Maintenance of affordable properties? KPKT has a plan.

Good and timely maintenance is key to continuous appreciation of property price. However, this is an issue with many affordable high-rise units today. Without a strong management team to collect the monthly fees from the owners, there will be shortfalls and these would meant maintenance suffers. After a while, the wear and tear becomes critical and by then the issues becomes impossible to fix even assuming majority of all owners pay after that. This is why when we build the 100,000 affordable homes in 2019, we need to plan in advance and not be caught only when maintenance starts to suffer due to unpaid maintenance fees. Fortunately for us, our Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin says the ministry is prepared.

Article in edgeprop.my here
 Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the team members under the Ministry itself would be offered training to look into the management of affordable housing projects such as their upkeep and the maintenance charge collection. She said, “The management of the properties is very important because if you’re talking about the B40 group, this category comprises working class people. So they can’t afford to pay high maintenance fees and spend time to manage the properties.”  She said the formation of said team was in line with the National Community Policy or Dasar Komuniti Negara (DKN). DKN was formulated by the Housing and Local Government Ministry to improve the living standar of public affordable housing residents.  She said the National Housing Policy outlined five areas of focus, 16 strategies and 57 action plans. Moreover, her focus for the next five years would be to help the B40 group to own a home.
Article in edgeprop.my here

We still need to come back to the financial part. Let’s understand that if the maintenance fee is RM100 and it’s one month overdue, the owner may still be able to pay. However, if we did not collect it on time and we only chase for payments after 6 months, then RM600 is a huge issue to many owners. Reason? They may have spent the money on something else which DEPRECIATES. Speed is key when it comes to collection. After collection, comes the maintenance part. This team which will be formed must have a good understanding of facility management as well because if they did not spend the money CORRECTLY, it will spell trouble in the future for the high-rise affordable development. Have faith. Happy following.

LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

Article written and edited by Charles. News article summarised by Dina Batrisyia.
written on 26 Feb 2019

Next suggested article:
Leaking units and defaulters of maintenance fee

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


71 pct of loans to first-time home buyers. Positive.

This has been debated continuously. Potential buyers are often worry about their loan applications, fearing that it would not be approved. Earlier article here from my friend Miichael Yeoh on how to increase your chances of approval.
Housing Loan rejection, how to avoid it
.

Developers are asking for more leniency for first-time home buyers so that these potential buyers can become actual buyers. Here’s an earlier article.
Budget 2018 wishlist by REHDA
 Actually, banks need to lend because that’s how they could earn their profits. Earlier article here:
Banks are lending more to the property market; 8 percent higher than 2015

Another point we must all be aware would be the percentage of loans to home buyers versus pure investors. if the latter is accounting for majority of all loans, we better be very worried.
To compare loans from 15 banks at the same place, click here.

In an article in
TheStar today,
The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) reiterated that its member banks, comprising commercial banks operating in Malaysia, have and will continue to provide home loans to all eligible borrowers. It said, “Commercial banks are in the business of lending and will continue to provide financing to qualified applicants.” ABM added that allegation that banks were imposing strict rules on house buyers who had applied for loans was not true. “In determining the eligibility of an applicant, banks take into consideration various factors such as the applicant’s capability to service the loan.” As long as buyers met the criteria, there are no reason for it to be rejected. It concluded by sharing that, “Financing remains available for eligible borrowers, with 71 % of housing loan borrowers being first-time owners of affordable homes.”

Please take note of the final sentence.
“71 percent of housing loan borrowers are first-time owners of affordable homes.”
 I personally think this is a very healthy sign that as long as one does not overspend or over-stretched their capability, they would still be able to afford an affordable home. While the statement does not mention the actual amount, we can safely assume that these would be units below RM400,000 and that the property market

transaction numbers are propped up by these first-timers.
 Just days ago, it was announced that oversupply in the market for H1 2017 was worse when compared to a year earlier. I think ABM’s announcement has helped allay fears that the property market is collapsing soon simply due to the oversupply of high-end / luxury units. Fortunately for us, the demand for homes remain high BUT it must be priced as low as possible. I think we ought to be very worried within the next few months if the Finance Ministry tells us that the oversupply for H2 2017 are now mostly affordable units below RM400,000.
To compare loans from 15 banks at the same place, click here.

Till then, happy viewing and deciding.

written on 21 Nov 2017

Next suggested article:
Using bad debts to buy good debts?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


There’s really no need to follow majority. (they are not always right.)

Majority is NOT always right. Frankly, applies to most investments. That bluechip stock which majority (our friends, our uncles, our aunties and everyone) is buying is definitely no longer undervalued. If it continues to go up despite of this, it simply meant the stock’s price was speculative and we better be ready for sudden price fall. That so-called hotspot which has been rising for the past 6 years and eyed by everyone we know is definitely priced at the peak, over the peak or at least near the peak. Buying at the peak is NOT a strategy, it’s merely a gamble. Of course, as long as everyone continued buying even after the peak, then our purchase is still safe as long as we quickly sell when it’s already at the peak. Savvy?

16 years ago, I bought my first 700 sq ft apartment in Relau, Penang. Most of my Penang friends asked me this question, “Why Relau, why not in Gelugor or Greenlane?”  Well, my 700 sq ft APARTMENT has a swimming pool and a gym and it was only RM123,000. For the same price, there are NO options in Gelugor or Greenlane. It meant that IF I did not buy my apartment in an unpopular area, I had to continue renting and I may not even have my current wife. (My father-in-law said I should HAVE a property before getting married) Anyway, I bought the place, enjoyed the apartment for many years and even gave my sister a room when she was studying in Penang and even rented out a room to my brother-in-law when he started working in Penang. Relau was also very close to my wife’s working place which fits our needs. I sold the apartment many years later for RM250,000 which is a pretty good return on investment.

A few years (2006) after that 700 sq ft apartment, I then decided to buy a condo in Sungai Ara and the same question came up. “Why not buy in Gelugor or Queensbay? Facts: My 1,258 sq ft condo was only RM247,000 and comes with 2 car parks and again, it’s close to my wife’s working place. There were NO options at RM247,000 in Gelugor or Queensbay. If I did not buy and decided to save the money in order to buy in those popular areas, I would have ‘lost’ RM200,000 easily because this condo in Sungai Ara appreciated to RM450,000 from it’s RM247,000 starting price as soon as it was completed. Anyway, after I sold the condo many years later for over RM600,000 nearly all my friends said they should have followed me to buy a unit. I have no comments.

Everyone tells me that LANDED is by far better than high-rise. Actually I agree that landed will be more valuable than high-rise. However, if we were to wait until we saved enough money for a landed home, we may never be able to buy. Let’s be serious yeah, not everyone will become a CEO in a MNC because every MNC needs just one CEO. I would think a CEO can buy a landed property easily. For the rest of the managers, a RM1.2 million price tag for a typical landed is definitely not within their capability. Oh yeah, they can buy much further away (cheaper landed) but based on the distance versus the convenience, it is NOT a certainty that a faraway landed property is better than a nearer high-rise.

I hope I have demonstrated enough examples to show that how we invest really depends on what we want to achieve. It does not depend on following what the majority thinks. A super true advice? “When everyone we meet are talking about the stock market like an expert, it’s time to sell everything we have and wait for the fall. If it does not happen, we just earn less profits since our selling price is high due to the huge demand. If the fall happens, we may lose money instead of profiting from our buy. As long as a property fits what we need and we can afford it, then it’s a good buy. After a few normal years, this property will be the stepping stone for our property investment journey. That’s what majority will never achieve. Happy investing.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

written on 22 Sept 2018

Next suggested article:
Property investment not sure win. Caution needed.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


85% will still buy a property, as per kopiandproperty.com readers

On daily basis, kopiandproperty.com receives around 1,500 visits. At this moment, total subscribers to my daily posts already number very close to 700. THANK YOU. I think I should start helping everyone to understand what the majority thinks. Helps us tremendously in our investment decisions. More informed decisions perhaps. There has been many survey results.For example,some surveys show that many are going to buy a property within 2017 itself. Here’s the survey by a major property portal in Malaysia.
Accepting pricing realities and 58% will buy within 6 months

Most of these surveys would offer some ‘candies’ so that more would be willing to spend some time filling them up. I decided NOT to offer anything (I have nothing to offer anyway) and to conduct a poll. Over 70 people did the survey sincerely. (I believe so) Let’s go through the results below.

