BEIJING: The exposure of Chinese banks to land prices is not a matter of serious concern, Liu Mingkang, head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), said on Friday March 26.

Bank loans linked to land purchases account for only 1 percent of their total lending, Liu told a conference.

SHANGHAI: The central China municipality of Chongqing is considering measures to tamp down property speculation in the city, including the imposition of a special sales tax on expensive properties, the Shanghai Securities News reported on March 26, quoting Chongqing's mayor.

KUALA LUMPUR: The world’s wealthiest investors see property as a key long-term growth in their investment portfolios, while they remain cautious about their investment’s prospects this year. 

In the Wealth Report 2010 Attitudes Survey by Citi Private Bank and Knight Frank launched on March 23, the wealthy clients say capital growth is more important than yields. 

KUALA LUMPUR: Gamuda Bhd's earnings rose 38% to RM68.03 million in the second quarter ended Jan 31, 2010 from RM49.05 million a year ago, boosted by the strong performances in all its divisions.
It said on Thursday, March 25 the revenue was RM603.24 million compared with RM591.73 million. Earnings per share were 3.37 sen versus 2.45 sen.

NEW YORK: Signs are that some overseas buyers are drifting back into the New York real estate market, betting a decline in prices may be about to turn.

The dollar's recent rally, rather than putting off foreign buyers, is encouraging them to jump into the market before it rallies further and drives up prices, insiders say.

KUALA LUMPUR: Gamuda Bhd's earnings rose 38% to RM68.03 million in the second quarter ended Jan 31, 2010 (2Q2010) from RM49.05 million a year ago, boosted by the strong performances in all its divisions.

It said on Thursday, March 25 that revenue was RM603.24 million compared with RM591.73 million. Earnings per share were 3.37 sen versus 2.45 sen.

PETALING JAYA: Talam Corp Bhd recorded a 25.27% drop in pre-tax profit of RM10.59 million for its fourth quarter ended Jan 31, 2010 (4Q2010), compared with RM14.17 million achieved in the same period last year.

PETALING JAYA: Jastamax Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mah Sing Bhd, has received notification from its solicitors that State Authority Consent has been obtained for the acquisition of a 7-storey retail and office space known as Apex Tower by a Taiwan national, Chen Ho-Yuan.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime home prices fell in most locations last year except for key Asian cities. According to the Knight Frank Prime International Residential Index released recently, the price of prime residential property fell almost 75% globally but several cities in Asia bucked the trend as prices rose over 40% in Shanghai (+52%), Beijing (+47%) and Hong Kong (+40.5%).

HONG KONG: New mortgage loans approved in Hong Kong in February fell 10.1% in value terms from January, but were up 132.8% from the same period a year earlier, data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) showed.

New loans approved in February totalled HK$26.6 billion (RM11.31 billion), down from HK$29.6 billion in the previous month, the HKMA said on Thursday (March 25).