Raining and yet Starbucks?!

It was raining heavy enough that an umbrella is a must. The shop is also not next to my office. I need to cross a four lane road to reach the shop. I have to pay Rm5 for a cup of Americano even with my Starbucks mug. Why am I still here? Today there is one more reason I found. Camaraderie. Drinking alone, perhaps not. However if two other close colleagues said let’s go, how could I say no? Hey this is also known as peer pressure. Lots of people say economy is not doing well, but guess what this morning when I was there at 830am, the cafe was 50% full.

I believe Starbucks will continue to be successful. Oh yea my next order will be the most expensive coffee in their list. I have hit my ten drinks for a free one. Haha. Their Americano is still good, even if you add two huge tablespoons.of your own Omega milk powder. Ask for two shots for that extra kick. My colleague just got himself four shots. Amazing start of the day. If only they allow franchises.

written on 23 dec 2013

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Press Release: Raising The Bar: Strong Take-Up Of Nexus Seremban 2’s Lifestyle Shops

Strategically situated at the centre of Seremban 2 (S2), Nexus Seremban 2 will set a new standard as the thriving commercial and retail hub in the township, yielding impressive results during the public launch of the project. This is evident as IJM Land announces a strong 80% take-up of the various commercial offerings at this premier commercial hub.

The projected Gross Development Value (GDV) for Nexus is estimated at RM300 million. Encompassing 21.42 acres, Nexus unfolds in two phases. Phase 1 includes 147 units of freehold 2-storey lifestyle shops, complemented by an additional 19 units with sub-basement car parks.

Ranging from 3,455 sq. ft. to 10,559 sq. ft., each unit boasts a blend of timeless design and retro aesthetics. And priced at RM1.39 million onwards, each Nexus lifestyle shop stands as a testament to quality and desirability, snapped up in quick succession by buyers who believe in IJM’s vision for S2 as one of the fastest-growing satellite townships in Malaysia.

STANDARD BEARER

The surge in demand can be attributed to two pivotal factors. Firstly, Nexus Seremban 2 has been strategically envisioned as a dynamic platform for businesses to actively engage with the community, capitalising on existing infrastructure to not only conduct operations, but also attract a consistent flow of potential customers.

Secondly, serving as a prime catchment area for the township, the current resident count of 68,000 in S2 is on a steadfast ascent, projected to surpass 100,000 upon reaching maturity.As each new S2 neighbourhood develops, they will collectively amplify foot traffic within Nexus, crafting a dynamic commercial ecosystem that encompasses not just shopping and dining options, but also town hall-style social gatherings and community activation events.

This steadily increasing population, coupled with a consistent influx of neighbouring visitors, has created a promising market for retail enterprises and other commercial constituents to flourish. IJM has done its utmost to ensure that the growing demand for both homes and commercial spaces underscores the township’s remarkable progress.

“Prime commercial properties, like those within Nexus Seremban 2, will demonstrate sustained growth in parallel with the expansion of the scope of the S2 township,” said Mr Chai Kian Soon, Senior General Manager of IJM Land. “We’re dedicated towards creating functional spaces that provide an ideal environment for prosperous businesses within our township.”

As a result, Nexus Seremban 2 will soon become highly sought-after for businesses aiming to tap into the local S2 working, co-working, retail, and lifestyle scene to go along with a vibrant nightlife and foodie culture.

HOLISTIC APPROACH

In totality, the Nexus Seremban 2 commercial hub will seamlessly integrate connectivity, convenience, and retail and lifestyle appeal. Within this environment, various synergies and collaborative undertakings will be instrumental in the future success of businesses within Nexus Seremban 2, and its potential for steady rental income and capital appreciation.

Anticipating sustained growth isn’t mere speculation. Fueled by innovative developments and various lively neighbourhoods, the demand for these properties remains steadfast. S2 residents will continue to have easy access to a range of shopping malls and many other conveniences.

In addition, the impressive track record set by previous IJM commercial endeavours, such as IKON at Centrio and The Plazo at S2 Heights further complements what Nexus will offer as the focal point of the township.

Strategically positioned, IJM will prioritise accessibility for business and commercial ventures within Nexus. Existing connectivity infrastructure ensures smooth access to major destinations. With toll plazas like Seremban, Ainsdale, and Port Dickson, commuting to hubs like Kuala Lumpur, KLIA, KLIA 2 airports, and other parts of the Peninsula is convenient.

IJM is adamant that the perfect combination of accessibility, coupled with the introduction of a myriad of lifestyle propositions will ensure that Nexus Seremban 2 will be a dynamic hive of activity where the various communities of S2 will congregate for work, play and more in the very near future.

“Nexus is a testament to IJM’s unwavering commitment to providing rewarding investment opportunities,” emphasised Mr. Chai. “Investors can look forward to consistent returns, and with an increasing number of residents making S2 their long-term home, the demand for lifestyle offerings to fulfil their needs will remain strong.”