The poll was because of some online articles talking about the younger generation NOT owning a property or home, I inserted a poll to understand what do kopiandproperty.com readers think / believe and would do. Well, the results show that while some huge site or famous industry experts said that the trend is pointing towards the younger generation not owning a home or a car, kopiandproperty.com readers voted overwhelmingly that they would still buy a house as an investment. Here’s the actual article:
Young people will stop buying cars and houses? Noted…

Hey, are majority of kopiandproperty.com readers quite old? Haha. Do not worry, it’s most important to be young at heart and young in the minds. Age is just a number. 85 percent agreed with me.
“Stop joking. When no one buys, I better buy. To rent they need a place. Let me rent to them.”
Interestingly, 1.4 percent chose,
“My parents have more than enough for me. They want me to enjoy my life.”
Now I know. Some of my readers have wealthy parents. 10 percent would be those who believe future trend would show that majority does not need to own a home. They may not stay in the same place forever. When I really look around my younger colleagues, they seem to fit this description. Most of those reaching 30 or slightly above 30 does not yet own a home! Of course, their reason may be that the properties they want are just too expensive for them but then again, when there’s a will, there’s a way. A manager who’s just over 30 already owns two condos. She does not own a car and does not splurge on clothes, handbags or even food. She is definitely a minority within the organisation. Perhaps within those who did the survey, she may be the majority… All the best to your property investment adventure. Happy reading.

written on 20 March 2017

Next suggested article:
Buying vs Renting a house: Which is a better value for money decision?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


You make it Faster, I make it Cheaper.

This is a good challenge and it should be reported by all medias. Datuk Francis Goh, the President of the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers (SHAREDA) said that one major contributor to housing price increase is because of the delay in development approval. In fact, he outlined clearly why if the development approval is fast-tracked, it can possibly reduce housing prices by 10 percent.

Currently, developers have to wait for two and a half years for their development plans to be approved. This increases the cost for the developers. For example, the holding land cost. Of course, these costs would be priced into the final selling price. He suggested that the approval should be shortened to between six and 12 months and this would translate into a five percent cheaper price. Another 3 percent would be reduced if Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) can give developers a waiver in capital contribution. Another 2 percent comes from the overheads which could be saved.

Personally, I do not doubt that prices can be reduced but by what percentage, I think it would still very much depends on the demand and supply situation and not just due to these approvals. However, faster approvals definitely have many other benefits too. The development can be faster. Thus, supply can also be increased and competition too which meant developers would have to think harder when they price their products. Faster approvals also meant that the developers do not need to try any ‘under table’ tricks to fasten it. Last but not least I think the current two and a half year is way too long. If we are really aiming to be a developed nation, all these unnecessary delays and processes should be streamlined. Of course, this applies to ALL states in Malaysia and not just Sabah.

written on 14 Mar 2015

Next suggested article:
Kota Kinabalu property market, shortages soon?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Making it work: Learnings from an ex-banker, a YouTuber and a blogger.

With the current Movement Control Order (MCO) and the fact that we are at home, have we ever thought about starting something we have been wanting to start? In November 2013, I was on a hospital bed recovering from a medical operations and had nothing to do. I started blogging because I read somewhere that famous websites could earn good money. I told me wife that one day my blogsite will earn the whole family one dinner every week.

In 2017, kopiandproperty.com became a Sdn Bhd. We paid taxes in 2018 and will be paying taxed for 2019 as well; profitable. From someone who’s not from the industry; not a property developer, not a valuer, not a real estate agent and not a banker, in 2019, I was invited to speak in 52 events in 9 states in Malaysia and Singapore too. That’s an average of 1 per week.

My views and articles have appeared in most of Malaysia’s media outlets and I continue to write for many of them today. In fact, if we were to google for ‘kl property news’ or ‘malaysia property news’ I think kopiandproperty.com is on page 1.  We do not pay a single cent for it.

What did I do over the years? What were the learnings?  What were the important things? How could I have done better if I could do it again?  What I need to do in order to keep up with the digital world of today? I will share all these and more in Miichael’s MY FB Live Show.  Joining me would be two persons whom I continue to be amazed and continue to learn from.

The Ex-Banker Mr. Miichael Yeoh
 who’s office today could be anywhere in Malaysia.  The real estate prominent personality who’s now a major figure when it comes to Youtube and Cooking.  We have
Mr. Lim Boon Ping a.k.a. Cooking Ah Pa.
  Their achievements continue to inspire me in everything I do today.  Do not miss this session yeah. I have personally attended both of their trainings and I could see lots of hardwork, determination and consistency too.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Investing can be easy via Stashaway

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Making savings a ‘forced’ habit

I read from a comment in Facebook about an investor whose mother told him that savings is a must. Buy what you need and not what you want. Before you buy, step back and think whether you really need it. One thing I have never done is to follow the technology. I do love latest LED TV but if my current LCD TV works okay, I will not be buying anything new anytime soon. In terms of technological products, can you do without it? Do you even need to be the first batch of buyers? Typically first group of buyers tend to pay higher though they get to brag about it. I know, people may smile when they see my ‘old’ TV but it is ok. I can still watch as much football as they could.

However, I do not think I am able to think objectively all the time. Thus, I do one extra thing which limited my spending. I bought a few savings cum insurance plans. Those where you either save on monthly or half yearly or yearly and after a period of say 20 years, you get some returns plus during that period, you get some form of insurance coverage. If you look at the return, it baffles you why people still buy. However, I am buying and of course I put the beneficiary as my wife. Every month, my credit card will be debited and thus I ‘forced’ myself to save that amount automatically. It is not a habit but the effect is the same.

Thus if you cannot make it a habit, be savvy about it. Force yourself to do it automatically. It does not need to be a savings plan. Can even be automatic debit for a low risk unit trust. After 20 years, you will be glad you did it even if the return may have been low. For this kind of investment, don’t evaluate it like a property investment. Think of it as money you lost today and found many years later. I trust that you would still be delighted if you suddenly found a rm100 note under your car seat and then only you remembered why it was there many years ago. Cheers.

written on 9 Jan 2014

Next suggested article:
Affordability, Availability vs Salary

Alternatively, read the
Top 10 Most Read articles

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Making Sense and Cents about COVID-19 with Michael and Miichael. Do not miss this show.

Logically, we should be as fearful to COVID-19 versus the influenza which kills over 600,000 people every year. However, we are today too pre-occupied with COVID-19 and in fact has continued to think of many new norms which we believe will be around until COVID-19 vaccines are found and starts manufacturing. Let’s listen and learn from a leader in an international organisation who continues to learn and share with his global counterparts from around the world. If there is one person who is getting first-hand information from all around the world, this is the person. He is Sr. Michael Geh and he is the FIABCI President for Malaysian chapter.

In 1997/98, we had the ASEAN Financial Crisis. The name tells you where it started. In 2008, we had the U.S. Mortgage Crisis.  The name also tells you where it actually started. In 2018 we did not have any crisis but somehow the property market transactions turned positive after years of decline from 2013 to 2017.  In 2019, we have another year of positive property transaction growth and suddenly everything was brought down to earth in 2020. Let’s listen and learn from Miichael the CEO and Founder of GM Training Academy who has experienced all these different events first hand as he has been in the financial industry all his working life.

Moderating both of them (to extract as much learnings from them within an hour) is me, Charles Tan. I am the founder of kopiandproperty.com which is a leading independent property blog in Malaysia. I will be very GOOD to both of them. 😛

Details for the event as follows:

Date:28th May 2020 (Thursday)

Time: 9pm.

Get your questions ready. I will pick a few questions to ask them too.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
RPGT and its push for the property market

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malacca is the next Iskandar?

I read an article by Pete Wong in
http://www.propertyguru.com.my
 recently in which he gave many reasons why Malacca might just be a better choice for investors than the overhyped Iskandar. In his article, he mentioned that during his recent visit to Malacca, he was surprised by its transformation. He said that today, there are many more tall buildings, well known retailers and even the number of tourists has increased significantly. In fact well known hotels like Hatten are running close to full occupancy. He also said that being driving from one attraction to the next one takes only a very short drive. Besides that, Malacca also have UNESCO World Heritage Site Status which not many cities which are as modern as Malacca has. Thus, he concluded by saying that if we were to invest in Malacca with a view to tap on increasing number of tourists, we may be getting the best returns compared to anywhere else in Malaysia.

I love Melaka. I go to Melaka at least once every 2 years, even when I was based in Penang. I think these days I will travel to Melaka once per year. In my last trip to Melaka, I told my wife, ‘I must buy a place somewhere in Melaka. We can come more often’. In fact I have a few points which Pete have missed. First point is, the Melaka state government has been more efficient than many other Malaysian states. I remember many years ago, the Melaka river was basically dead. Today, in the evening, you can enjoy a cup of latte while lounging by the sidewalk of the river. It’s nowhere near perfect but this definitely needs time. The streets are much cleaner despite the fact that you can never fail to see tourists all over Jonker’s Walk and other historical sites. Due to the roads being wider, the jams here are much lesser than Penang’s Georgetown. Another feature which I love a lot if Jonker’s Walk. In the evening, you can see majority of the stalls run by LOCALS! Yes, how many places in Malaysia where you can still see majority locals running the stalls instead of foreigners! I think Malaccans deserve a huge pat on the shoulder for this.

