KULIM: Tune Hotels aims to have a network of 100 hotels in Malaysia and overseas by 2015, says its chief executive officer Mark Lankester.

He said the company would invest between US$5 million and US$15 million (RM15.73 million and RM47.19 million) in a hotel with 150 rooms and above.

HANGZHOU/HONG KONG: China is moving to choke off funding avenues to developers across the country, tightening or eliminating credit options in a bid to slow the rampant property market and bring down prices without sending the broader economy into a crash.

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Research Institute said many property stocks are still trading at above their seven-year historical mean price-to-book and price-to-earnings.

It said on Tuesday, Sept 27 that it expects the sector to continue underperforming the broad market.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) has closed the deal on the Menara Multi Purpose for RM375 million, just in time to celebrate the purchase with its delegates at its AGM this weekend.

S P Setia Bhd (Sept 26, RM3.10)

WASHINGTON: Sales of new homes in the US fell 2.3% in August. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), entry-level homes are driving the new-home market.

"The price data shows entry-level homes are generally driving the new-home market right now, and that's because first-time buyers don't have another home they have to sell," said NAHB chairman Bob Nielsen.

Like many of her peers, Rachel, 18, is excited yet nervous as she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime this week; starting university.

As she leaves home and moves into student accommodation in her university town two hours away, she will experience her first taste of adult life, and will have to deal with responsibilities such as paying the rent on time.

HONG KONG: New mortgage loans drawn down in Hong Kong totalled HK$14.7 billion (RM6.03 billion) in August, down 27% from a month earlier, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) data showed.

The value of new mortgage loans approved in August declined 10.3% from the previous month to HK$15.8 billion, the HKMA said.

HONG KONG: Blackstone Group LP is selling its stake in Shanghai's Channel 1 shopping mall to Hong Kong's New World Development Co for 1.46 billion yuan (RM726 million), marking its first exit from a real estate investment in China, a source familiar with the matter said.

KUALA LUMPUR: A majority of the developers expect property prices to rise by a further 20%. However, the price increment is not so much because of strong demand but the rising cost of building materials.