Tenant-led office market in KL under pressure — Knight Frank
Tenant-led office market in Kuala Lumpur continues to be under pressure with looming supply and weak absorption of space. Knight Frank Malaysia executive director of corporate services Teh Young Khean said rents in KL city are likely to fall amid heightened competition and growing economic concerns. “We have forecast that rents in the city centre would likely to decrease by 0.3% for the next 12 months,” he said. its Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental index for first quarter 2019 showed the index fell 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of this year to 142.6, though it remains up 6.2% year-on-year. (The Edge)
Malaysia remains the world’s 22nd most competitive economy
Malaysia has maintained its 22nd rank, among 63 countries, in the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) 2019 published by IMD World Competitiveness Centre. With a score of 82.54 out of 100 points, Malaysia sustained its position for the second year, reflecting positive sentiments of the business community. The report showed improvements in institutional related indicators such as bribery and corruption, transparency, bureaucracy, justice, social cohesion and public finance in terms of rankings and value scored compared to the previous year. Overall, Malaysia continues to be ahead of Belgium (27th), South Korea (28th) and Japan (30th). The WCY 2019 assesses economies based on four competitiveness input factors namely economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure with each encompassing five sub-factors. (NST Online)
Melaka Gateway developer to resume projects, withdraws suit
KAJ Development Sdn Bhd will resume two projects under the RM43 billion Melaka Gateway plan after the Transport Ministry allowed the company to appeal against the government’s earlier decision to scrap the development. The project to have a cruise jetty licence together with the deep sea port licence is valid and existing for KAJ to carry out their development on Melaka Gateway as planned. It was reported that KAJ Development had received a letter in Oct last year that the “port operating licence for integrated deep-sea Melaka Gateway and cruise terminal jetty” had been cancelled. (The Edge)
HRC World takes stake in Yong Tai’s Encore Melaka company
HRC World Plc will take a stategic stake in Yong Tai Bhd’s unit PTS Impression Sdn Bhd which is involved in the development of the tourism stage performance Encore Melaka. Under the MoU, HRC Music will subscribe up to 70% stake in PTSI at a subscription price to be determined later. “Yong Tai sees the synergistic value from HRC World to jointly operate Encore Melaka theatre as HRC World manages well-known music-centric, themed food and beverage cafes across China and other parts of Asia that strategically promotes live music and bands. Their participation would definitely boost Encore Melaka theatre profile across China and other parts of Asia,” said Yong Tai CEO Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon. Over a longer term, Yong Tai being the master developer of Impression City development will benefit from the value created by Encore Melaka theatre collaboration with HRC World. (The Star Online)
Shocked landlady posts photos of apartment as left by tenant
A landlady in Bangkok, Thailand has gone online to express her shock at the condition of her apartment after her tenant of nine years vacated the property in Ramkhamhaeng, Bangkok. To add insult to injury, she said he had left the keys with the security officer and asked for his deposit back. Nathalie Ruangdet went to check the property and said while most of it was in reasonable condition, the toilet looked as if it had not been cleaned throughout the nine years the tenant was there. She described the tenant as a “clean and respectable person”, adding: “Sometimes he didn’t pay on time but he often paid three months in one go.” She will probably decide how much to deduct after calling in commercial cleaners since it doesn’t look like a mop and soap would do the trick. (The Star Online)