So, we come to the conclusion, is Melaka the next Iskandar? I do not think so. Malacca has its own amazing transformation but most of it would be tourism driven. Thus, maybe, just maybe some right products may be launched which offers good yield but if you look at the long term capital appreciation potential, I do not think so. Would I still buy Melaka? The answer is a sure Yes. I just have to find the right one. A nice little place I can call home when I am in Malacca. I would prefer not to think of it as the same when I invest in Iskandar or Greater KL.

written on 25 Jan 2014

Next suggested article:
Greater KL – Sungai Buloh

Alternatively, you can also read about
‘Penang Property’

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


8 reasons why buying a property in Melaka is not for you

Do you know that there are a few primary property markets in Malaysia that Malaysians invest in? They typically include the Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia, Penang and Kota Kinabalu. Beyond these few choices, there are also other notable and upcoming choices including Seremban, Ipoh, Kuching, Sandakan and
Melaka (Malacca)?
 I do not go Seremban every year unlike Melaka which I love to visit often.
My next trip is on 22nd April 2017. Perhaps I can see some kopiandproperty.com readers there?
  Ipoh is my hometown. Kuching is another place I love while Sandakan is my wife’s hometown. (Yes, I own a condo in Sandakan too). Today, let’s focus on Melaka. The reasons why investing in a Melaka property is
NOT
 for you. Read on.

Nothing happens between Melaka and China.
Melaka is not known to China. They are only in Iskandar Johor lah. Out of the whole population in China, only 1.14 MILLION visited Melaka last year. (This is BIGGER than the whole population of Melaka) Impression Melaka, which is the first of the Impression series outside China will only be ready in 2018. This is at least one year away and just going to attract a few more million tourists, right? Anyway, China is ONLY investing US$7.3 (RM32 Billion) into the Melaka Gateway. This is a SMALL NUMBER.

You hate Malacca, somehow.
 Never invest into a place we dislike. Maybe it’s because of the food (which is delicious to me) or maybe because of some its places of interest (I like historical places) or maybe because it’s 1 hour and 40 minutes drive away from Kuala Lumpur. (some people are used to this jam everyday just to get to work). As long as you dislike this little interesting state, please skip and focus on others. We can’t be hating the whole Malaysia, hopefully. 😛

Too many tourists is not good.
12.74 million tourists visited Melaka for the first 10 months of 2016. That’s too many, right? It’s increasing too. No wonder the number of hotels are mushrooming. That’s also a main reason why it’s not easy to find a parking space. So many tourists would mean that the state’s economic performance is good. In fact 2016 was the year when the state government’s revenue was the highest in history.

Stay in Melaka, work in KL
My colleague drives from Seremban to work in Kuala Lumpur everyday. I asked if she’s tired. She said she has gotten used to it. Please NOTE that there’s no way that you would ever ‘get used’ to driving nearly 2 hours toward everyday. Haha. That’s why I do not have a single colleague who drives toward from Malacca everyday. (Perhaps when the High Speed Rail is ready……..)

No one invests in Melaka.
When we google ‘Melaka property’ or even ‘Invest in Melaka’ there are just too many articles to read. This is not a good sign. Normally when there’s nothing to read about the new investment, it’s better because it means no one else will compete with me. There are also many developers building homes in Melaka today. Surely these developers are all not-for-profit companies because no one invests in Melaka. They must be building these new developments for fun. 🙂

Melaka is not well connected.
You can drive into Melaka from Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru or even Singapore ONLY. (Plus other nearer towns or more adventurous drivers) Imagine driving to Melaka from Bangkok, it will not happen, right? Melaka’s airport is under utilised. This meant there are still lots of growth potential. The High Speed Rail is only going to be ready in 2026. That’s too far away. We should only invest when everything is ready. Why invest EARLY? Even the luxury cruises only drop by Melaka and do not make Melaka the main place they anchor. (Well, luxury cruises drop by MANY places….)

No money for investments, yet.
If we are still trying to save enough for an investment, it’s best not to invest into a property in Melaka or any other cities. It’s just not worth it to borrow from the Ah Long or relatives or friends just because we want to invest in a property. Seriously, aim to save enough or perhaps even buy REITS or even some property stocks but not a property when we are still saving for one. Buy a place to stay first, that’s more important.

I dislike property investments.
This may be the last reason on the list but this is the most important! If we love to make our money work for us but we do not like property investments, then please skip because there are many other more liquid investments, there are many other more lucrative investments (just don’t get cheated by scams) and there are many other types of investments including even banknotes! Well, I think for this reason, it’s best to skip all the places I mentioned in the beginning and not just Melaka lah.

I am very sure there are lots of other reasons not to think of
Melaka when it comes to property investments.
However, it’s always good to drop by for some good food, drive around, listen to some property talks, visit some showrooms and property development sites. Nothing happens when nothing happens. Many times however, we should get more information and remember that it’s not that awesome to buy stocks which are overvalued. This is the same for properties. Hotspots are almost usually fully-valued or overpriced. Secondary spots may not look interesting yet. So, where do we invest then? Haha. Knowledge is key to making a calculated risk investment. Happy enjoying Melaka.

written on 4 April 2017

Next suggested article:
Melaka and that RM5 billion FDI from China for 2016

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaccca: New International Port?

According to a report in an English daily, there would be an upgrade of Malacca’s existing port so that it can accommodate international shipping, from China at least. This is part of China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Route economic belt (MSR). It was proposed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping for China to increase its maritime cooperation and explore trade opportunities. First part of this initiative starts with port expansion. It is an advantage that Malacca was a very famous port with connections to China many hundred years ago. Plus the fact that the relations between Malaysia-China has always been cordial.

This may be a long term plan for Malacca to be even more popular but I think the first thing which everyone should do would be to popularise the under-utilised Malacca International Airport. The frequency for planes are definitely higher and with international connections it meant that even more visitors can do short trips to Malacca too. This is just like how I have visited Medan from Penang a few times because it’s just a flight of 50 minutes away. For Malaysians, I think we would still be driving into Malacca. Right?

There are lots of reasons why I love to buy Malacca properties but for now, this would have nothing to do with my reason. Yes it is true, if this is done right and the cruise liners do make Malacca one of the stops, I think the benefit is tremendous. Imagine just one cruise ship with 1,000 tourists stopping by Malacca every 2 days. 🙂  This is still in the planning stage with ministers from both countries in a discussion and it may take a long time still. I seriously hope that this international port initiative should be promoted to China for more investments from both countries. This would ensure its success because both sides would then have interest to make it successful.

written on 21 Feb 2015

Next suggested article:
Reasons, Numbers and Potential from my latest Melaka visit

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia – 13,800 with US$ 1M assets

Who is WealthInsight? They are an international Wealth Research Group. I have no idea too but according to their study published in many newspapers, there were 13,800 millionaires in Malaysia, each with a minimum of US$1 million. (RM3.45 Million). Sorry, their benchmark is US$. Thus, for those who happens to already own RM1 million in assets, you are not included inside the 13,800. Another even more awesome thing would be that in Kuala Lumpur itself, there are more millionaires than there are in any other cities of the world! Hmm.. Tokyo? Shanghai? Hong Kong? Singapore? Well, I have some doubts about this. Then, again perhaps based on %. If based on %, Malaysia definitely stands a chance as the number of population within KL itself is not as high as the few countries mentioned. Malaysia’s largest city Kuala Lumpur has the highest number of millionaires (denominated in US dollars) surpassing all other cities of the world, according to a report by international wealth research group WealthInsight. Kuala Lumpur’s total is even higher than Abu Dhabi and Birmingham.

WealthInsight analyst Tom Carlisle said one major reason for these new millionaires was due to the well-performing Malaysian economy during the financial crisis. Now we know within threats exists opportunities. 🙂  Other reasons included that we are an Islamic banking hub and the fact that these people acquired their wealth in finance as well as in REAL ESTATE and construction. This is expected to continue, especially real estate which is influenced by the high economic growth expected over the next five years. Yes, the typical 5% growth or higher is considered a high growth because in majority of developed economies, getting a 2% increase is considered a huge achievement already. Thus 5% or higher? That’s high growth. Oh yeah, even when compared to Indonesia which is a much larger country, our number of millionaires are similar to them. Do not wish to comment on this sensitive issue but we can see the opportunities are definitely pretty good for Malaysians and for real estate in general if we invest correctly and objectively.

So, how many of us would ever become included into this statistics in the future, say another 10 more years? Well, majority would not. It’s ok to be slow but never be stagnant. Keep this in mind though, if we would like to be rich and think investment like them, then real estate is something all of us must not do without. I am very sure these high net worth individuals would keep some their cash in fixed deposits but do note that the growth in their wealth over the past years would have not been due to these fixed deposit accounts that they have. Oh yeah, how are we compared to our richer neighbour, Singapore? Here:
174,000 millionaires in Singapore
  Happy dreaming, I need a good pillow tonight.

written on 9 Dec 2014

Next suggested article:
Are you going to be a millionaire?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


When Malaysia becomes an aged nation…

When Malaysia becomes an aged nation…

Ageing nation? We have been one for many years

Do you think there are a lot of people aged 65 and above in Malaysia? Actually, there are. In fact, according to World Bank estimates, Malaysia joined the ranks of an ageing society (with 7% of its population aged 65 and over) in 2020.
(source)
. Nope, this is not a status of Singapore or Thailand. Both these countries became an ageing nation many years earlier than Malaysia. In fact, this situation will get worse because new babies are not being
produced fast enough… (read here on latest)

Advanced level for ageing nation? Aged nation. We will be one in 12 years time.