-End-

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Rakuten closes Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia

I buy things online nearly every week these days even if I still love to shop in malls. It’s so easy to start a new online company, right? I agree too. It’s however much harder to make it work when there are many competitions especially strong ones. Of course, sometimes it may also be due to changing business directions as per reported? Well, in many medias these few days, a famous Japanese online retailer called Rakuten would be closing its e-commerce marketplaces in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. It said this is part of the company’s strategy overhaul.

With this closure, around 150 staffs would need to find new employments but I think they should do just fine. There are more new online companies these days anyway. Everyone is thinking of starting a start-up which may change the world and turn him into a multi-millionaire or even a billionaire. Rakuten said, “In SE Asia, as the market itself changes and adapts, we are looking toward C2C (customer to customer) and mobile business models for e-commerce and other businesses” It is competing with Lazada in Southeast Asia for the e-commerce segment. It will however be maintaining its regional Asian headquarters in Singapore and will continue to look for new opportunities for growth in Southeast Asia.

I think this is very healthy. Strong competition meant everyone becomes even stronger. Consumers gain the most since the best deals would win the business. Marketplaces become more established and even within these huge marketplaces, the retailers compete against one another. We no longer need to go to ten different websites to buy ten different things. We no longer need to compare that same product that we are about to buy by going to different websites because we could easily compare them within the same marketplace. Let’s hope Rakuten comes back even stronger in the future to challenge all the existing players.

written on 14 Feb 2016

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Credit Score. It’s important to know how it will affect us.

I think everyone should know something called Credit Score. In many advanced countries such as The U.S, everyone knows their score. In Malaysia, well not really. However, this is one major reason why our loan is somehow rejected by the bank even though our salary seems to be okay versus the mortgage payment. There is one good article in TheStar about this. It gave many good examples of how we can actually damage our credit score if we are not careful. This is the full article in
TheStar: 5 things that could damage your credit score
  It quoted five things which we need to be watchful for.

First one would be frequent changes of credit card is really not good. The reason is because sometimes, the loss might have enabled someone to use it for illegal means. Second one would be outstanding amount in telecommunications, banks and even power companies. Please note that these companies may register your name with RAMCI because of even a RM20 outstanding. Third reason would be when we do debt restructuring, refinancing or application of loan deferment. This will result in our credit record (CCRIS) being affixed with a special label. Fourth would be for those who has issued a cheque which bounced. This will cause the person to be listed under the Dishonoured Cheques information (DCHEQS).

Lastly would be the updates to our credit rating. It’s good to occasionally check our personal credit profile. One suggested way would be to pay a visit to this site:
www.mycreditinfo.com.my
 to get a free copy of our personal financial credit report. There, these are the 5 things that we should be on the look out for. Here’s that
full article in TheStar again.
More resources on this:
LoanStreet’s article on credit score. 11 things that will affect your credit score!
 Another one with title of
Why your Credit Score matters. This is by comparehero.my
 I think one thing we should note is NOT to overspend. That is usually the start of everything bad.
Overspending to enhance image is very Sxxxxxd.

Happy spending and all the best in your next loan application.

written on 6 Aug 2017

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Mah Sing’s luxury hotel; Ramada Encore Medini.

No international city can claim to be international if they do not have good hotels. Good meant a minimum of 5-star and most likely an international brand. Nothing wrong with local brands of course but if I am a British businessman travelling to Malaysia for the first time, I would NOT know the local branded 5-star hotel but I would know those 5-star hotel brands that I could have seen or even stayed before in my country and other countries. This is the reason why many would find it more advantageous to operate an internationally known brand instead of starting one from scratch.

Another good addition to Medini in Iskandar would be happening in the form of a luxury hotel. It will be built by Mah Sing Group Berhad and would be called Ramada Encore Meridin. It will be following the concept of a studio apartment with one or two bedrooms. Ramada is an international brand owned by the world’s largest hotel company Wyndham. May Sing will be procuring the brand from them for this new luxury hotel. The hotel with a total of 322 rooms would start its operations in 2018. Location wise, it’s pretty good. It’s nearby Legoland theme park, Puteri Harbour and private hospital Gleneagles just within walking distance.

I personally like hotels based on a studio unit design. Refer to image. This is Ascott Sathorn: (source: The Ascott website.)
In my business trips to Bangkok, I have stayed in Ascott Sathorn Hotel which is also a hotel based on a studio unit design and I love it. It’s big, it’s fully furnished and you can even wash your clothes and they provide even a dryer! The price? No big difference with other usual 5-star hotel rooms that I have stayed before. More importantly, it is within the CBD area which meant easy access to business offices too.

