BEIJING: China may increase the downpayment for people buying their second homes to 50 percent from the current 40 percent to cool the red-hot housing market, a local newspaper reported on Monday Dec 21, 2009, citing unidentified sources.

MELBOURNE: The Melbourne property market is displaying the same confidence levels seen in 2007, a sign which some industry experts say indicates the market is recovering.

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor state government is expected to meet Bukit Antarabangsa residents early next year to brief them of the landslide risks to development and houses in the area based on the Dec6,2008 landslide investigations report, said Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

PETALING JAYA: Tropicana Golf & Country Resort in Petaling Jaya, Selangor will soon see its first high-end condominium development – the RM540-million Tropicana Grande.

Its master developer Dijaya Corporation Bhd soft-launched the high-end development on Dec 11, 2009 and saw a take-up of 30% so far, its managing director Datuk Tong Kien Onn told theedgeproperty.com.

KLSE Property Index ended the week of Dec 14-19,2009 in lacklustre mood with marginal gain of 0.1%.

HONG KONG: Las Vegas Sands, the world's second-most valuable casino operator by market capitalisation, said on Monday Dec 21, 2009 that its US$5.5 billion Singapore casino resort is on track to open around the end of March.

SYDNEY: Australian developer Lend Lease has won the right to carry out the first stage of a A$6 billion (US$5.3 billion) facelift planned for Sydney's waterfront, which is billed as Australia's answer to New York's Central Park.

TAMPIN (Negri Sembilan): The findings of a study on dangerous hill sites including landslide prone areas in the Klang Valley, have been submitted to the local authorities responsible for further action.

Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said local authorities can now identify and carry out remedial works in the areas identified to ensure public safety.

Petaling Jaya grew out of a rubber estate in the early 1950s. Once a satellite town, it expanded rapidly and became a city in 2006.

The Malaysian construction industry lacks skills, declares Dinesh K Nambiar, managing director of WTW Bovis Sdn Bhd. The company is the Malaysian entity of Bovis Lend Lease, a global project and construction management company operating in more than 30 countries worldwide.