HONG KONG: Residential rents have remained firm despite a big increase in flats available for lease since the government introduced cooling measures to curb property speculation at the end of November.

MIAMI: Bernard Madoff's sister-in-law, whose husband was a top executive at his firm, has put up her luxury home in Palm Beach, Florida, for sale with an asking price of US$6.5 million.

SARAJEVO: Bosnia's international peace overseer suspended a disputed Serb Republic property law on Wednesday, Jan 5 until the top state court rules on whether a region and not the national government can take over state property.

Bosnia remains an international protectorate, divided largely along ethnic lines, 15 years after Europe's worst fighting since World War II ended.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pelangi Publishing Group Bhd acquired three plots of Johor land from Mahabuilders Bhd for RM3.98 million, it announced on Wednesday, Jan 5.

SINGAPORE: Indonesian congolemerate Lippo Group has hired Bank of America's Merrill Lynch to advise on the potential sale of First Media, its cable TV and internet business, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tune Hotels has removed the administration fee it previously used to charge for room reservations across all its existing 12 hotels, effective Wednesday, Jan 5.

"Tune Hotels is removing the RM10.90 admin fee across our entire chain — for good," said its group chief executive officer Mark Lankester in a statement on Wednesday.

CANBERRA: New home sales in Australia faltered in November 2010 amidst rising interest rates, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA) in a statement on Wednesday, Jan 5.

BANGKOK: Pruksa Real Estate Pcl, Thailand's second-largest property developer by market value, has ambitious plans for new projects this year and expects to boost both revenue and net profit by up to 36%.

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asia's largest property developer CapitaLand is open to the idea of a listing in China, where the firm's shopping mall unit plans on almost doubling its number of properties, Singapore's Business Times newspaper reported on Wednesday, Jan 5.

LONDON: AXA Real Estate said it was aiming for €1 billion (RM4.08 billion) in a debt fund after raising an initial €350 million, as it aims to take advantage of a shortage in bank loans to the commercial property sector.