Six criteria must be met before MCO can end
There are six criteria that must be fulfilled before the movement control order (MCO) can officially end, says Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. Among these criteria are ensuring border control by screening and placing Malaysians who are returning from abroad under quarantine. “Second is the MCO. By staying at home, the chances of being infected are low, ” said Dr Noor Hisham. “Third is our health systems, we should reduce the time taken for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screenings. Fourth, we also need to enforce laws to protect those who are at high risk.” The fifth criterion, said Dr Noor Hisham, was the need for Malaysians to incorporate the new normal in their daily lives – social distancing, washing their hands and avoiding gatherings. “Sixth, the health ministry must be able to work together with the community to enforce preventative measures in the community concerned. This is the framework that we have and it needs to be practised by every ministry to see how we can have a soft landing exit strategy, ” he said. The government has yet to decide on whether to extend the movement control order (MCO) when the third phase ends next Tuesday (April 28). (The Star Online)
Singapore circuit breaker extended by four weeks to June 1
The Singapore government will extend the circuit breaker to minimise movement of people for four more weeks until June 1, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced. In the next two weeks — until May 4 when the circuit breaker was originally scheduled to end — the authorities will tighten certain measures. Some hot spots such as popular wet markets, where large groups of people continue to gather, will “impose entry restrictions to thin out the crowds even more”. More workplaces will be closed, “so that only the most essential services will remain open”, he added. On how Singapore can exit the circuit breaker, Lee said again that nobody knows how long the pandemic will last. It will most likely take more than a year, before effective treatments and vaccines become available. (Malay Mail)
Residential property prices to surge after pandemic, says study
Residential property prices are expected to surge in 2021 after stalling this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a nationwide study by real estate sales and media company Juwai IQI. predicted that residential property prices would stagnate in 2020 with an increase of only 1.1%. Group executive director Kashif Ansari said the drop in number of property transactions due to the movement control order (MCO) was also causing property prices to stagnate. The industry is optimistic, however, about a post-pandemic recovery and expects residential prices to rise by 8.6% by 2021. The survey also revealed that rental rates are expected to rise by an average of 1.7% through the end of 2020. He added that property would likely remain attractive to foreign buyers due to the country’s strategic location. The survey also revealed possible consumer changes in property buying, with greater use of online tools such as virtual reality, 3D rendering and live-streaming, to facilitate marketing, research, and purchasing of real estate due to Covid-19. (Free Malaysia Today)
Smaller property developers could be takeover targets
About half of the listed companies on Bursa Malaysia’s KL Property Index are now trading at price to book value (PBV) ratio multiples of less than 0.30 times. Kenanga Research said this signaled that this could be a conducive environment for privatisation exercise or takeovers. Smaller sized property companies like MCT Bhd, SHL Consolidated Bhd, MUI Properties Bhd and KSL Holdings Bhd could be potential takeover targets. Kenanga Research said since 2018, there were at least 10 listed property companies seeing takeover offers. With property stocks badly battered following the market sell-off, this has opened up a window of opportunities for substantial shareholders to privatise their listed companies at bargain basement prices. (NST Online)
Genting Group slashes staff salaries as virus shuts casinos
Gambling and hospitality group Genting Berhad is set to slash the salaries of its staff across the board in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Bloomberg reported that this marks the first-ever group-wide salary cut since Genting was founded in 1965. Supported by group chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the proposed cuts will see as much as a 20% temporary reduction of basic salary for employees based on their ranks, while Genting Hong Kong Limited proposed up to a 50% cut for those holding vice-president positions or higher. Genting Singapore Limited and Genting Malaysia Berhad have suggested similar pay cuts with varying terms. Genting Group’s chief operating officer Tan Kong Han was quoted as saying that the group’s businesses have been badly affected, leading to a significant reduction in revenue. (Malay Mail)