According to Wyndham Hotel Asia Pacific acquisition and business development director David Wray, the company is also looking at another hotel in Johor Bahru besides this one which is being built. He said, “We believe that Johor has become an ideal destination as it is a growing market as the occupancy rate among other hotels here have been quite positive.” I think what he meant is that there are needs from the business travellers as well as the richer tourists. For this, 2018 seems ideal for this new luxury hotel by Mah Sing. Perhaps a stay there?

Any comments on the better hotels that you have stayed in JB thus far?

written on 23 Sept 2015

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Taking care of our CREDIT Health is essential. Free 3 Months of JagaMyID

Did you know that 61 Malaysians become a bankrupt every 24 hours? (Insolvency Department). In fact 58 percent of these are below the age of 44 and there are three major reasons why they became a bankrupt

– Inability to pay car loans (Nothing to be ashamed in driving a secondhand car and nothing to be proud of in driving a new car and becoming a bankrupt because one could not keep up with the instalments)

– Poor control of credit cards (It’s not about not having a credit card yeah. It’s more of differentiating between needs versus wants. The latter kills)

– Huge personal loans  (Stop saying yes to those calls offering you personal loans. Better understand the implications of such a loan!)

Anyway, in order to really control how we spend and what we spend, one of the first thing we must do is to know where we stand today. Is our credit still healthy? Or it’s time to take actions immediately? Remember, once the debts accumulate for a long time, it gets much harder to come out of it.  Please read on to understand what we could do to. It’s even FREE for 3 months!

Press Release –
RAMCI’s CREDIT HEALTH MONTH TO BOOST

PERSONAL CREDIT HEALTH AWARENESS

Malaysians get 3 months free monitoring of their credit health

Kuala Lumpur, 12 July, 2018 – RAM Credit Information Sdn Bhd (RAMCI),
 a leading credit reporting agency, today launched the nation’s first-ever
Credit Health Month
 in a move to encourage more Malaysians to proactively check their credit health, by offering a complimentary 3-month access to credit score monitoring.

Present at the Credit Health Month launch were Ms. Dawn Lai, RAMCI’s Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Saravanan Thambirajah, Chief Operating Officer of FOMCA. Given the rising levels of consumer debts and defaulters in the country, the launch of Credit Health Month is timely to reinforce the importance of checking one’s credit health regularly and maintaining a good credit score, while protecting oneself from identity theft.

Speaking at the launch, Dawn Lai said, “July is Credit Health Month and this is part of RAMCI’s public awareness programme to empower Malaysians to take control of their financial health through active monitoring of their credit score. In order to facilitate this, we are giving all Malaysians a complimentary 3-month trial of the JagaMyID package to experience and understand the benefits of a credit report and how a credit score reflects one’s financial standing.”

“Only in July during Credit Health Month, we are offering this incentive for Malaysians. We believe this will help consumers understand the value of a credit report and how it benefits them in the long-run. A credit report not only provides you with a score that reflects your financial behaviour, but it also alerts you if someone is using your name to apply for credit card or loan. It’s a two-pronged benefit,” Dawn further explained.

Commenting on the importance of financial education for young professionals, Thambirajah explained, “The financial competency among young adults is relatively low especially in an era where money is easily replaced with ‘plastic’ and ‘digital’ money. This has far reaching consequences as it can lead to high debt, financial losses, missed savings and even bankruptcy. By empowering young professionals with financial literacy, it teaches them critical skills on how to make informed financial decisions based on their resources and circumstances.”

Thambirajah also opined that it was the collective responsibility of the government, financial sectors, regulators and credit reporting agencies to find different ways to educate young adults on financial literacy and to help them understand the intricacies of it through various tools such as the credit report.

RAMCI shared that the Credit Health Month will be an on-going annual awareness programme. For this inaugural year, individuals who opt for their complimentary JagaMyID package will receive a free 3-month trial which includes credit information profile
comprising an overview
 of an individual’s credit portfolio, three (3) months monitoring of their credit health with monthly updates of Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) profile with credit score changes and lastly, timely alerts on possible identity theft.

In conjunction with Credit Health Month, aside from roadshows and talks to spread the awareness, RAMCI also launched their first e-book and an educational video to reach out to millennials whose thirst for digital content is constantly evolving. Themed
#ProtectYourCreditHealth
 the video and e-book released on RAMCI’s social media platform are meant to provide the younger generation with credit health information at their fingertips.

RAMCI is optimistic that the Credit Health Month initiative will bolster credit reporting in the country, especially among millennials, to check their credit report and in that process, manage their financials more effectively to reduce debts.

To obtain RAMCI’s JagaMyID 3-month trial package for free, the public are advised to log into
www.MyCreditInfo.com.my
. Upon subscribing for a 3-month trial, those interested in a year-long subscription of JagaMyID, are encouraged to write in to RAMCI stating their reasons for this package and can then stand a chance of getting upgraded to a 12-month free subscription package.

