitled “Belt and Road drives Chinese real estate investment in Malaysia”. Juwai.com said the average monthly views for properties in Malaysia on its platform grew to 21.3% in the first half of 2017, from 3.7% in the first half of 2016. Property enquiries more than tripled since 2015. Consumers enquiring about Malaysia in the first half of last year were driven by investment (65.4%), own use (58.5%), education (9.9%) and emigration (3.7%). He also said relative to the global average, Malaysia also attracted more investment-oriented buyers. (NST Online)
Only 1% of property sales in 2017 from foreigners
Only 1% of the total property transactions in 2017 involved sales to foreigners, refuting claims of a mass sale of Malaysian properties to Chinese buyers. Rehda president FD Iskandar Mohamed Mansor said the 1% figure was based on National Property Information Centre (Napic) numbers. said a few years ago, a number of properties were sold to foreigners, particularly in Johor and Sabah. “Since 2016, one of the biggest sources of foreign buyers has been Chinese nationals, but in 2017, Beijing initiated capital controls,” he said, adding that this had dampened purchases by Chinese homebuyers. (Free Malaysia Today)
EWI boosts FY18 sales target to RM3bil
Eco World International Bhd (EWI) has raised its sales target from RM2bil to RM3bil, as the company expects to make its maiden profit in FY18. It posted a loss of RM16.2mil in the first quarter ended Jan 31 due to lower unrealised gain on foreign exchange. As of Feb 28, EWI’s effective unbilled sales stood at RM5.89bil. In the past four months, the group had secured RM243mil sales with its existing three projects in London contributing RM206mil while those in Australia generated RM37mil. EWI had also recently completed its acquisition of a 70% stake in Be Living’s six development sites in London. (The Star Online)
CMMT says planning Sungei Wang Plaza enhancement
Capitaland Malaysia Mall Trust (CMMT) has budgeted some RM80 million to enhance four of its five shopping malls in Malaysia this year. Approximately RM54.5 million of the RM80 million will be used to redevelop five retail floors of the annex block of Sungei Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur. CMMT’s portfolio of assets comprises Gurney Plaza in Penang, a majority interest in Sungei Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur, Tropicana City Mall and Tropicana City Office Tower in Petaling Jaya, The Mines in Seri Kembangan, and East Coast Mall in Kuantan. The Sungei Wang Plaza AEI (asset enhancement initiative) includes facade upgrade and interior design, retail space reconfiguration and accessibility improvement work. (The Edge Markets)
Govt’s housing schemes do not distort market
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said the affordable housing schemes offered by the government through initiatives like the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Scheme (PR1MA) do not distort the local property industry. Last month, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) senior fellow Dr Carmelo Ferlito had said that the government’s intervention in the supply of affordable housing had resulted in unfair competition, pushing out private developers from the segment. BNM governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim said the government’s efforts in affordable housing are very much needed, citing a failure in the property market in providing supply in the affordable range. In 2014 and 2015, affordable houses accounted for 75% of the supply of residential properties, but in 2016 and 2017, the number had dropped to 25% in the affordable range. (The Edge Markets)
Excel Force to dispose of office for RM15.67 million
Excel Force MSC Bhd has proposed to dispose of its office premises in Plaza33 to the owner of the building for RM15.67 million. The 18,988-sq ft property, which is in Tower A, Level 13, is currently tenanted by Panasonic Appliances Asia Pacific. The proposed disposal will enable the company to repay outstanding banking facilities of RM3.99 million. The transaction is also expected to result in an estimated gain on disposal of approximately RM1.52mil. Excel Force had bought the MSC-status office in February 2014, and the current valuation is below its initial RM14.5 million investment. (The Edge Markets)
PM: Owners of PPA1M homes to benefit greatly
Civil servants who own homes under the 1Malaysia housing project stand to benefit from it greatly as the price is expected to rise continuously, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. He said the government has set a target of 200,000 units of PPA1M homes that were expected to be ready within the next few years. Najib said this when outlining the benefits that would be enjoyed by about 1,230 owners of the 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing Project (PPA1M) who received their keys yesterday. The Kepong Metropolitan PPA1M project, which was launched by Najib in 2016, was developed on three hectares of land adjacent to the MRR2 Highway to help civil servants to own homes lower than the market price. (The Star Online)
