PUCHONG: SP Setia Bhd, the developer of boutique lifestyle development SetiaWalk, is confident of leasing out at least 80% for the project's mall component in time for its launch in the first quarter of 2012, said its divisional general manager Wong Tuck Wai.

IJM Land
Canal City in the limelight

MELBOURNE: A country town in the state of New South Wales is offering houses to rent for just A$1 (RM3.08) a week to "keep the town alive".

There are still plenty of jobs available in the town of Trundle but no one to do them, Trundle Tree Change spokeswoman Cherie Quade told the ABC.

KUALA LUMPUR: The demand for housing is expected to remain strong for the next 12 to 18 months, after which the market will stabilise, according to Datuk Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor, deputy president of the Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association of Malaysia (Rehda).

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Steel Association (MSA) members will invest RM5 billion in the next three years to increase industry capacity by another 3.2 million tonnes per annum.

PETALING JAYA: The government believes the domestic steel industry is on track towards a strong rebound with the implementation of large infrastructure and construction projects under Budget 2011.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government would continue to assist the steel industry to ensure that it was more competitive.

KUALA LUMPUR: Eastern and Oriental Bhd (E&O) has reopened its Lone Pine Hotel in Batu Ferringhi in Penang.

The hotel was reopened to the public on Monday after a one-and-a-half-years refurbishment and expansion process, it said in a statement on Tuesday, Nov 2.

HONG KONG: International property consultant CB Richard Ellis Group announced the acquisition of a commercial property asset management and consultancy services firm in Hong Kong in a move to expand its asset management business.

HONG KONG: Property sales ended lower last week after their initial rebound following last month's policy address.

About 750 flats were sold from Oct 25 to 31 in the 50 leading housing estates monitored by Ricacorp Properties, down 2% on the 804 deals recorded the previous week.

HONG KONG: Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) is to give its Beijing APM shopping mall a second major facelift in as many years to reposition the centre to appeal to local middle-income shoppers rather than tourists.