Go to RAM Credit Information’s website and Facebook for further details
www.MyCreditInfo.com.my

-END-

___________________________________________________________________

Issued on behalf of
RAMCI
by
 Pat-Lin Communications Sdn Bhd
. For further information, please contact Anusia at 03-7660 0400 ext 521 / 012 970 4423, email anusia@patlin.com.my or Catherine Kezia at 03-7660 0400 ext 520 / 016 561 3295, email catherine@patlin.com.my.

___________________________________________________________________

About RAM Credit Information Sdn Bhd

RAM Credit Information Sdn Bhd (RAMCI) has established itself among Malaysia’s leading and trusted credit and business information bureaus in recent decades and has a comprehensive database that has been built over the past 25 years. Today, RAMCI’s institutional partners such as RAM Holdings Berhad and Experian Asia Pacific have availed the company to extensive domain knowledge to serve both businesses and consumers in Malaysia and globally through its comprehensive array of services. It also collaborates with associations and cooperatives to serve their members. RAMCI’s core capabilities include online credit information, credit rating and credit scoring services, monitoring and international information services and trade bureau services. For more information, log on to

www.ramcreditinfo.com.my

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Sometimes, Malaysia may not be ranked. I am fine!

We love rankings. Especially the ones showing that we are well ahead of everyone else. We are in a good country.
We were also the 7th best place to retire. (we are all already here…)
 We lost only to Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Portugal.  (Perhaps it’s also good to read a bit about a few of these countries yeah…)  By the way, if we build up our wealth tremendously, we do not need to choose a country to retire in, we can continue to travel instead.  See the world is a good dream to have.

Education is definitely important to most parents, including me. In the latest world university ranking, we now have 5 local universities within the top 200 (also known as top 1% in the world).
Read here.
By the way, based on Malaya University’s (UM) ranking, if it was a university in the UK, it would now be a top 10 university there. Image below:

Image:
https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/top-universities-uk-2020

Beyond just retirement, education, of course we cannot run away from healthcare yeah. Malaysia is ranked extremely highly in the world; I mean the top in the world
Article in lite.my here.
Some reasons include we have world class healthcare, our well trained medical professionals, cost of medicine is affordable and these services were all provided with friendly service included.

Now here’s one ranking I do not mind NOT being part of yeah. Cost of living in your city. The below are the top 10 cities for the cost of living as of March 2020. (latest numbers). I know some of us wanted to say but their currency is stronger… Well, the below were not calculated using ringgit yeah… By the way, the cost of housing and rental is similar in many countries. You may have to pay S$600 for a room. Here in Kuala Lumpur, depending on where you stay, it be around the same number. In Melbourne, it will probably be AUD200 / room / week. That’s AUD800 per month. Hope this clears.

Image source:
https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/australia-jumps-to-top-10-countries-for-house-price-growth

Happy understanding that there are a lot more rankings where Malaysia fared badly or not that awesomely.
Press Freedom Index, for example.
 We are not yet within top 100 and our neighbour Singapore is 158 out of 180 countries.
Corruption Perception Index for example.
We are slightly out of top 50.  Many of these bad news already gone viral much earlier. I do not need to write on them yeah even though I know that if I keep writing bad news, then my clicks go up. Sigh… what to do. kopiandproperty.com is not a bad news provider. Happy reading.

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Ranking in SINGAPORE: kopiandproperty.com vs starproperty.my

I think this is a very small thing for many commercial websites. For me, it is not. Today (23 June 2014) I found out that kopiandproperty.com outranked starproperty.my which is a top 10 property site here in Malaysia. Of course I am still far from them in Malaysia but kopiandproperty.com has beaten starproperty.my in Singapore. Yes, remember the report which says Singapore remains largest investors in Iskandar? If this is true, it meant that these investors would probably be visiting kopiandproperty.com instead of starproperty.my when they access from Singapore.

Of course, both kopiandproperty.com and starproperty.my is nowhere near Singapore’s dominant property site, propertyguru.com.sg today. Okay, enough of happiness. I think if starproperty.my reads this and just do a tiny little tweaking they should beat me again, easily but, as at 23
rd
 June 2014, it is official. Kopiandproperty.com has beaten starproperty.my in terms of popularity in Singapore. That’s so cool. For those who are reading this and you are from Singapore, you guys rock! 🙂   Thanks.

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Rapid Transit System (RTS)’s track is on track.

Rail Transit Service (RTS)’s track is on track.

Do Malaysians who work in Singapore travel daily or stay there?

More than 300,000
 Malaysians travel across the Johor-Singapore Causeway every day, making it one of the busiest overland border crossings in the region.
(Source: infographics.channelnewsasia.com)
  For the working ones, they have to wake up very early to arrive at the work place and then have to come back after the peak periods. This is repeated daily and the amount of time spent just on travelling would probably be 2 hours or more.

