21 July 2020: Banks will not extend moratorium; Govt mulls mandatory face masks in public

Banks will not extend moratorium

Borrowers will need to start repaying their loans from October onwards as the banks will not extend the automatic loan moratorium, banking sources said. However, an industry source said while the blanket moratorium would end, banks are open to assist borrowers to restructure and reschedule their loans in a more targeted manner. It is estimated that there will be three million borrowers who will take that offer up. Sources said that among the reasons for a no automatic and blanket moratorium was because the banks wanted borrowers to approach financial institutions to renegotiate their loans. “The banks will have until the middle of next year to restructure and reschedule their loans,” a source said. The six-month moratorium, announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in late March, ends on Sept 30. (The Star Online)

Govt mulls mandatory face masks in public amid rash of new Covid-19 clusters

The government is considering making face masks mandatory in public places in order to curb the spread of Covid-19, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday. He said reports of new clusters cropping up in several states is a worrying sign, but if the public continue to be disciplined and follow the new norms, there won’t be any need for an MCO to be implemented. He said that further details will be announced after the related regulations have been finalised by the government. He also reminded the public to maintain social distancing and avoid visiting crowded places and physical contact. Separately, Muhyiddin also said that the government will place Malaysians who return from abroad in quarantine centres instead of allowing them to self-isolate in their respective homes if needed in order to control the number of imported cases of Covid-19 more effectively. (Malay Mail)

Urban rail progress on track

The progress of urban rail marked several milestones over the weekend, with key developments for the MRT and LRT announced. For the MRT Putrajaya line – the second MRT line – only 400m of tunnelling work is left. It is more than three-quarters complete and is scheduled to enter full service by January 2023. As for its ongoing LRT3, which had suffered delays, Prasarana’s deputy head for LRT3 Mohd Lokman Hamid confirmed there are practically no more outstanding issues for the LRT line from Bandar Utama to Johan Setia, Klang. “We have completed around 99% land acquisition, and are in the middle of settling related payments. We have taken over nearly all work sites. Things are going full swing,” he said. (The Star Online)

Boustead sells prime KL land for RM138 million

Amid concerns over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and how long it will take some industries to recover, Boustead Properties Bhd has inked a deal to sell a 2.93-acre parcel in Jalan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur. The site located near MyTown shopping centre has been up for sale since November last year. While Boustead Property did not reveal the sale price, Binastra Land CEO and managing director Datuk Seri Michael Tan said that the deal was done at RM138 million, which works out to RM1,081 psf. A valuer who declined to be named noted it was a good sell, as the land value in the area is pegged at between RM700 and RM800 psf. But Tan, who plans to develop the land in two to three years’ time, says, “Prime land does not come cheap.” Binastra Land plans to build a hotel and serviced apartments, with a small office component, on the site. “The development will complement the MyTown development,” he adds. (The Edge)

Malaysian property, REIT expected to remain lacklustre in next 12 months

The Malaysian property and real estate investment trust (REIT) sector is expected to remain lacklustre in the next 12 months due to the challenging outlook, according to AmInvestment Bank Research (AmResearch). It elaborated that the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) put the local economy on pause for almost two months, and this has led to most developers still assessing the economic situation, and deliberating whether to continue or defer future launches. “We believe consumer sentiment remains weak for the time being with spending mainly focused on necessities while big-ticket items such as properties take a back seat,” it said. As for the REIT sector, it views the long-term outlook as positive, given the diminishing rate of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia while several stimulus plans by the government provide greater earnings visibility. (The Sun Daily)