Malaysia will become an aged nation by 2044. This is when 14 percent of our population are aged 65 or higher. This is just 12 years away. This meant that many of the older folks would have to rely on themselves for retirement funds. The reason is because they may have just 1 children who may not be earning enough to support the children’s family, the children’s in-laws (who are also 65 or older) and also to support their own parents. This is already happening in many advanced nations today.

Advanced level for aged nation? Super-Aged nation. We will become one in 34 years.

Okay, this is still some time away. However, when we reach this level, it may also meant that the total population may start to reduce unless of course we have a lot more non-Malaysians staying here. Many countries which are at this level will see its population decline and the demand for goods and services changing totally. Gone are the vibrancy of baby products but the demand would now be for products to cater to the retired communities.

Disadvantages of an ageing population?

Lower or fewer working population.  This has been explained above and is not going to be a good sign for the country. Fewer talents also meant that many businesses would cease to exist. As there are fewer people working, the economy of the country may even start to shrink too. This is also why countries with a bigger and younger population would soon become economic super powers in the world. In ASEAN, we have one such ‘giant;’ Indonesia.

With fewer people working, the taxes paid may also be lower and this will strain the government’s ability to spend more for the seniors. There would be too many people without income who would be depending on the people with income as well. This is likely to mean that the older generation will have to manage their expenses extremely prudently as they could not hope for support from others including their children.

Save, Invest and Stop spending unnecessarily?

Savings will never go out of trend yeah. It’s the mother of investment. No investments could happen without savings. However, the key to having enough is not to spend too much. Higher salaried professionals may still be spending a lot more than lower salaried professionals. Last but not least is always, always, always have a roof over one’s head which does not require a never ending rental payments. Otherwise, please earn by far higher amount than the required rental amount.

Property News Malaysia?
Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER).
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Property is no longer a key retirement asset

Header Image by
FuSuSu .
 from
Pixabay

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia – Ageing population – Stats and Steps

Are you worried of old age? I worry about old age. I worry if I would have enough money to last me until the day I leave this world when I am no longer fit to work but still fit enough for morning walks and watching TV. I always tell my wife, we must plan well because there is no guarantee that someone would take care of us when we are old. Consider this. If you are 56 today and you are male, you need to have enough to last you another 22 years. Reason being, by 2040, the life expectancy of a male is 78 years old and for a female, it is 83. If you need just RM3,000 to live your usual life style, that’s RM792,000.

Comparing 1966 and today, the life expectancy rate has increased from 63.1 to 71.9 years for male, and 66 to 76.6 for female, from 1966 to 2010. by 2040, with the advances in medical science etc, it is projected that the life expectancy for male in 2040 is 78 years and 83 years for female. When would Malaysia be an ageing nation? Actually, that’s pretty soon. Within just 7 years, Malaysia would officially become an ageing population because by then, those over 65 years old would be more than 7.1% of the population. That’s a total of 2.74 million Malaysian population of over 65 years of age.

For this ageing population, the most important thing would be for all of them to own a roof over their head. It is true, the government may provide some assistance but for all 2.74 million? The right property would be essential. Perhaps full serviced apartments in secondary towns? Personally, I would not want to be staying in Kuala Lumpur City Centre when I am 65. Perhaps retirement homes models of UK or Australia? Seremban? Melaka? Ipoh? Penang is a good choice too but I am not sure of the affordability by then due to it being just an island and mainland is not exactly a great choice currently. Some of them would also be well taken care of by their children but if you look at what’s happening in a lot of countries today, including even Singapore, some of these older folks have to continue working. Instead of foreigners, the dish washers and cleaners at some eateries are these older folks.

Regardless of your age today, do plan ahead because the only thing you cannot replace is time and the only constant in life is change. You may rent your current property but do get a good property in a place which you most probably would love to retire to. Own at least one but better would be to own a primary property today and own another one in the place you want to be. Sell your primary property when you need to go home. I think by then, you may get RM792,000 for it. Happy planning and living your life.

written on 20 March 2014

Next suggested article:
30 million population, urbanisation and new properties – long term view

Alternatively, do read the
top 10 most read articles

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia’s AirBnB fastest growing in Southeast Asia! 99% increase.

Thinking of short-term rental instead of the usual yearly renewals like today? Well, the first thing will be to make sure that the place you bought for AirBnB allows AirBnB in the first place. Else, the owner who rented out his place under AirBnB could be fined even up to RM200 if they are caught flouting the management by-laws.

Here’s what Md Azmi Mohd Shari, a legal officer from DBKL’s valuation and property management department explained. He said based on a circular from the urban wellbeing, housing and local government ministry states that in the case of strata properties, a management body’s by-laws will determine whether units in a building can be rented out via Airbnb. “Residents have to check their apartment or condominium by-laws. If the management allows it then it’s ok, if they don’t, then residents should abide by the relevant by-law on the matter. If the building’s by-laws does not allow it, then residents who are aware of neighbours flouting the by-laws, should lodge a complaint with the management.”
Here’s that article in FreeMalaysiaToday.com

As for AirBnB in Malaysia, it is growing by 99% as at July 2018. This is fastest in Southeast Asia for the platform. (Clap Clap Clap. This means two things. Supply is growing fast but demand is also coming in very strongly. No wonder Malaysia welcomes over 24 million visitors every year)
Article in Edgeprop.my here.

Airbnb’s head of public policy in Southeast Asia Mich Goh said “There are now 44,000 listings in Malaysia on Airbnb, marking an an almost 60% y-o-y increase, while senior hosts has grew close to 52% y-o-y. At the same time, seniors also make up the fastest growing age group of guests in Malaysia with 85% y-o-y growth.”
Earlier report here about how seniors are earning from AirBnB.
 The top five inbound markets for overseas guests are Singapore, China, US, Indonesia and Australia.
For reference, here’s that article from EdgeProp.my

Happy joining the AirBnB venture yeah if you have extra rooms or even homes.

written on 26th Nov 2018

Next suggested article:
It’s not as easy for AirBnB. Especially a resi

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


International Reserves, after Ringgit’s sudden tumble

No, Malaysia is not yet bankrupt and not anywhere near becoming a bankrupt nation. Yes, I believe the current intervention by BNM to help stabilise the Ringgit is perfectly fine. We are a sovereign nation and BNM should safeguard our interests first. Maybe if there are more disemmination of information on what’s happening may be good. A pictogram for example since many may not want to read long explanations. Hopefully no unforeseen shocks / circumstances from external. Anyway the below would be a very short statement from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) with regards to Malaysia’s international reserves.

— Press Release from BNM —

The international reserves of Bank Negara Malaysia amounted to RM399.6 billion (equivalent to USD96.4 billion) as at 30 November 2016. The lower international reserves position reflected the liquidity support in the foreign exchange market. The reserves position as at 30 November 2016 is sufficient to finance 8.3 months of retained imports and is 1.2 times the short-term external debt
[1]
.

— End of Press Release —

Two most important points to understand would be how many months of retained imports can the international reserves sustain. It is enough for 8.3 months. Secondly, whether it is above the short-term external debts. It is at 1.2 times currently. Yes, this is nowhere near excellent when compared to a neighbouring nation but Malaysia’s Q3 GDP was 4.3 percent.
All international rating agencies
are still assigning “Investment Grade” to Malaysia and we can google for all the predictions from famous banks, analysts and economists. Malaysia’s
 GDP is still expected to grow 4 percent or higher for 2016
.
Happy believing.

written on 8 Dec 2016

Next suggested article:
BNM: Pre-Emptive measure is better

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia bankruptcy cases during MCO period hit over 11,000 people. Is this high or is this low?

The article below was first written in September 2021 based on earlier number of bankruptcy.  Then, today, we have one
latest number from the Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar
. It’s now updated with the latest numbers.
(If you like to know how people could become a bankrupt, click here to read)

This MCO period was stated to be between March 2020 to September 2021. This is around 19 months. If we divide this into a monthly basis, that’s 11,000 divided by 19 months and we come to 579 per month or slightly below 7,000 bankrupt declarations per year. Is this considered high or low?

Typical number of for bankruptcy in Malaysia?

To put this into context, during periods before MCO, the typical number of bankruptcy numbers are over
20,000 per year. (As per ex Minister of Finance YB Lim Guan Eng). Please refer to this earlier article in kopiandproperty.com -“Lim said 100,610 Malaysians are declared bankrupt between 2013-2017”

If you are wondering now,
“how come the number of bankruptcy declarations went down during the MCO versus normal period?”
 The below is one major reason. It got harder to be declared a bankrupt.

RM50,000 owing increased to RM100,000

Usually, a creditor may file for bankruptcy action against the debtor if the debt owing is more than RM50,000. However, with the introduction of the Temporary Measures For Reducing The Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) 2020 [Act 829] which has been enforced on 23.10.2020, the minimum amount has been increased from RM50,000 to RM100,000.
This provision is only in force until 31.8.2021. Source: Department of Insolvency, Malaysia.

Want to know the reason for bankruptcies? Property is not the top yeah (cannot simply buy a property too). Take a look.