I tried this once (coming back to JB from SG) on a week day. I started at 7pm in Singapore and by the time I am back to Johor Bahru to take my car, it was already 915pm. Not easy at all. A lot of waiting, waiting and waiting. Of course not everyone travels to work daily. Many Malaysians working in Singapore are staying in Singapore instead. They do not wish to travel daily. They usually occupy a room and pay a room rental of S$750 (RM2,325) per month.

Source: ibilik.com

Article in channelnewsasi
a.com
  Malaysian Minister for Transport Wee Ka Siong said that work on the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link has reached “almost 10 per cent”.

He said, “Presently, the progress of work for the RTS project has reached almost 10 per cent, where the land acquisition process has already been completed and the infrastructure design has also been finalised. Currently ground work, movement of utilities and piling works are underway.”

The RTS Link aims to connect Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru to Woodlands in Singapore, serving about 10,000 passengers per hour each way to help ease traffic congestion on the Causeway.  Do read the full article with more details here:
Article in channelnewsasi
a.com

What about during holiday seasons?

During holiday seasons, the travel would easily take double the time. Malaysians wanting to go to theme parks in Singapore and Singaporeans wanting to come to Malaysia for a holiday. However, only about 10% of Singaporeans own a car in Singapore. Thus, there are easily another 90% of Singaporeans who would have to take public transport if they are to travel even just to Johor Bahru. Thus, when we look at all these potential demand, the RTS is a necessity.

It’s good news that the construction is now on track. The timeline for the service to start is January 2027.  Would be great if it could start earlier but well, this was delayed, thus we have this new timeline now.

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Rapid Transit System is REALLY happening officially on 22 Nov.

Rapid Transit System or also known as RTS JB – SG is really happening. After years of uncertainty and delay, it seems that everything is now on track and in fact construction is said to start within November 2020!  If you have been reading kopiandproperty.com you would know that I am a supporter of RTS JB – SG.

More time = more productivity

Why do I support it? The reason is a simple one, statistically.  Everyday, 300,000 people moves to and fro Singapore (before COVID-19 pandemic arrived). I personally took a trip to Singapore and back vie the Causeway and I ‘WASTED’ 4 hours in total. From the waiting and queuing to waiting and then queuing again and imagine how much productive time we have wasted everyday. Then, multiply this by just 100,000 people…  Will tell you another two important reasons after this.

Photo by Pixabay on
Pexels.com

Article in malaymail.com
  The Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) project will be launched on November 22 in conjunction with the birthday of Johori Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. Malaysia Rapid Transit System Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Zarif Hashim updated Sultan Ibrahim on the RTS project, following its inclusion in the Budget 2021, which was tabled last Friday.

He was quoted as saying, “During the briefing, we touched on the project’s launch, which will be done on-line, as well as the final designs for the station. We expect to begin work on the site towards the last week of November after the official launch.” The long-awaited RTS project, connecting Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru to Woodlands in Singapore, will see about 10,000 passengers per hour each way to help ease traffic congestion on the Johor Causeway. Do refer to the full article here:
Article in malaymail.com

Property market boost

For many of the working people who chose to rent the smallest room in Singapore to save cost because they did not want to leave home at 530am and coming back 930pm, it is now possible to convert that S$700 (RM2,141) per month into monthly mortgage payment and get one condominium unit somewhere along the RTS line instead. After all, travelling to work is now just a RTS ride away.

I know, HDB flats are clean, well maintained and it’s subsidised by the Singaporean government. However, the currency advantage meant that just a RTS ride away, a typical SIngaporean family staying in a HDB flat could now choose to stay in a full facility condominium where the whole family could enjoy swimming in the pool anytime they wanted and could even hold BBQ parties occasionally. It can be like a weekend resort too.

Competitiveness of both countries are upgraded

Many times, when any new foreign multinational company is thinking of having a base in ASEAN, they may want both a headquarter as well as a manufacturing plant (not the low cost type). As a team, Malaysia and Singapore could actually work together to attract that same MNC to Now, consider both at the same time. Now talents from both JB and SG could be available for all these new investments.

Be serious yeah, moving forward, there are a few ASEAN neighbours which will become more and more competitive. Population wise, many are bigger too. We (Malaysia and Singapore) better work together versus working against one another.

Economic Growth for both sides

Let’s also not forget that more links also meant that there would be more economic exchanges too. More Johoreans could visit Singapore as well without the need to fork out S$300 per night for a 4-star hotel. They could do day-trips.  This is good for the Singaporean economy as well and it’s definitely not a one-way traffic yeah. We need to also remember that over 90 percent of Singaporeans do not own a car. The RTS is an enabler so that every weekend can be another city visit versus just the same island.

Let’s see more details for Rapid Transit System on the 22nd November and I will write another article.  Happy anticipating.

