The original idea was to find a house in George Town and convert it into a haven for local artists.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) has received approvals from the Securities Commission for the establishment of Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (Sunway REIT), with a fund size of 2.78 billion units and for an initial listing of 2.68 billion units on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR: Construction company Pintaras Jaya Bhd saw a 14% drop in its group revenue for the nine months of ending March 31, 2010 to RM84.5 million from RM98.3 million for the same period last year.

BEIJING: Overly fast rises in housing prices, if not contained, could undermine social stability, Qi Ji, vice minister of housing and urban-rural development, said on Friday May 7.

NEW YORK: The industrial leasing activity in the United States has increased 10.3% to 60.4 million sq ft by annual pace in the first quarter of 2010, while construction completions have reached a record low, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s first quarter U.S. Industrial MarketBeat report.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Agents Association has elected Jeremy Yeong as its new president for the 2010/2011 term.

Yeong who was elected late April 2010, was the association’s first vice president since its inception in 2006. He takes over the position from immediate past president, Kirby Lim who had served for two terms.

PENANG: Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) has unveiled its latest residential development in Penang called Sunway Aspera with an estimated gross development value of RM47 million.

• Landbanking activities going strong, KLCC still popular
• Redevelopment of Kampung Baru approved. Potential beneficiaries: GLC developers
• Redevelopment of prime government land and robust residential sales could re-rate sector
• Maintain positive view, top picks: SP Setia, E&O, MRCB

HONG KONG: Beijing is reportedly considering restricting down payments to developers for uncompleted flats in the latest measure to regulate the sizzling housing market.

Down payments and money from mortgages for unfinished flats will be placed in a special account to be overseen by the government, according to the China Securities Journal.

HONG KONG: Under pressure to address rising property prices while not alienating existing homeowners, the Hong Kong government has turned to an age-old solution - a public consultation.