City&Country: Briefs

TA Global forms JV on Sydney project
TA Global Bhd is partnering Sydney-based property fund management and development company Charter Hall Group to develop Little Bay, a A$600 million (RM1.84 billion) residential project in Sydney, Australia.

The group said on Oct 19 that its subsidiaries TA Global Development Pty Ltd and TA Antarabangsa Development Ltd had entered into a 50:50 development sponsorship arrangement with Charter Hall Group to work on the 13.6ha project, comprising 570 units of houses, townhouses and apartments.

Green township framework ready by year-end
A framework for developing green townships will be ready by year-end, says Mohd Rosli Abdullah, the senior undersecretary of the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.

The framework will outline guidelines for new and existing townships to go green by incorporating environment-friendly technologies. Land use, traffic and the level of carbon dioxide will be among the indicators, he said at the First International Young Planners Forum 2010 on Oct 18. Putrajaya and Cyberjaya will be the role models and government offices here have targeted the reduction of energy and water consumption by 10% by end-2010.

Tambun Indah Land gets SC nod for listing
Penang-based property developer Tambun Indah Land Bhd has been given the nod by the Securities Commission Malaysia to be listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. In a statement on Oct 18, managing director Teh Kiak Seng said it was timely for the company to be listed in view of the rising demand for properties on mainland Penang.

“We believe our listing will enable us to strengthen our position as a major property developer here,” said Teh. To date, Tambun Indah has sold more than 2,800 homes mostly in mainland Penang, with a GDV of more than RM800 million.

Initiatives in Budget 2011 for first-time house buyers
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has proposed several initiatives to aid first-time house buyers in Budget 2011, tabled on Oct 15 . These include the introduction of the Skim Rumah Pertamaku, which will provide a guarantee on a downpayment of 10% for houses below RM220,000, targeted at young adults with an income under RM3,000, and a 50% exemption on stamp duty on instruments of transfer as well as loan agreements on a house not exceeding RM350,000.

MIER concerned with rising household debt
The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research is concerned with the rising household debt level which stood at 77% of GDP last year. Bank Negara’s 2009 annual report showed household debt to have risen to 76.6% for the year, the highest in Asia, from 63.9% of GDP in 2008. “Loan-to-value (LTV) ratio should be reduced to address the rise,” said Senior Research Fellow Dr Foong Kee-Kuan. “Going forward, there should be more business loans than household loans,” he said on Oct 19. Household loans in April, May, June, July and August this year stood at 10%, 11.7%, 12.5%, 11.9% and 11.8% respectively.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 829, Oct 25-31, 2010