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Press Release: Juwai IQI – Rapid Vaccine Campaign Leaves Real Estate Herd Immunity Expectations Behind – 62% of Agents Predict 2022 Herd Immunity

Kuala Lumpur (30 June 2021)
 — The Malaysian vaccination campaign has accelerated so quickly that the real estate industry will need to update its expectations about when the country will achieve herd immunity and how soon life will get back to normal. That’s according to a new survey by Kuala Lumpur-headquartered real estate technology group Juwai IQI.

The Juwai IQI survey of real estate agents in May and June found that just 6% believe the country will achieve herd immunity this year, and another 62% of agents believe that will take place in 2022.

Commenting on the survey findings, Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group CEO Kashif Ansari said:

“The survey results show how quickly the vaccination campaign has accelerated. Just 45 days ago, international supply constraints made it was difficult to obtain the vaccines the country needs. The government has resolved the shortage. The government’s current plan is to vaccinate 80% of the population and achieve herd immunity by December of this year.

“This means that the real estate market may return to rapid growth more quickly than developers and agents currently expect. They will need to adjust their plans for hiring, investment and marketing forward to catch up to the speed with which life is likely to return to normal.

“The Prime Minister has said that the government is spending RM400 million to increase the vaccine supply and obtaining enough doses to protect 130 per cent of the population. The government is accelerating the vaccination effort to enable Malaysians to get back to normal again.

“Malaysia is aggressively ramping up its vaccination efforts so that life can return to normal. There is even a fleet of mobile vaccine trucks to reach people who might otherwise be overlooked.

“At least 1.9 million people, or about 6.2 per cent of the population, have already received both doses of the vaccine. The data also showed that 5 million people, or 15.9 per cent of the population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“As more people get vaccinated, fewer people will get sick and fewer will spread the infection. That will drive the number of new cases down so that the country can reopen and relaxing its restrictions.

“Real estate professionals still have to adjust their expectations to match the reality of the fast- moving vaccination campaign. The government is clear that life should be back to normal by the end of the year.

“In locations such as the Federal Territories, life could be back to normal much sooner than year- end. The government reports that 80% of the population in Putrajaya has already had one or two doses of the vaccine. Once you are fully vaccinated, your chances of getting sick drop dramatically. I’ve seen data that suggests two shots of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines, for example, reduce by more than 90 per cent your chances of having to go to the hospital or of dying from Covid.

“Despite the fast-improving situation, only 6% of agents are optimistic that herd immunity can be achieved this year, in 2021. They haven’t caught up to the fast-paced vaccination campaign. Thirty-four per cent of agents believe herd immunity can be achieved in the first half of 2022, while 28% believe the country can achieve herd immunity in the second half of 2022. The remaining 33% of agents believe the nation can achieve immunity sometime in 2023 or in 2024.

“I am sure agent attitudes will change rapidly as they become more aware of the progress the country is making. They will realize that developers again are ready to build, sellers are ready to sell and buyers are ready to buy — all much sooner than they might have expected a month ago.

Vaccination Offers Best Hopes of Recovery

“The only way things can return to some form of normalcy is for all eligible persons to get inoculated. The vaccine is the only way we can defeat the virus.

“Covid and its variants will probably never completely go away. Still, once a large enough share of the population is vaccinated, it will not be able to spread widely nor cause us to shut down our economy again.

“According to the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia will hit a 10% national vaccination rate by mid-July this year.

What Is Herd Immunity?

“Herd immunity will drive the number of cases down and allow things to return to normal. We will achieve herd immunity when enough people in the community have protective antibodies against Covid to prevent it from spreading because of vaccination.”

The Survey

Juwai IQI conducted the survey in May and June of 2021, polling 397 real estate agents from across Malaysia.

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Believe please. Rating at A3 and outlook is POSITIVE

It’s tough to beat out all the negative news out there. After
Fortune
, at least we now have another piece of good news. This time, from Moody’s Investors Service. It has affirmed the government bond and issuer ratings of the government of Malaysia at A3 and the outlook remains positive. What is A3? A3 means the same as A-. Remember the rating from Fitch? Read here:
A- rating down soon, Not Yet, but soon.
 A3 means ‘Upper Premium Grade’. Pretty good description yeah. that’s already two international rating agencies as well as an international business magazine telling the world that your money should still be pretty safe in Malaysia. Yes I know, your colleague tells you otherwise. I am pretty sure your colleague gets his sources from somewhere. So, decision is yours on whom best to rely upon.

Moody’s said that main reason for this reaffirmation is because the government is sticking to its policy of deficit reduction as well as the fiscal reform which will help in defending against the cyclical commodity price shocks. Malaysia’s fundamental is able to withstand some of the adverse external environment, lower oil prices and even the global financial market volatility. These are where we are strong: macroeconomic stability, domestic capital market depth, and a favourable government debt structure. In brief, as at now, the Malaysian government is still doing the right things and none are so bad that the ratings would be going down suddenly where Moody’s is concerned.

