Will incinerator project dampen prices?

From Star Online: Business
19th July 2014

Will the plan by the Government to build an incinerator in Kepong at the current National Waste Transfer Centre affect property prices?

According to various real estate professionals who declined to be named, yes. The effect on property prices will not be just over the short to medium term, but over the longer term as well.

“It is a major consideration. Who wants to live near a major source of pollution?” he asks.

Homes in KL South, anybody?

From Star Online: Business
14th Dec 2013

Transit home.

That’s one way to view acquiring real estate at the fringe of the Klang Valley or neighbouring suburbs, if you are native to the capital city.

In this case, it’s Southville City in Bangi, Mah Sing Properties Sdn Bhd’s most expansive township yet. Mah Sing Properties is a subsidiary of Mah Sing Group Bhd.

According to Mah Sing Properties Sdn Bhd township residential chief operating officer James A. Bruyns, many buyers are keen on a transit home for the work week.

“We have buyers who live with their families in Seremban and work in Kuala Lumpur. Having this property to go home to would alleviate their travelling. They can put up during the week and return to their families in the weekend,” he tellsStarBizWeek.

Cyberjaya City Centre set for 2014 launch

From Business Times Online
7th Dec 2013

THE RM6 billion Cyberjaya City Centre project is expected to be launched next year, said Cyberview Sdn Bhd managing director Faris Yahaya.

The commercial project over 57ha is developed by Cyberview and SP Setia Bhd and will feature commercial, residential and corporate office units.

Faris said the project will be developed over five phases and will change the landscape of Cyberjaya into a more balanced urban development than it is now.

"Cyberjaya City Centre will be the next big development in Cyberjaya. We are in the process of completing the development plan.

"This project will involve public-private partnerships and a special-purpose company will be established to undertake the development," Faris said at the ground-breaking of a RM1.05 billion housing project at Block 20 here yesterday, which will be jointly undertaken with Gadang Holdings Bhd.

Also present were Finance Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, who is also Cyberview chairman, Gadang chairman Datuk Wan Lokman Wan Ibrahim and Gadang group managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Kok Onn.

Spread over 50ha in Cyber 9, the mixed-use project is divided into four phases and involve the construction of 2,500 housing units. 

Of those, 794 units will be reserved for 1Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA) to cater to the needs of middle-income earners.

Phase One will be open for sale in the third quarter of next year. It will offer 325 units of PR1MA housing and 142 units of two-storey link houses starting from RM500,000 each.

The remaining three phases will offer two-storey link houses, apartment units, government quarters and commercial units.

Faris said apart from the PR1MA houses, all other housing units under this development are also priced more competitively than other similar properties in the market.

"I am confident that with this new development, we can potentially meet the housing requirements of at least another 10,000 people and, at the same time, create new business opportunities," he said.

[Source]

New property measures to drive away investors

From Business Times
By RHB Research
29th October 2013

"We see downside potential for valuations of some stocks, particularly those that are highly exposed to the Iskandar region and have high proportion of foreign buyers," 

"They include UEM Sunrise Bhd, Sunway Bhd, SP Setia Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, IJM Land Bhd and Eastern & Oriental Bhd."

NEW property cooling measures, such as raising the ceiling price of properties for foreign buyers to RM1 million, will be a big blow to Johor's Iskandar Malaysia region, says RHB Research.

The research house views that the 30 per cent real property gains tax (RPGT) for foreigners, for disposals within the first five years, will wipe out short-term foreign speculators to a certain extent as the minimum five years' holding period will drive them away.

Mah Sing acquires land in JB

From Business Times
1st Oct 2013

Mah Sing Group Bhd acquired 31 pieces of adjoining freehold land with net land area measuring 1,351.84 acres in Johor Baru for RM429.86 million or RM7.30 per sq ft.

Mah Sing said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sanjung Tropika Development Sdn Bhd, has signed a conditional sales and purchase agreement with Bistari Land Sdn Bhd for the proposed acquisition.

The propperty developer said it intends to fund the proposed acquisition through a combination of internally generated funds, rights issue with warrants and/or bank borrowings.

Resistance: RM2.35
Support: RM2.17
My TP: RM2.50

Maybank KE Research reiterates Buy on Mah Sing

From Star Online: Business
30th Sep 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank KE Research has had its attention drawn to Mah Sing Group Bhd, following the launch of phase one of the company’s Southville City project in Bangi on Saturday which attracted around 2,500 potential buyers and resulted in 1,068 units (70%) booked.

It is maintaining its Buy call with the target price unchanged at RM2.50 for the stock, which closed last week at RM2.20.

Overbuilding of mega projects could affect sectors

From The Edge Malaysia
12th Sep 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: The overbuilding of mega projects, such as the Tun Razak Exchange, the RM5 billion Warisan Merdeka Tower and the Rubber Research Institute land development in Sungai Buloh, could negatively affect the banking, property and real estate investment trust (REIT) sectors.

CIMB Research, in a recent note, said without the solid backing of fundamental demand, the overbuilding of commercial real estate could result in painful long-term issues.

“Should the project be part-funded by government-guaranteed bonds and fail, the losses would hit the government’s balance sheet and exert further pressure on the overall public debt,” said the research house.