Image source:
https://www.aseantoday.com/2019/03/financial-advice-for-young-malaysians-is-the-latest-effort-to-tackle-bankruptcy/

Header Photo Powered by
Cheston Choo

Article in malaymail.com
 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said 10,317 individuals declared bankrupt throughout the movement control order (MCO) period between March 2020 and July. He said Selangor had the highest number of individuals declared bankrupt, at 2,555, followed by the Federal Territory (1,288 people) and Johor (792 people). Besides that, a total 1,246 businesses had closed down during the same period.

Ismail Sabri said that based on the input from the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the government did not provide any specific assistance to businesses that closed down and that it, instead, took the approach of giving aid and incentives to support the continuity of businesses.
Article in malaymail.com

Would you like to get some usual Q&A on how one could become a bankrupt?

This is the earlier article.
Click here to read in full yeah. Bankruptcy in Malaysia.
 One question about property?

Can a bankrupt transfer his property?
A bankrupt is not allowed to transfer his property to a third party once a Receiving and Adjudication Order has been entered against him. As soon as a person is declared bankrupt, any of his property shall be automatically vested upon the DGI.

Let’s hope with the economy reopening fully, businesses would thrive again and we would have less of these bankruptcy in Malaysia cases too. Remember to do due diligence in all our investments. The reason is because the amount involved is usually big and thus, there’s always the risk of bankruptcy if we are not careful or overlooked some details about what we are investing into.

Property News Malaysia?
Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER).
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Property price mus tnot keep rising as if the sky is the limit!

Header Image by
Simon Hill
 from
Pixabay

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia: Better signs or better understanding?

If you have followed kopiandproperty.com for a while, you would note that I do not share the ‘
about to go bankrupt
‘ sentiment by many people about Malaysia. I think they are influenced too much by knowing too little. In fact over half of the callers to a radio show just a few weeks ago said that they believe Malaysia will be the next Greece. Let me be very direct. KINDLY look at Greece’s overall economic fundamentals before you put Malaysia at the same level, especially if you are a Malaysian. Anyway, for the past few weeks, the whole situation seems to be show some better numbers. The ringgit has snapped its continuous falling, at least for a while.

According to some recent reports in media, even the bonds are now showing some signs of stability. Bonds are important indicator because this is how the foreign investors see us. The minute they think we are going to bw downgraded, the bonds would have to be sold as they also exit the stock market quickly. According to Bloomberg, the cost of insuring the nation’s sovereign debt has fallen the most in four years in October, while the ringgit has rallied 3.2% after a decline of 20% in the first nine months. The economy is slower than usual but is still expanding and even the non performing loans remain low at just around 1.17 percent. Also, after months of surplus, in August, the surplus turned double digits in US$ to close with a surplus of US$10.2 billion (RM44 billion).

In the same report, some analysts were making comparisons between Malaysia versus Thailand and Indonesia. Some say they are more attractive and one said that Indonesia is better because the political risks are lower. I suggest these analysts to stay in all three countries longer to understand better. Truth is, all three are still growing even if I am worried at the directionless Thailand under the current army government and the huge decisions that the Indonesian President has to make because it will be many more unpopular but necessary decisions for the country. However, currencies of all three countries continue to drop when compared to some economy which is having negative trade surplus, low savings rate and even a still weak  employment market. Funny right?

I think it is really essential for the Bank Negara to continue to be brave in many decisions and directions, as long as it is for the benefit of the Malaysian economy. Slower and resilient growth is better than unhealthy growth; non performing loans growth being one of them. Keep telling the story and ensure all these faraway analysts understand some of the fundamental issues instead of being clouded by just negative political news or the negative publicity by one company which hopefully should cease to be problematic by beginning of next year. Yes, I have not moved a single cent overseas thus far and have no intention to do so, not even to use any foreign currency to hedge against that potential losses from Ringgit. Happy reading!

written on 27 Oct 2015

next suggested article:
Summary Q2 2015: Malaysian economy, Ringgit and Zeti

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia: Consumer confidence drops to new low

I personally do not believe consumer confidence is low. This is especially when I look at all the colleagues surrounding me in the office today. Every one of them have just changed to the latest Samsung or iPhone. I am the only one still using an old OPPO for the past 20 months. Do not get me wrong, in 1998, I could feel it all around me. At least half of my colleagues were bringing home cooked food to the office. One ate cream crackers with free tomato ketchup from McDonalds nearly everyday! At that time, everyone told me then that they hope they get to keep their jobs. It was really a big downturn then.

Today, according to Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER), the consumer sentiment index (CSI) has fallen to a new low of 70.2 in the third quarter as current income deteriorates. It also said that shopping plans are now on low gear while job outlook ‘yawns.’ I think the ‘yawns’ here meant nothing to shout about and not about the job market falling asleep. One positive result is that the fear of higher prices has moderated. Of course, what it meant with a lower consumer sentiment is that the consumption numbers would be lowered and this would start to affect the economic growth of Malaysia.

When I was at Bangsar Shopping Centre the other day, there were really fewer people. I was in SOGO yesterday for my gym and the usually packed shopping halls were considered low by SOGO’s standard. I think this may have started to really show in malls. The first thing everyone would start to do when they feel bad times are coming is to reduce spending. Next one would be to reduce even more and that’s why the growth numbers have already started to come down.

This is why the growth numbers should start to show this sign even if Malaysia is still growing for the first 2 quarters of 2015. In the first quarter, the country’s economy grew at 5.6 percent and in the second quarter slowed to 4.9 percent. The expectations from many analysts would be that the growth should be around 5 percent. Anyway, lots of predictions are saying that the worst is far from over. I do not wish to go against them. I also hope they are right so that the market continue to offer opportunities instead of everyone becoming a speculator in both the property market and the stock market. As for how long, I still believe it’s just a phase which will pass. In other words, take a longer term view and invest accordingly. As for those who believe hedging by buying properties outside Malaysia is best, all the best to you too. Happy changing handphones!

written on 28 Oct 2015

Next suggested article:
Disallow my Facebook access? I resign.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia has worst economic decline since 1998. Our economic growth in the negative territory for 2020. In 1998, our economy dropped 7.5%. It was due to the 1997 ASEAN financial crisis. It was also the time when I tried my very best not to spend much money when I was at the supermarket in Bristol (I was studying for my degree then) because the ringgit depreciated until it was close to RM8 to 1 Pound at the beginning of 1998.  Today, it’s around RM5.70 to 1 Pound.  Anyway, speaking about economic growth which was obviously in the red territory for 2020.

Article in the sundaily.my
  Sunway University economics professor Dr Yeah Kim Leng noted that the Malaysian economy contracted by 5.6% last year, its second steepest decline after the 7.5% drop due to the 1998 recession. He said, “The current nationwide lockdown will dampen economic recovery and increase uncertainties over its growth trajectory, which will likely be lowered by one to two percentage points from the earlier 6% to 7.5% expected by the government.”

With regards to the full lockdown of all except essential sectors, he shared, “Workplace clusters have impacted production but not as extensively as the current shutdown of industries deemed non-essential. This will constrain the supply side of the economy and restrict demand activities.”

He also shared something which is of utmost importance to Malaysia. He said, “Of critical importance is the containment of the pandemic through speedy mass vaccinations, testing, contact tracing and quarantine measures so that the economy can be reopened as much as possible.” Please do read the full article here:
Article in the sundaily.my

Worst in 2020, more important now is what happens in 2021

Actually, the economic growth is unlikely to hit our earlier projected numbers. We are still in a lockdown even as we speak. This meant that most businesses would not be able to provide sufficient supply and cater to demands since even those who could demand for those services would all be home all the time.

Demand will be much lower

It is possible to order online for food delivery but this is by far lower than if we could have dine-ins with friends and in groups . Corporate events have all stopped. Team celebration dinners have all stopped. Sudden mamak session with good friends have also all stopped. Last but not least, family dinners for birthday celebration have also stopped. This is why businesses are hard hit and many may not be able to survive past the lockdown.

What could we do?

If we have not gotten vaccinated, please register and just do it. Please tell our friends who continue to think of vaccination as scary to go and register and just get vaccinated. I am not an economist but I know that countries which have hit 50% vaccinations of at least one dose have all started to do much better in economy than all the countries where lockdown remains staple because vaccinations remain low.  Let’s look forward to a better 2H 2021 and possibly a very positive 4Q 2021 too.  Thank you all.

Love articles like this and more?
Sign up for daily investment news updates.
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Sign up for KopiWeekly. (only once per week of property, finance, investment news and more)

Next suggested article:
Buying a bicycle is bad for the economy

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia will be facing a tough situation soon, wow.

A close friend forwarded a WhatsApp message a few days ago. It was a warning which was about the number of people who have been laid off by MAS, RHB, CIMB, a few manufacturing companies and even PLUS which is said to start laying off since it has started to operate many cashless toll stations and that due to this, all these people would be out of job and that the times would be very hard for the middle income Malaysians. It started with ‘Dear all kindly digest the real situation in Malaysia. It ended with the message that Malaysia would thus face a very bad economic crisis soon. Everyone must ‘Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.’ I did not bother to reply the WhatsApp. In fact not even one person in the whole group replied. Perhaps all of them agreed and are now hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Please allow me to state an opinion of a nobody here in Malaysia.

