IT is not every day that one gets to speak to a billionaire and ask him about his personal life and what he likes to have with his coffee in the morning (answer: Häagen-Dazs ice cream). But then again, not everyone is Cecil Chao.

KUALA LUMPUR: IOI Properties Group Bhd made an impressive start to its comeback on Bursa Malaysia yesterday in the first initial public offering (IPO) of this year, even overtaking the country’s largest property developer, UEM Sunrise Bhd, by market capitalisations at one point.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tenders for the first phase of the Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) RM50 billion township development in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, which was acquired from Malaysia Rubber Research Institute for RM2.28 billion in 2012, will be called next month.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ekovest Bhd’s 60%-owned subsidiary, Ekovest-MRCB Construction Sdn Bhd, has secured a RM130 million contract from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

SINGAPORE/HANOI: Rose Rock Group, a Rockefeller family-backed alternative investment management firm, will help develop a US$2.5 billion (RM8.1 billion) residential and hotel project on the south central coast of Vietnam.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s ruling to increase the floor price for foreigners’ purchases of properties in Malaysia to RM1 million from RM500,000 by Jan 1 has yet to be implemented.

PETALING JAYA: The RM1.21 billion valuation of MCT Consortium Bhd in its proposed reverse takeover (RTO) of PN17 outfit GW Plastics Holdings Bhd has raised eyebrows.

KUALA LUMPUR: Retailers are rushing to expand their presence in Kota Kinabalu as the retail sector in Sabah’s capital is set to grow 5% to 10% in the next few years.

AS we bid farewell to 2013 and welcome 2014, questions abound as to what the new year will bring. Judging from the views of some of the winners of The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards 2013, next year is going to be challenging for all. However, whether in good times or bad, the top developers always find a way to stay ahead of the pack.