In addition, there will be an oversupply of office space, leading to depressed rentals and yields as well as wastage of strategic land resources. The research house is also concerned that the financial sector might see its non-performing loans ratio rise as borrowers default on their loans.

Ivory Properties unit to buy/rehabilitate Plaza Rakyat for RM400m

From The Edge Malaysia
6th September 2013

"Ivory Properties said it intends to revise the development plans of the project, which encompasses a comprehensive and integrated residential, commercial and transportation hub."

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 6): Ivory PROPERTIES Group Bhd announced that its 65% unit Ivory Place Sdn Bhd is buying the property assets of the abandoned Plaza Rakyat project in Kuala Lumpur for RM400 million.

Costlier land the price of growth

From The Edge Malaysia
2nd Aug 2013

IN recent years, escalating prices for residential property, especially landed homes in traditional hot spots such as Petaling Jaya, coupled with improving road transport, have seen Malaysians buy homes further away from the Kuala Lumpur city centre.

One such suburb is Rawang, which is located northwest of KL and is part of the Gombak district, under the supervision of the Selayang municipal council. It had started as a small tin-mining town, consisting of only a few rows of shophouses, but today, it is slowly but surely turning into a residential hot spot.

Catalyst to Bandar Tasik Puteri

From Star Online: Business

8 June 2013

Garden Heights latest phase, to be launched in June 2013, will have 114 units of link houses. As a mid-range product offered within Bandar Tasik Puteri, the 20’ x 75’ houses are priced from RM400,000.

A CATALYST expected to raise a township’s value by at least 30% – simply music to residents’ ears.

That is what Latar Expressway will bring to Bandar Tasik Puteri (BTP) in Rawang the moment it connects the 2,670-acre township to Kuala Lumpur city in only 25 minutes.

BTP has been around for 15 years, with developer Low Yat Group carefully carving out a wholesome township, playing its ear by market demand.

The group says residents have been waiting for this news as the enhanced acccessibility meant improved quality of life.

The group recently announced that it is investing RM100mil into constructing an interchange off Latar in an agreement with the expressway management. The interchange is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015, benefiting more than 60,000 residents by then. BTP has a population of 55,000.

Higher rerating in the pipeline for Iskandar?

From Star Online: Business
1st April 2013

PETALING JAYA: Property players with exposure to Iskandar Malaysia could see a rerating in the pipeline, following the planned listing of Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) in the fourth quarter of this year.

Maybank IB Research analyst Wong Wei Sum said better connectivity in the area via the rapid transit system (RTS) between Singapore and Johor and the KL-Singapore high speed rail, coupled with rising business activities and an increasing population should further lift land and property prices in Iskandar.

Wong highlighted in the report on property developers in Iskandar that the key beneficiaries include UEM Land Holdings Bhd, Sunway Bhd,Genting Plantations Bhd, IJM Land Bhd, S P Setia Bhd, Dijaya Corp Bhd, Crescendo Corp Bhd, Eastern & Oriental Bhd and KSL Holdings Bhd.

Iskandar Waterfront IPO hopes to lock in some global property, investment names

By Star Online: Business
15th Feb 2013

PETALING JAYA: The impending mega initial public offering (IPO) of Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) is hoping to lock in some global names in the property and investment world as cornerstone investors, people familiar with the process told StarBiz.

Among possible candidates are Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd as well as its associate company CapitaLand Ltd, one of Asia's largest real estate companies.

Mah Sing has the eye for big deals

From Star Online: Business
2nd Feb 2013

MAH Sing Group Bhd group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum has just come back from a four-day retreat in Koh Samui. He's looking dapper and his eyes are gleaming with energy.

He apologises for being unable to take us out for lunch as he wants to continue fasting for the remaining week. His holiday wasn't a typical food feast dotted with long periods of winding down.

“I lost 2 kgs! See how loose my pants are,” says Leong as he shows how his pants now hangs copiously on his new slimmer waistline.

For Leong, being healthy is just as important as realising his vision of making Mah Sing the next Cheung Kong Holdings of Malaysia. Cheung Kong belongs to Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and is one of the largest property developers in Hong Kong.

As it is, Mah Sing currently has 40 projects and is Malaysia's second-largest developer by sales value.

UBS positive on property stocks this year

By Star Online: Business

18th Jan 2013

PETALING JAYA: Residential property stocks which underperformed in 2012 will do better this year and among them the best is Mah Sing Bhd, a report by UBS Investment Research said.

It said the Mah Sing was ‘entrepreneurially managed with ambitious plans to grow within Malaysia”.

UBS stated that while 2013 should remain challenging, the company will deliver circa 20% sales and earnings growth based on its diversified range of products.

“Our new price target for Mah Sing’s stock is RM2.80 based on a 30% discount in realisable net asset value (RNAV) of RM3.99 and the company has a dividend policy of paying a minimum 40% of net profit resulting in a forecast yield of 6.2% for 2013,” it said.

Mah Sing targets to become proxy leader

By Star Online: Business
25 Aug 2012

MAH Sing Group Bhd managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum has big ambitions, and he's ready to articulate his aspiration for all who want to hear.

First of all, he has a vision of making Mah Sing the next Cheung Kong Holdings of Malaysia. For the uninitiated, Cheung Kong belongs to Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, and is one of the largest property developers in Hong Kong.