It said, “First of all, digest the real situation in Malaysia.” Well, I must agree that the current situation is not good compared to say 18 months ago and I think majority of everyone would know that. However, to harp on all the layoffs which SHOULD happen to ensure the companies become stronger and more efficient in the future? One small question, can MAS or known as MAB today continue to operate with another 6,000 staffs which has slowed down whatever steps it is trying to take to be stronger against the world? Should banks, whether CIMB, RHB or Maybank continue to pay salaries to staffs that they know they would have to let go before their efficiency ratio starts deteriorate because growth is definitely slowing and trends are definitely going online? Is PLUS going cashless really worse off than continuing to allow queuing of cars waiting to pay in cash and wait for change? Really?

Come on, I am very sure majority of Malaysians can see beyond this. As for speaking about inefficiencies in certain departments or about the corruption by whoever famous are two very different topics. For those, we should continue to highlight and give pressure. However, for things that should happen for the better, we should support it to happen. If we seriously want to help, then HELP. Offer them jobs, offer them free trainings, help them to find new jobs, just help. Standing on the sidelines and criticising? Haha. Better watch Korean dramas instead since both are unproductive anyway. At least one, you get entertainment value. Malaysia is already suffering from way too many “talk bad but do nothing good people”. Let’s aim to reduce this okay?

Perhaps this is when we should tell our friends from overseas to drop by for a visit. Perhaps this is when we buy just 1,000 units of that Malaysian company which is undervalued and needs a little support since the foreign funds are all dumping the shares whether good or bad? Perhaps this is when we buy only local fruits to support that farmer who needs to feed his family? Perhaps this is when we travel locally and eat to our hearts delight and put all these photos on our Facebook so that more may be tempted to visit too? Perhaps this begins a time when we look at the country of origin or manufacture and buy Malaysia or if not possible, then ASEAN first? Lots of perhaps and lots of things we can do, as a Malaysian. Simply forwarding a WhatsApp that we do not even understand clearly and spreading unnecessary negativity is certainly not one of them. Happy Malaysia Day everyone.

written on 14 Sept 2015

Next suggested article:
Investing in stocks? How about ‘net cash’ ones?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia fully reopens international borders from 1st April 2022. What are the implications?

Malaysia fully reopens international borders from 1st April 2022

Our overseas friends who wanted to visit us could now come to visit us as long as they are fully vaccinated. In fact they do not even need to undergo any quarantine anymore. I do think very soon, we would also be able to travel to more countries and in the near future, maybe within 60 days, we may be looking at travelling to most countries again. Here is the formal announcement.

Article in nst.com.my
   Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the decision to reopen the borders starting 1st April 2022 was made after careful deliberation on various aspects including the national vaccination programme and economy, with risk management conducted by the authorities.

He said the decision was made based on three fundamentals, namely scientific data, comparisons with the border reopening of other countries, and to provide convenience to travellers. He said, “Malaysia is now an open destination and can be visited by all.”

He also said, “Travellers who have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine are no longer required to undergo quarantine. They are only required to undergo an RT-PCR test two days prior to travel and an RTK antigen test within 24 hours upon arrival in Malaysia.”  Please do read the news in full here:
Article in nst.com.my

Covid-19 situation is under control (no matter what your friends are saying)

Three important things we learn from the announcement that international borders will be reopened on 1st April 2022. First one is that Covid-19 situation in Malaysia is under control. Two examples? Deaths and ICU patients are at a much lower level than last year when new cases were lower. This is despite the current new infection numbers being far higher than last year. Like to know more? Here’s the link.
https://covidnow.moh.gov.my/
  Below is a screenshot of something important.

Endemic phase is on the way

Second is that endemic phase will be coming very soon; living with Covid-19. I think my kids will soon be going back to school without any further restrictions. Yes, both of them are vaccinated with the first dose and will receive second dose in April 2022. Is it totally safe? No. Continue to take precautions. Continue to isolate ourselves if we feel we have symptoms and to quickly do tests. It’s our responsibility to do our small part as well.

Yes, economic recovery is real

Third is that, the economic growth numbers that has been predicted thus far will come true because the economic will start to run normally again. I know, people want to say that Russia-Ukraine is at war. Truth is, demand for goods and service will remain strong. Not many people who wants to buy a handphone will stop buying that handphone because there’s Russia-Ukraine war. I also believe more people will go to the malls, more will go to restaurants and more will start travelling too.

All the best my dear Malaysia. (yes… next to recover will be the property market too. I really do look forward to it since there’s one property which I am so desperate to sell but no one is willing to accept my selling price yet. Haha)

Property News Malaysia?
Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER).
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Property is no longer a key retirement asset

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Has Malaysia’s fundamentals suddenly changed better?

I received a few comments when I wrote this:
Malaysia will be facing a tough situation soon, wow
  So, has Malaysia’s fundamental suddenly changed within the past few days? The answer has to be a yes because the Ringgit jumped up the most within a day versus USD since 1998. Anyway, nothing has changed. It just happened that Malaysia has shown a trade surplus which has suddenly gone up because exports increased because of competitive Malaysian companies while imports went down. Oh yeah, we must also quote the rising crude oil prices. It also went up because exports have been climbing for the third straight month. I repeat, THIRD straight month. Hope you understand, negative sentiment is the key for the current undervalued Ringgit and is definitely not due to one person or one company. Yes, some even asked me if Malaysia is already in a recession. Sigh.

Exports grew to RM66.53 billion, up RM2.64 billion compared with August 2014 and this is the highest thus far for 2015. Despite China slowing down, the expansion in exports were to countries such as China, the United States, the European Union, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Due to this, the trade surplus has ballooned to double digits; RM10.19 billion. (Note that that particular currency which has been strengthening has had deficits for years) Another reason was also because of the finalized Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) on Monday in which Malaysia was a party to. According to Credit Suisse, the two countries which may benefit most from this would be Vietnam and Malaysia.

Nomura Research said that it expects Malaysia’s economy to grow at a resilient 5% this year after looking at the strong trade data. Dear fellow Malaysians, it is really the time to read more, understand more. If you do not, at the very least don’t continue forwarding foolish news around as if you are also an economist. Ringgit’s current appreciation still does not change what the majority thinks but the current appreciation is because the fundamental is still there. In case you did not realise, one country is already facing a possible technical recession even if the currency is still rising simply because Ringgit is dropping. I do not think the current momentum can be continuous because everything would still hinge on the decision and announcements from Federal Reserve. We shall see then. For now, I smile for a good turn for Ringgit.

written on 8th Oct 2015

Next suggested article:
1998 vs 2015, just numbers, no rhetorics

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia in recession? Not in 2015.

Latest: Malaysia’s GDP growth for the whole of 2015 is 5 percent. We can read a report by our advanced neighbour about it here:
Straits Times Malaysia GDP growth article
 We (Malaysia) slowed down in the final 2 quarters but continue to have big trade surpluses. On a weekly basis, there’s bound to be some ‘recession’ related search terms to kopiandproperty.com Seriously, I have no idea why. Most of the time, the questions are asking if Malaysia is in a recession. There was one about ‘Is Malaysia out of recession.’ It prompted me to write this article:
Recession 2014, ending soon?

Well, as at end of 2015, Malaysia is NOT in a recession. If anyone wishes to know some potential recession countries, better look at some neighbours instead, especially the less diversified ones. China is still slowing down even if I believe they are more than capable to prevent a hard landing. If they could not, I am not sure which country could. China has the world’s largest foreign currency reserve. Read here:
Soros: Hard landing for China. China disagrees fully
 Oh yeah, oil prices dropping or staying at low levels may also affect some non-producing countries too. One real example, cutting costs meant that they may choose to move to cheaper countries instead. Malaysia is definitely a beneficiary country.

One old friend remarked recently that perhaps Malaysia manipulated the GDP numbers? I answered him very seriously. IF he does not yet know about Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), he should read a bit more. I do not think he understood but it’s okay. That country that he supports and believe so much may be the next to be tested. Seriously, I think it’s time that more countries are tested instead of just Ringgit or Rupiah in the whole of 2015. Let’s see what happens yeah.

In summary for the 2015 GDP growth in Malaysia. BNM said, “”challenging operating environment in the immediate future”. Earlier:
Getting ready for the next global recession?
 Domestic demand helped tremendously to offset the oil and commodity prices. For 2016, growth would again be driven by domestic demand with some support from net exports. Current account surplus doubled to RM11.4 billion (S$3.9 billion) in the October-December period from the previous quarter, boosted by higher portfolio and foreign direct investments. Ringgit was Asia’s worst performer in 2015. It is today one of the top performers in Asia and has strengthened to RM4.15 to US$1 today (19 Feb 2016).

I still think it’s best not to touch anything about currency, where investments are concerned. If we do not like Ringgit, proceed to buy some undervalued stocks instead of changing them into another currency believing that it may go higher. When the whole world is in trouble, I think majority would prefer to hold that world currency instead. Yes, that one. As for the rest, it’s just too volatile. Happy reading and investing.

written on 19 Feb 2016

Next suggested article:
Increasing liquidity and maintaining rates

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Q1 GDP passed with 5.6 percent growth

Today, before I start to write, I would like to point out a few blind, deaf and dumb fools who commented on Bank Negara Governor, Tan Sri Zeti Aziz. One commented that Zeti must be sleeping on the job for not investigating 1MDB. Another said that she is just a follower and would not dare to do anything. Another said, how could she be voted as one of the best central bank governors in the world? Are the evaluators blind?