I think some readers would already know that I see 2015 continuing as another year of opportunity. Negative sentiments are still prevailing in the market and this represents a huge opportunity unless we choose to just miss it and wait. Fundamentally, there are still way too many companies on Bursa worth buying to keep but always buy undervalued counters. Do read books on Warren Buffet to understand what he meant by ‘undervalued’. Oh yeah, whether during good times or bad times, there are ALWAYS speculative counters waiting for people to buy and perhaps earn huge or lose huge. ALWAYS try not to be tempted. I said try because majority would still be tempted anyway. Well, good luck, perhaps you may just get lucky this time. Happy reading and deciding.

written on 3 Feb 2015

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Rawang, the next potential property hotspot?

Rawang is the next potential hotspot, according to BRDB Developments Sdn Bhd. Okay, for those who prefer the Semenyih side, you can ignore this article. Haha. Semenyih is South-East of Kuala Lumpur city centre. Rawang is North-West of Kuala Lumpur city centre. it’s a clear distinction for supporters of both sides yeah. One side is nearer to Ipoh while the other side to Negeri Sembilan. Coming back to the article I
read today in themalaysianreserve.com
 BRDB’s CEO Kajendra Pathmanathan says that it is strengthening its landbank in Rawang because it seens Rawang as the new hotlocation and growth area in the coming years. (Note yeah, coming years is usually more than 2 but perhaps less than 10 since if I want to say over 10 years, I would usually use ‘decade’ instead of coming years. I like Rawang too even if I am equally confident of areas beyond Puchong too)

Kajendra said, “We want to bring what we are known for in matured areas, such as Bangsar, into Rawang because we think that Rawang will be the future residential hotspot.” BRDB will be looking to replicate its formula for developing Bangsar as a complete township into Rawang. It has just launched the first two phases of its RM2 billion Tamansari development. The Tamansari development will be an anchor project for the company.  The Tamansari development sits on a 99.15ha of land, encompassing a total of 16 phases, expected to be completed over the next 10 to 15 years.  The first phase of the project — the Amaryllis, was fully sold, while the second phase — Camelia was introduced in mid-2017. “The remaining phases of the Tamansari development will be developed in accordance to the market’s movement, of which we will make the necessary announcement once things are further materialised,” Kajendra added.

Some other points about Rawang that was mentioned in the article: Rawang is easily accessible from Sungai Buloh, Petaling Jaya and the Kuala Lumpur (KL) city centre, via the KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway, Guthrie Corridor and the North-South Expressway.  BRDB also has several planned commercial and education developments in Rawang that are expected be launched by September 2018. Kajendra shared this when asked about the property market outlook. “I think investors should be confident that there would be some stability in the market, moving forward.”  BRDB’s “Art of Living” project, that was also announced yesterday for its Tamansari development, denotes an outdoor and cultural endeavour to enrich the living experience of its residents and visitors.
That article in themalaysianreserve here.

Perhaps we look at googlemap (pretty neutral unless if one day it skews the result for some developers who pays them?) to understand where Rawang is for working professionals who need a bigger space and yet working in the KL city centre. It’s 40km away and thus it would involve a change of lifestyle if one wants to arrive in office on time every working day. Semenyih is slightly further away, perhaps 5-8km more. Well, if we are talking about comparing a place 40km away or 45km away, I think we can group them in the same group. If there are choices which are half the distance and
similarly priced for the size and quality, the decision should be easier.

There was also an
earlier article in propertyinsight about Rawang’s population

which has reached 700,000. In other words, I would not say this is a totally new area for everyone. Happy choosing that home sweet home yeah.

written on 25 Feb 2018

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Rawang real estate with the largest mall in Malaysia

My wife said Rawang is very far away 3 years ago when we were scouting for a new condo. We were looking for a bigger place after staying in Kelana Puteri for 1 year. I had just moved to KL over three years ago and moved in to Kelana Jaya which I had bought many years before. Well, to be very exact, Rawang is just 31km to KLCC, Jalan Ampang or 30 minutes under a non=peak condition. Semenyih or even
Klang is definitely further away
 at closer to 40km. She loves shopping too, just like me and when I shared about THE TWO which will be the largest mall in Malaysia when it’s completed, she agreed that perhaps Rawang can be a choice. Haha.

As per reported in a few medias, THE TWO is the
largest mall in Malaysia
 once completed.It will have the largest international indoor theme park in South-East Asia, with outdoor and indoor swimming pools and it will be built on a 20.4 ha piece of land. The developer is DA Land. It is expected to be a tourist hub too.  as well as the largest mall in Malaysia is set to be a tourist hub when it is completed. It will have two distinct phases, Phase 1A and 1B. Phase 1A is the heart of the shopping mall and will focus on entertainment, dining and shopping through integrated developments such as the outlet mall and indoor and outdoor theme parks. It will be known as the Theme Park Resort. Phase 1B comprises of a hotel, serviced residences and a showroom office.

