KUALA LUMPUR: Zecon Bhd has received a letter of intent from Public Works Department for the proposed construction of the Petra Jaya Hospital in Kuching, Sarawak.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, Zecon said the Ministry of Finance would appoint the company for the implementation of the proposed project by way of direct negotiation on the "design & build" basis.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water is currently in talks with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on the possibility of providing soft loans for consumers to purchase solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.

Solar panels for one kilowatt peak would cost about RM15,000.

KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia on Tuesday, June 7 called for a more integrated approach in implementing development programmes in the country to reduce the risk of disasters.

He said coordination between ministries and its agencies, non-governmental oganisations and the community must be strengthened to mitigate climate change.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will need to plant seven million trees to every one million of its city population in order to absorb at least 15% of the greenhouse gases released.

Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said to date, on average a Malaysian city could only absorb up to 1.5% of the gases.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd plans to spend RM460 million in capital expenditure (capex) for its six divisions this year, said its group managing director Datuk Edward Lee Ming Foo.

The divisions are plantations, property investment and development, credit financing, trading of fertilizers and automotive, as well as building materials and stone quarries.

BANGI: The government targets to build 5,692 new houses and restore another 3,454 for the poorest in the country under the Housing Assistance Programme before the year-end.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said of the total figure, 1,618 of the new houses would be built in the peninsula, 2,345 in Sabah and 1,729 in Sarawak.

KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research Sdn Bhd has maintained its "overweight" call on the property sector.

In a note on Tuesday, June 7, OSK said the biggest gainers from the current upcycle were the mid- to high-end developers, particularly those with focus on developing landed properties and also had significant exposure in high-growth areas.

KUALA LUMPUR: The warrants of Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) rose 22.5 sen to 72.5 sen in very active trade in the morning session on Tuesday, June 7.

MBSB's additional 506.42 million new ordinary shares of RM1 each issued pursuant to the rights issue with 506.42 million warrants were listed on Tuesday.

BEIJING: China should raise interest rates further to help rein in the property market, a top Chinese banker said in comments published on Tuesday, June 7, amid talk of an imminent rate rise.

KUALA LUMPUR: The attractiveness of Asian countries including China, India and Malaysia as global retail havens slipped this year as South American entities gained prominence as the top favourite markets in retail expansion.