First, I hate 1MDB which has caused negative sentiment in the market. The people behind 1MDB who has done wrong MUST be compelled to tell the truth and be transparent about it. However, why link Zeti with it. Any investigation is NOT done by BNM directly. She has informed that BNM does not comment on any individual organisation and kindly stop your useless remarks.

Second, she is just a follower and does not dare to do anything? Are you sure? For so many years that she has contributed, she is still just a follower? Have you ever been following her achievements ever since she joined? Do you know that the foreigners have withdrawn MORE money today than during the crisis years previously? Has the economy gone bust? She has laid a good foundation and strengthened the whole banking system.

Third, she was not voted one of the best banker in the world for one time. She has been awarded many other international awards many times and by different organisations which you do not PAY to get the award. Do you wish to claim that ALL these organisations which gave her the award are blind, deaf and dumb like you? Or now you wanted to say that the government paid for her to get the awards?

Please, Malaysia will never grow to what we want it to become if it is full of blind, deaf and dumb people like those who jumbled everything and commented just based on dumb reasoning. There are many good people who has nothing to do with politics. At least, acknowledge and support and give courage to them. Why must every single thing and every single person be politicised? Zeti works hard and she works harder than the pay that they pay her. I can safely say she goes home later than me everyday. So, kindly leave her to do her work and you continue to slam whichever politician you dislike. I care not for today, majority are already blind, deaf and dumb anyway. The other side MUST always be wrong. Yes, I am talking about both sides.

Thanks for reading till here. Yes, Q1 GDP has grew 5.6 percent which is slightly higher than expectations. This is considered good under the circumstances of weak global prices for energy and commodity exports. Zeta said, “We will be affected by price movements of energy and fuel prices, but it’s not going to devastate our economy.” In fact in March, electronics export surged and this may help Malaysia to continue along its growth path for 2015. Domestic demand remain key anchor to continuous growth. In fact, consumption will continue to be supported by the rise in income and employment. Yes, more people are graduating and more people are entering the workforce. (None are becoming farmers.. ok?)

Please try our best to see things as they are. I wrote about a friend who told me that she fears 1MDB would bankrupt the economy and yet she asked me where to buy. I told her that she must be joking because if Malaysia is going bankrupt soon, buying a property must be avoided at all costs. Not true? Happy investing and believing whatever you want to believe.

written on 15 May 2015

Next suggested article:
Stay focussed. 1MDB is not your concern.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia GDP growth: World Bank revises the number down for 2021.

World Bank used to believe that Malaysia’s GDP for 2021 will be 4.6 percent. Based on its latest assessment, it does not believe so anymore. It now believes that our GDP growth will be worse even if still positive at 3.3 percent. What has happened and why has World Bank decided to revise our GDP growth downwards? By the way, it is not just Malaysia’s numbers yeah. It has also revised downwards in terms of economic growth for countries in this region.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  The World Bank has revised down Malaysia’s GDP growth for 2021 to 3.3 percent compared to earlier forecast of 4.6 percent. The reason for this revision is because of the movement control orders, increased precautionary behaviours and subdued labour market conditions. This will drag down private consumption and local economic growth in general. It says that economic activity began to slow down in second quarter of 2021 and growth forecasts have been downgraded for most countries in the region. This is as per World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Fall 2021 Economic Update. Do click on the article for a lot more details too
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Is Malaysia going into a recession?

Someone asked this the other day. Is Malaysia going into a recession. Before I answer, may I ask what is recession? According to Investopedia, “The technical indicator of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth as measured by a country’s gross domestic product (GDP)” In very brief, there must be two consecutive quarters or negative growth for a country to fall into technical recession. Currently, all three major international rating agencies still rated Malaysia under the ‘investment grade’ category and no analyst or economist has yet predicted that Malaysia would hit negative growth for 2015. So, easiest answer is, NO.

Some other recent analysts prediction. According to Krystal Tan an Asian economist at Capital economics, “Overall, we think GDP growth will slow to around 5.0 percent this year and 4.5 percent in 2016, reflecting fiscal consolidation, soft commodity prices and slower credit growth.” On a more negative note, Fitch Ratings said that Malaysia’s ‘A-‘ rating with a “negative” outlook reflects pressure on the sovereign’s credit profile. Main issue is the weakening macro fundamentals due to a widening savings investment gap. Fortunately the rating is balanced by reasonably strong growth rates and an external solvency position that is still strong.

In the future, there’s always the possibility of Malaysia going into a recession. Based on the current and recent numbers however, many countries would have to swing into the negative territory first before Malaysia. Thus, there are still time to prepare if you really ‘wish’ that Malaysia can go into another recession. Based on the current demographics until before we become an ageing nation, the growth would continue. Property investment remain viable unless all the cheaper secondary and the less favourable areas of today suddenly become hotspots as well and prices went spiralling up again. There are already many stocks which are undervalued and prices went down simply because of sentiment and not because of company performance. Come on, beyond those ‘useless’ negative news which would never help you in your investment anyway, why not read and understand about where you may invest to better help you retire earlier or give your loved ones a better future. It’s time to work harder again. Question is, are you prepared and ready.

written on 23 June 2015

Next suggested article:
Recession 2014, ending soon?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia: good health care, lower living cost

In Malaysia, one can live comfortably for less than in Australia. I remembered a conversation I had with a Senior HR manager a few years ago. He said, “I seldom fail to convince any retiree to move to Malaysia and contribute to my company. The reason? As long as they are from America, I tell them that I can triple their spending capability immediately. Then, I shared the usual costs in private hospitals here and they would most probably be on the next plane to Malaysia.” Is it that easy? Well, truth is when your home country’s currency is 3 times higher than Malaysia, it is. Coupled with the cost of medical in their own country for which the doctors are also paid in US$, of course their medical fees would be three times higher, or more. Well, Australia’s currency is nearly 3 times of Malaysia. Thus, there are definitely advantages for their retirees to think about dropping by for a longer term than just a vacation.

According to Colleen Ryan and Stephen Wyatt, the authors of the book “Sell Up, Pack Up and Take Off”, it is much lower when Australians living in Sydney decide to move to Penang. They used numbers based on the statistics website Numbeo.com. In fact the comparisons showed overwhelmingly that Sydney may be losing all its retirees if all of them agree with these two authors. The book also mentioned a few other countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Let me safely tell the readers that as at now, Malaysia remains a much better choice especially when you are talking about quality of life which definitely involves communication, interactions and even facilities. Malaysia is also a much better choice when you drop by majority of the private hospitals as well as compare the charges versus the treatment that the Malaysian hospitals can provide. There are definitely valid reasons why Indonesians themselves are flying into Malaysia to get treatment.

Honestly though, there is little need to argue about which country is best. Truth is, any country where the Australians can finally afford to pay for plumbing services may be really attractive. Besides that, after selling their typical AUD$600,000 homes, they would have about RM2 million. They can use this amount to rent a sea-facing service condo and still have so much to spend for food, entertainment and even travelling. Well, without selling their home in Australia and continuing to live in Australia, the Australian retirees would really have to budget their daily expenses very carefully. If the Australian retirees that we are discussing does not have a AUD$600,000 home, I think it makes even greater sense to really think seriously about staying in one of these much cheaper countries. Agree?

written on 9 Mar 2015

Next suggested article:
Perth – City with Parks or actually Parks with a city?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


30 Million population, urbanisation and new properties – Long term view

Few days ago, I read in Malay Mail online that Malaysia has hit the 30th Million population. This information was not shared by a lot of people unlike the usual political news these days. Actually, population growth is a very important factor driving the growth of any country. This is especially when it comes to property market. Imagine if there are no population growth, there would be no need for more new properties to be built. With population growth, everyone reaching a certain stage may consider buying a property. First time home buyers, up-graders and even migrants from smaller towns to work in cities. They just could not afford to rent forever because if you buy, you hedge against further rises but if you rent, there is nothing to hold the rental from going up drastically.

This population growth in Malaysia would continue to drive urbanisation.  If you can see the chart from the Department of Statistics Malaysia, you can see which would be the states where urbanisation would happen fastest. This is also where all the job opportunities are. For example, if you are a fresh graduate today, you would have only a few choices if you intend to climb the corporate ladder. This is the same as property investment. In fact when my brother graduated with an Engineering Degree, his most natural choice would be Penang. I wrote an article about this before:
New Engineer, New Penang Property
.

Even today, when we look at Klang Valley, the planning is no longer based on specific area but it is planned based on the Greater KL perspective. This is because when FDI comes into Malaysia, the places they invest would need to have infrastructure as well as human capital. Typically, these are the places we see today where urbanisation is happening rapidly. Thus, the 30th Million Malaysian is to me a very significant piece of news because it signifies the potential of property as a long term investment. Not everyone needs a car if the MRT is functioning and the transportation planning becomes world class. However, out of the 30 Million population that we have, we can already see that a minimum of 10 million houses would be needed just for the current population if we use a ratio of 1:3.

