Govt to introduce new housing loan for M40, B40
The government is expected to introduce a new housing loan scheme to help the Middle 40 (M40) and Bottom 40 (B40) household groups to buy houses. Housing and Local Government Minister (KPKT) Zuraida Kamaruddin said following a meeting with BNM, financial institutions, EPF and the Ministry of Finance, a set of guidelines to introduce ‘relaxed’ loans for house buyers will be formulated. “Although still at a preliminary stage, the full scheme will be presented to KPKT in August,” she said. It was reported that RM22 billion worth of completed houses remained unsold across Malaysia as of the first quarter of this year. among the factors contributing to the unsold houses were unfavourable location, and high cost and loan factor. (The Sun Daily)
Don’t worry about KL property glut as market will adjust itself, says MIP president
The housing and commercial property glut in Kuala Lumpur is not a great cause for concern as the market will eventually adjust itself to accommodate the excessive supply, said the Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) president Ihsan Zainal Mokhtar. However, he noted that city plans have to be flexible to adjust to changes in the market. He cited Melbourne as an example, which suffered an office glut in the early 90’s. The offices were converted into residences, although the concept of staying in the CBD was not popular at the time. The upcoming 10th International Conference on World Class Sustainable Cities 2018 (WCSC 2018), to be held on Sept 27, will see experts from both local and overseas discuss the issues that KL had and will be having in the future while the city moving towards to the goal of become one of the world class cities. (The Edge Markets)
MRCB completes sale of RM323mil KL land to Socso
Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) has completed the disposal of a piece of land in Kuala Lumpur to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) for RM323 million cash. The land, which spans 1.866 acres, is located on Jalan Kia Peng and carries a net book value of RM269 million and a market value of RM323 million. The disposal allows MRCB to focus on its bigger property development projects such as projects in Bukit Jalil, Cyberjaya, PJ Sentral and Kwasa Sentral and at the same time have the flexibility to reallocate its cash flows and resources efficiently among those projects. (The Sun Daily)
FT Ministry to probe sale of land by DBKL
The Federal Territories Ministry is to conduct an internal investigation soon into the alleged sale of 64 lots of government land by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to developers. The new Federal Territories Minister, Khalid Abdul Samad, said the ministry would give its full cooperation to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) if there were any element of abuse of power, embezzlement and corruption. He also said that the ‘River of Life’ would be among the projects which would be looked at, especially in terms of cleanliness, waste management and public awareness. (Malay Mail Online)
(Source: Bernama)
Najib arrested, to face several charges today
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is expected to face several charges for committing offences under two Acts. Sources at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said Attorney General Tommy Thomas is expected to lead the prosecution team and Najib will be brought to court this morning. It is believed that the former prime minister will be charged under the Anti Money-Laundering Act and the Penal Code. Other sources said Najib is expected to face four counts of committing criminal breach of trust (CBT) and anti-money laundering charges involving a total of RM42mil and believed to be linked to the SRC International Sdn Bhd case. Earlier yesterday, Najib was arrested at his house in Jalan Langgak Duta in Kuala Lumpur at about 3pm and was brought to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya. (The Star Online)
