KUALA LUMPUR: Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts is undertaking management of the 39-Residence The Palm Beach Club and rebranding it Moevenpick Residences Laguna Beach Phuket with immediate effect.

The property will ideally complement the Moevenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket, the first property the company opened in Thailand in 2006.

KUALA LUMPUR: Nu Sentral Sdn Bhd has established up to RM600 million Islamic Medium-Term Notes Programme (IMTN Programme).

KUALA LUMPUR: Hua Yang Bhd has acquired 1.55-acres of land within the Desa Pandan Commercial Centre in Kuala Lumpur city centre for RM32 million, just minutes from the proposed Kuala Lumpur International Financial District and Jalan Tun Razak.

According to a statement by the developer on Wednesday, May 11, the leasehold tract is just opposite the Royal Selangor Golf Club.

JOHOR BAHRU: Iskandar Malaysia is expected to attract millions of local and foreign visitors when its much-anticipated Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) and Legoland Malaysia open for business.

Iskandar Regional Development Authority chief executive, Ismail Ibrahim, said the RM149 million JPO was expected to open by year-end and Legoland Malaysia next year.

IPOH: The Perak branch of the Malaysian Malay Contractors Association (PKMM) on Wednesday, May 11 alleged that "big contractors" are having control over tender awards by the Ipoh City Council.

PETALING JAYA: "I'm satisfied with the services provided, especially at just RM20 a month.  

"If I make a complaint, they come and investigate within 48 hours. The longest they will take to finish the repair work is two weeks," says Kaza Harun, a resident at Block B of the Selangor Development Corporation (PKNS) Flats in Petaling Jaya.

BEIJING: China's annual real estate investment growth edged up to 34.3% in the first four months from an increase of 34.1% in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, May 11.

The agency did not provide data for April alone. Property investment grew 35.2% in the first two months from a year earlier and increased by 33.2% in 2010.

SYDNEY: Australian house prices in major cities should hold firm, despite the prospect of more rate hikes this year, as people are attracted to cities for more jobs and a better commute, Australian property group Ray White said.

BENTON HARBOR (Michigan): Either way you look at it, this Michigan city is on the front line — either it is a harbinger of battles to come over budget cuts across America or a new chapter in the struggle for civil rights.

RIO DE JANEIRO: Like his house, Jose Santos de Oliveira is an island of resistance.

The middle-aged gardener and his home stand amid the sea of rubble that remains of the slum community of Vila Recreio 2 in the west of Rio de Janeiro.