Thinkproperty Blog

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

JOHOR BARU: Two abandoned housing projects in the state valued at RM40mil will be revived by the Housing and Local Government Ministry with the co-operation of developers.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said that the projects in Cahaya Kota Putri in Plentong and Taman Mawar in Kulai had been taken over by Mahabuilders Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad respectively.

“The projects comprising 600 houses and shoplots were abandoned in 2005,” he said during a visit to the Cahaya Kota Putri site last week.

The problem of abandoned housing projects had always plagued the ministry but it was trying to reduce their occurrence, he added.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

PETALING JAYA: The arbitration claim by Bahrain Asphalt Establishment BSC (BAE) amounting to 109.27 milion Qatari riyal (RM101.06mil) against the Gamuda Bhd-WCT Bhd joint venture (JV) in Qatar may have an impact on both the Malaysian companies’ earnings, according to analysts.

OSK Research in its report yesterday said the claim by BAE was “not good news.”

It said the arbitration could be long drawn, based on WCT’s ongoing arbitration with Dubai’s Meydan LLC, where the latter had cancelled a deal to build a race cource there. The claim has been pending since early last year.

“Assuming the (BAE) claims are made in the current financial year, our FY10 earnings (for WCT) forecast would be reduced by 29%,” said OSK.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

PETALING JAYA: Property developer BCB Bhd has acquired a five-acre plot of freehold vacant land in the mukim of Batu in Kuala Lumpur for RM51mil from co-owners Warta Development Sdn Bhd and Yap Khay Cheong & Sons Realty Sdn Bhd.

The company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that it had entered into the sale and purchase agreement with the owners yesterday.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

PUTRAJAYA: Over 500 residents from 76 apartment units at a government quarters in Precinct 11 here were evacuated for maintenance work to be carried out at their premises.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk T. Murugiah said the work to fix cracks and leakages by the Public Works Department cost RM200,000.

He said the 515 residents who were evacuated were staying temporarily at a nearby apartment block since March 1.

The maintenance work would begin on April 1 he told reporters after visiting the quarters yesterday.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

KUCHING: Only 68 notices affecting 10,393 titled land in the state are still in force under Section 47 of the Sarawak Land Code, which is contrary to the belief that the Government is still clinging on to many plots of land.

Land and Survey Department director Datuk Sudarsono Osman said the amount of land still under Section 47 only represented about 2% of the total titled land statewide.

There are 553,623 pieces of titled land in Sarawak.

Sudarsono said the 68 notices were the outstanding ones left after the Government released some of the notices affecting titled land in Bako and Sejingkat recently. It is said that 1,087 notices under Section 47 had been imposed since 1973.

Extract from The Star (11/03/2010)

KUCHING: The Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) has helped resolve about 100 land disputes between oil palm plantation developers and native customary right (NCR) landowners.

Its president Sidi Munan said the association provided free services to the landowners and that disputes were usually settled when the developers recognised the NCR claims and stayed away.

“In some instances, the developers and NCR landowners later became good friends. Several landowners have been employed by the developers to work in their projects,” he told The Star yesterday.

However, he said, there were “stubborn” developers who ignored the NCR claims and bulldozed native land.

Extract from The Edge (10/03/2010)

KUALA LUMPUR: Kulim (M) Bhd is disposing of Menara Ansar in Johor Bahru to Al-‘Aqar KPJ Real Investment Trust for RM105 million, to be satisfied by RM63 million cash and 42.9 million new trust units priced at 98 sen apiece.

“The group has opted to dispose of its investment in Menara Ansar as it would allow us to unlock the value of our non-core asset as well as realise our investment in the property,” said Kulim managing director Ahamad Mohamad.

The net book value of the property as at Dec 31, 2008 was RM90 million.

Ahamad said the resulting cash inflow of RM63 million would be used to repay borrowings that currently stood at RM1.7 billion and lower the company’s gearing to 0.32 times from 0.33 times.

Extract from Bernama (10/03/2010)

KUALA LUMPUR -- Some 2,500 hectares of land in Sabah have been identified for rubber replanting, Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) director-general Datuk Mohammad Izat Hasan said.

"About 1,000 rubber smallholders have applied for replanting. This is quite a feat considering that Risda has only been in Sabah since January," he told Bernama here Wednesday.

Risda had been charged with helping individual smallholders develop their land while the Sabah Rubber Industry Board was responsible for implementing group cultivation.

Sabah has 123,300 hectare of rubber growing areas with 48,300 smallholders.

Extract from Bernama (10/03/2010)

KUALA LUMPUR -- A tailor on Wednesday claimed she suffered losses of RM100,000 after allegedly being cheated by a man who she believed was able to help her in a land acquisition transaction with the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, three years ago.

