News by M

What used to cost 80 sen per hour has now been hiked to RM2 for the first hour and RM3 for the second and subsequent hours.

They will be launched throughout the next 18 months.

THE debut project of a Malaysian developer has been a hit with international travellers. The Koharu Resort Hotel & Suites has been awarded the coveted Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor.

The group currently has two ongoing developments with the Singaporean developer, namely Sophia Hills on Mount Sophia, District 9, and Royal Square at Novena.

"We are working towards signing the MoU on July 19, 2016. We are still in the process of confirming the details," a spokesperson from Singapore's Ministry of Transport was quoted as saying.

It will be located on Beach Road (bordering the Central Business District) and close to the Marina Bay entertainment and business districts.   

So while the central bank’s move is in line with the easing policies globally, it is not substantial enough to revive the local property market, which has been tied down not only by tighter lending policies, but also the abolition of the developer interest bearing scheme (DIBS) and the hike in real property gains tax (RPGT).

Real estate investment trust (REIT) prices rose in early trades on Bursa Malaysia yesterday following Bank Negara Malaysia’s move to cut the overnight policy rate (OPR), but pared gains in the afternoon.

This confirmed a report by The Edge weekly on July 11, which pointed to one of the anticipated proposals, that is, allowing REITs to acquire vacant land and undertake property development subject to a cap of 15% of their total asset value. In comparison, the cap for property developments by Singapore REITs in the republic currently stands at 25% of total assets.

Only 2,000 borrowers took advantage of the scheme from BSN since it was launched last July.