Total houses being built per year in Malaysia? Take a look at the data by NAPIC. The reality is even until today when we see the hundreds of developers both big and small, total units being completed is not yet as fast as what the market really needs. Are they building the right type of properties? The answer may be NO. Developers are all looking for profit, thus, what they build would be skewed towards what’s most in demand today. Hopefully, all the lower medium houses being built by federal and state governments can be fastened so that we can see some good results come 2016.

Written on 1 March 2014

Next suggested article:
Start as young as you can

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia’s healthy GDP growth and persistent inflation. Well..

My friend lost his managerial position when his company decided to move out of Malaysia a few months ago. Instead of panicking, he decided to take a break and has recently found a new job. Are there plenty of jobs? Well..
take a look.
 I believe that when people are still queuing up for
 affordable units in good locations
,
 it shows that the economy is still doing well enough and people still have jobs. The reason I say so is because for these affordable units, there are strict requirements and to buying these units with the hope to flip them is suicidal to say the least. The number of units are usually in the thousands and these are best bought for own-stay. On a longer term, with the help of the usual inflation, it will still be a good hedge. Always remember that Malaysia is not the most advanced nation in the world for the property market. If all the more advanced property markets continue to show price growth, Malaysia would just follow.

Let’s listen to what Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim said about the GDP growth of Malaysia for Q1 2017. “The economy is poised for better performance with the support of exports.” He added, “Our diversified economy will help us withstand domestic and external challenges.” In Q1 2017,
 our economy grew 5.6 percent.
Two things helped; household spending and a recovery in exports helped by the higher oil prices. Private sector demand makes up 70% of GDP and this climbed 4.1 percent. Higher growth was recorded in services (5.8 per cent), manufacturing (5.6 per cent), mining (1.6 per cent), agriculture (8.3 per cent) and construction (6.5 per cent). Current account remained in surplus. BNM is forecasting a growth of up to 4.8npercent for 2017 versus 4.2 percent in 2016. Ringgit is at a near 6-month high versus the US$ and for Q2 2017is
currently the top performing
currency in Asia excluding the Japanese Yen.

Inflation averaged 4.3 percent but is expected to decrease from the second quarter onwards. Inflation was 5.1 percent in March 2017. In fact
inflation is still above the fixed deposit rate.
According to the Department of Statistics, the higher inflation was driven mostly by

costlier fuel and food. While fuel is something I could not run away from
but for food, I think I have choices.

NikkeiAsianReview has an
article about it here.
According to the article, CIMB Investment Bank’s economic Michelle Chia said, “Core inflation remains well-behaved, and does not require monetary intervention.” She added, “We expect BNM to hold the Overnight Policy Rate at 3.00% in 2017.” Nomura economists Euben Paracuelles and Brian Tan forecast Malaysia’s full-year headline inflation at 4 percent this year. This is higher than the 2.1 percent in 2016. The interest rate has remained unchanged as BNM continues to maintain an accommodative stance towards growth. BNM also said that  “At the current level of the OPR, the stance of monetary policy is accommodative and supportive of economic activity.” Happy following.

written on 19 May 2017

Next suggested article:
Malaysian economy? Always watch services and manufacturing

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia’s inflation rate is expected to normalise in 2021. Consider good news?

What’s happening to the economy if the inflation rate is close to zero? What about if it is expected to normalise in 2021?  Generally, if inflation it’s going up, it should be bad news, right? Since inflation is supposed to be bad. If inflation is staying near zero, is that great news for the country?

Well, if we use Japan as a comparison, except for 2014, Japan’s inflation has been near to zero or below zero from 2010 – 2020. Somehow, the Japanese are just not spending much money. They save a LOT of their earnings. In  June 2020, they saved an average of 62% of their earnings!! I repeat,
62%… (click here to view the numbers if you like)
 Okay, now you know that if inflation is always very low, it does not bode well for the economy especially if the consumption is very low.

Coming back to us here. Malaysia has had inflation close to zero for 2 years now. In 2021, it is expected to go up to 2.5% and it’s called normalising.
Article in themalaysianreserve.com
 to follow after the definition of inflation as below:

Definition of inflation?
According to investopedia.com
: Inflation is a quantitative measure of the rate at which the average
price level
 of a
basket of selected goods
 and services in an economy increases over some period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a unit of currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods. Often expressed as a percentage, inflation thus indicates a decrease in the
purchasing power
 of a nation’s currency.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on
Pexels.com

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  Ministry of Finance (MoF) said that MALAYSIA’S Inflation rate is expected to normalise at 2.5 per cent in 2021 and this is in line with better economic prospects and higher crude oil prices.

It said in its Economic Outlook report, “The Consumer Price Index (CPI) shrank by one per cent during the first eight months of 2020 and is expected to continue for the rest of the year. The contraction was due to lower pump prices on account of weaker global crude oil prices, as well as the discount given on electricity bills as part of the stimulus measures.”

MoF also said Producer Price Index (PPI) is also expected to improve in 2021 following the projected recovery of the domestic and global economy. The PPI by local production declined by 2.4 per cent during the first eight months of 2020 and is expected to remain stable due to low input cost.  For a full report, do refer to:
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

Some inflation is always a good indicator of demand

Briefly, when people have salary and they feel confident with the state of the economy, they may spend more. When they spend more, the demand increases but the supply may need time to catch up. This is why the prices of some goods will move up to maximise potential profit. In other words, inflation rate goes up. Soon, businesses will increase their production in order to meet the demand.  In this case, demand pushes more supply and in order to produce more, the businesses will need to hire more people. This will create more jobs, more people earn salaries and these would in turn drive up demand further. It’s a cycle.

High inflation is NOT good (speculative activities should be curbed)

If demand increases very suddenly, this may be due to speculative demand. This is not an ideal situation and would need to be controlled. This was why Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) required all banks to be more conservative and the term Responsible Lending become common. Instead of gross pay, the calculation of loans are now based on net pay. Instead of 10% Loan-To-Value for all properties, it was increased to 30% from the third property onwards.

Conclusion

A normalising inflation rate is considered a positive sign in this case. Hopefully with COVID-19 vaccines arriving in Q1 of next year, we could go back to normal. Drink coffee with friends occasionally. Changing jobs for higher pay may just become in-trend again. Basically, a downtrend of unemployment rate is another very good sign to watch out for. As per all the predictions, 2021 is likely to be a positive year. Let’s make it a super positive one then.  Thank you.

Love to be updated of investment news?
Sign up for KopiWeekly. (once per week for property, finance, investment news and more)

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
What’s in Budget 2021 for the property market? More than 4 items

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Malaysia is the best place to retire in 2014

One of the most respected news site Huffington Post published an article on the ‘world’s best places to retire in 2014.’ It said Malaysia is Asia’s best retirement haven. In fact Malaysia is third best in the world. There were many reasons stated. Let me summarise them as below:

‘A couple can live comfortably in a luxury ocean-view condo on US$1,700 and some could even manage with US$1,000 or less, including rent!’

I don’t really like the next reason; ‘the average temperature is 82F all year round’. I prefer cooler temperatures but hey, we do not have typhoons or tsunamis, just stormy rains. That is a lot to thank for.

Malaysia has some of the best beaches in the world and I can safely attest to this as I have been to around 20 countries and our white sandy beaches are really second to none in the world. I would even encourage Australians to drop by here instead of an island they always frequent if they are there for the beach.

It also stated that Penang and Kuala Lumpur are medical centres of excellence and the hospitals are top-notch and the physicians speak English and that seeing a physician costs as little as US$11!  Be reminded, it is as little as US$11, it is not average fee. A few kidney stone EWSL session may cost RM17,000 (US$5,000) but I think this is considered reasonable when compared to UK or US. Or even Singapore.

It said that the infrastructure here is First World and if you intend to drive, the roads are excellent. This one, sometimes I do not agree because there are pot holes on and off.

MM2H was also mentioned. The next point is very valid. It is easy for foreigners to buy properties and you can even buy freehold without any limitations on the number of properties you can own. Of course, now the requirement would be RM1 million threshold as set by the government for foreign purchase.

Good quality dining was also said to be very cheap. US$3. Of course it does not state that this is for posh restaurants. This is more than than enough for Chilli Pan Mee in KL or famous Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow in Penang.

Malaysia’s population also has a lot of respect for their elders and in fact is an intrinsic part of their culture. There were a lot more reasons mentioned but I think there are a few which may have been missed. It does not state the potential capital appreciation as property prices for Malaysia is still much lower when compared to some other major cities of the world.

Would Malaysia still be top in 2015? I sincerely believe so as I longed to come back to Malaysia after my studies in Bristol many years ago. It is true, there are things which are not perfect here, there are also many ‘ugly’ Malaysians but I will continue to put in my tiny little effort to make things even better than today.

written on 7th jan 2014.

Next suggested article:
Property Buying, Objectivity matters

Or read the
top 10 most read articles

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...