Lim Boey, 57, said she was introduced to the suspect, who is in his 40s, by a friend who had sought the man's help for a similar transaction.

Lim claimed that she had made several payments pertaining to the land acquisition, change of land status from private to commercial and all relevant taxes.

"Between 2005 and 2006, I have paid him a total of RM15,000 in cash and RM85,000 to get the ownership of the land located behind my house.

Extract from Bernama (10/03/2010)

KUALA LUMPUR -- The briefing on the redevelopment of the Kampung Kerinchi flats and the selection of the developer have been postponed from Friday to March 27, Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Raja Datuk Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said on Wednesday.

He said the agreement on the postponement was reached at a meeting in Putrajaya today among the residents association, which requested the postponement, the ministry and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

Two briefings would be held on March 27, he said, adding that one would be on relocation of the flat owners and the other on the development plans of all four developers bidding for the redevelopment project.

After the briefings, a secret ballot would be carried out and the counting of the votes would be conducted to determine the selected developer, he said.

Extract from The Star (10/03/2010)

THE township of Kota Damansara in Petaling Jaya is seeing rapid developments in recent years and the residents are the ones to bear the brunt.

At present traffic situation along Persiaran Surian bad near the tunnel leading to Kota Damansara.

StarMetro spoke to several residents on the traffic impact in the area as a result of the developments.

Friends of Kota Damansara co-chairman Jeffrey Phang said traffic would worsen in the future.

Extract from The Star (10/03/2010)

SUBANG JAYA: TH Properties Sdn Bhd and Naza Properties Sdn Bhd have formed a strategic alliance to develop a high-end residential project with a gross development value of RM100mil.

TH Properties chief executive officer Zaharuddin Saidon said the project would involve 52 single and double-storey luxury bungalows with Italian concept in Bandar Enstek, which borders Negri Sembilan and Selangor.

“We plan to launch this project in June,” he told a press conference after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between TH Properties and Naza Group yesterday.

TH Properties, the development manager of Bandar Enstek, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Haji while Naza Properties is a unit of Naza Group.

Extract from The Edge (10/03/2010)

PETALING JAYA: Lembaga Tabung Haji's (LTH) property development arm TH PROPERTIES Sdn Bhd and Naza Group have teamed up to develop a high-end residential enclave with a gross development value (GDV) of RM100 million in Bandar Enstek, Nilai.

The residential enclave in timur@enstek could be the first of many joint developments between the two companies, said TH Properties CEO Zaharuddin Saidon.

"We are working on value-adding packages for customers such as a free car or bike but the mechanism is still being worked out," he said after signing a memorandum of understanding with Naza Group joint executive chairman Datuk SM Faisal Nasimuddin yesterday.

"We signed a general MoU (memorandum of understanding), we will explore other options for joint development in the future as Naza Group has a well-diversified portfolio. This could take place within Bandar Enstek or elsewhere. At the moment, the residential enclave is our main focus," he said.

Extract from The Edge (09/03/2010)

GEORGE TOWN: A five-star hotel, a convention centre, a hospital and high-end condominiums are among the projects lined up by the CP Group for its Queensbay site.

CP Group executive director Datin Jane Yeo said these projects would be located on the remaining 35 acres (14ha) of the total 75 acres which has yet to be developed.

"These projects will be the cream of our total development of Queensbay," she told a press conference after the official opening of Eastin Hotel Penang.

"To date, the gross development value (GDV) is more than RM1 billion, including the Eastin Hotel. We will launch Parcel 4 by the end of this year which will be a condominium project with a GDV of RM500 million,"

Extract from Bernama (09/03/2010)

PETALING JAYA -- TH Properties Sdn Bhd and Naza Properties Sdn Bhd on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop 62 units of luxury bungalows with a gross development value of RM100 million at Bandar Enstek.

TH Properties' chief executive officer Zaharuddin Saidon said the GDV included a bundling package with the Italian-themed bungalows at the timur@enstek site each accompanied with a luxury car from the Naza Group.

He said this was especially to attract foreigners to buy the properties for the "Malaysia My Second Home" programme.

"The project is set to start in the next two to three months, with a soft launch expected next month and a showhouse to be built by June this year," he told reporters at the MoU signing ceremony here.

Extract from Bernama (09/03/2010)

KUALA LUMPUR -- Permaju Industries Bhd plans to acquire 70 per cent equity interest in Hardie Development Sdn Bhd (HDSB) for RM33.680 million.

The group has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with two vendors, Datin Pang Fook Kyun and Sim Men Kin @ Andrew Sim, and HDSB to facilitate the purchase.

The 70 per cent equity interest represents 70 ordinary shares of RM1 each in HDSB, Permaju said in a statement Monday.

The proposed acquisition will provide Permaju an opportunity to diversify its business activities into property development, the group said.