Part of Boh’s lowland tea plantation put up for sale
Boh Plantations Sdn Bhd is looking to divest 651 acres of its plantation in Southern Klang Valley, Selangor. The tract, part of the Boh Tea Farm in Seri Cheeding where lowland tea is grown, may be able to fetch as much as RM992 million. The land forms half of Boh’s estate in Kuala Langat, near the Bandar Saujana Putra township. Boh is one of two companies in the country that grows lowland tea commercially on a large scale. The terrain is undulating with few high spots, similar to Kajang Country Heights or Kenny Hill. The 651 acres comprise three agricultural lots that have been zoned for housing. Purchasers will need to pay a conversion fee to the local authority — typically, a percentage of the enhanced value of the land — if they want to change the use of the land. (The Edge)

Salary increase in Malaysia to remain stable at 5%
Salary increase across key industries in Malaysia is forecast to remain stable at 5% in 2020, while the inflation rate is projected to rise to 2.4% from 0.9% in 2019, says consulting firm Mercer. In particular, the shared services and outsourcing (SSO) industry is expected to have the highest salary increase at 5.5% (5.3% in 2018). In second place are the life sciences and chemical industries, which are expected to see a 5.4% salary growth in 2020. “The salary trend forecast for 2020 in Malaysia remains stable across job functions as well. The top three job functions with the highest salary increase are production and skilled trades (5.8%), data analytics/warehousing (5.5%), and IT and project managers (5.3%),” Mercer said. Administration and secretarial jobs are predicted to receive the lowest salary increment at 4%. (The Edge)

‘Not all doom and gloom’ for M’sia in 2020
It is not all doom and gloom on the economic front for Malaysia next year, despite expectations of slower growth, said UOB Malaysia. For there is room for the country’s GDP growth to accelerate past UOB Malaysia’s forecast of 4.4% if government spending recovers and investor confidence improves, said bank’s senior economist Julia Goh. She expects Malaysia to be retained in the FTSE Russel World Government Bond Index — although the country’s weightage in the index could be lowered from 0.4% to 0.3% — which will be one of the factors that will drive new investment flows into Malaysia. (The Edge)

Oversupply of Malaysian properties expected to remain in 2020
A Malaysian online property portal expects the oversupply of property in the market to remain next year. Its general manager David Mawer said oversupply of properties would continue to be a challenge for the industry and put pressure on new project launchings. Apart from oversupply, he said loan rejection could put pressure on the property market. He said one factor for loan rejection was lack of awareness among prospective Malaysian home buyers, particularly those buying for the first time, regarding the home loan application process. Based on its findings, only 43% of users were familiar with debt servicing ratio (DSR) and how it affects their home loan. (Malay Mail)

TNB: Check electrical equipment and wiring after flood
Flood victims are advised to check whether electrical equipment and wiring are safe to use after flood. Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) in a statement today said floodwater may have damaged electrical wiring and equipment and could pose serious safety risk to the consumers if they are not properly checked, cleaned and maintained. TNB further said before using the power supply, flood victims should seek the service of electrical wiring contractor registered with the Energy Commission to inspect and test the water-damaged electrical wiring. “Consumers are also advised to avoid watery areas if there is a power outage in the area and to stay away from TNB substations and electricity transmission poles.” (NST Online)