As it is located right beside the North-South Expressway, The Two wants to be a stopover for local and international tourists travelling along the highway. I don’t think I would stop at
Rawang since it is already next to Exit 113
 (Sungai Buloh) which I would normally go to. However, since it is extremely near to me, if the mall and everything is very attractive, this will give my family and I another good choice. We could even have dinner there before leaving for my Ipoh hometown. Sanderson Group will be designing the theme park. They were also designers for Disneyland in Tokyo, Japan; Warner Brothers’ Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia; and Universal Studios in Sentosa Island, Singapore.Its first phase with a gross development value of RM2 billion would be completed in 4 years. It will have the largest indoor theme park in Asia, with 600,000 sq ft.

Note, buy Rawang only if you personally love the place and could accept the travelling time. This is the same advice for anyone who buys a place out of the 25km radius from the city centre. My personal gauge is that a
travelling time of below 1 hour
 should be considered safe as it will be the norm in the future. Just look at the more advanced countries to understand that properties are being purchased ever further away from CBD, due to affordability. Happy following and yes, I would love for another huge mall close to me.

written on 18 July 2016

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Rawang: Last phase of M-Aruna launching soon.

Using google map, Rawang to KLCC Park in Jalan Ampang is as near as 30.2km or as far as 40.5 km. Other places also in the radar of landed home hunters include these few areas. We also see how far they are to KLCC Park in Jalan Ampang. Semenyih is 38.3km away. Bangi is 33.3km away. Shah Alam is 30.2km away. Since we are not clear that Rawang is REALLY not the furthest away among all these other choices, please do continue reading.

According to
an article in theedgemarkets.com
  Mah Sing Group Bhd plans to launch Delphy, the third and final phase of its M Aruna township in Rawang, in August 2021. Delphy consists of 2-storey link homes.  Mah Sing founder and group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum says “Driven by the economic recovery, we believe that it is the right time for homebuyers to upgrade and secure their ideal home. M Aruna’s Delphy is the last phase of the township and will definitely fit the demand of homebuyers who seek landed residential properties.”

Delphy will comprise 177 units of 2-storey link homes, with built-ups of 1,800 sq ft (20ft by 75ft). Prices will start from RM662,800. The built-up is 1,800 sq ft. Nearby amenities include AEON Rawang (5km away), NSK Trade City (8km), Giant Hypermarket Rawang (10km) and Tesco Rawang (13km). Educational facilities in the vicinity include SK Taman Desa, SJK Kota Emerald, SJK Kundang and SMK Bandar Tasik Puteri. Do read the full article here:
Article in theedgemarkets.com

If Rawang is within your consideration, then do these 3 things

#1 – Drive there for a few weekends and view all the different developments there. It’s not just Mah Sing which is there. Other townships include Gamuda Gardens (by Gamuda Land),
Saujana Rawang (by Glomac Berhad)
, Bandar Tasik Puteri (by Low Yat Group), Emerald Rawang (by Guocoland), Tamansari (by BRDB) and Scientex Rawang (by Scientex). I have been to every single one of these projects before our current CMCO. What do I think? We can chat over coffee yeah. Haha.

#2 – Ask all these sales people in all these different developments, what’s so great about their project and jot them down. Give them objections and see if they actually have an answer for it. Read reviews of the project online as well. The project where all the great things about them matches all the things you needed, then you move to the final thing; looking at the design of the home.

#3 – Frankly, DO NOT buy a home because of the super attractive sales gallery or design or even the size of the home being biggest of all. All these are secondary. Make sure all other things matches first. A home will be a home sweet home because of all the important supporting factors and definitely not just because of the nice design alone. Of course, if the design is very bad, skip that too.

Happy deciding yeah. Of course, I do think Rawang is another upcoming and growing suburb and it will be very popular too because of the population growth in the whole of Greater KL. Not everyone wants to stay in a high-rise and not everyone can afford landed in those popular areas which are already firmly in 7 figures today.

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‘A ray of hope’ for property market Malaysia

I am just quoting Knight Frank Malaysia executive director research and consultancy Judy Ong. She said that the recent rebound in Malaysia’s economy  and strengthening of the Malaysian ringgit offer a ray of hope for recovery in the local property market.
(we were not exactly having negative growth rates in previous few quarters, so recent rebound may not be the best description here. As for the currency, I think it is more of US$ depreciating recently)
  She also added, “Malaysia remains as an attractive investment destination in the region due to its political stability, well developed infrastructure and stable property market with relatively lower entry prices that continue to offer reasonable returns.” Do read the
full article in TheStar here.
 So, yes in brief, the view is pretty positive for property market Malaysia by a very famous property research firm.

Knight Frank Malaysia senior manager for international project marketing Dominic Heaton-Watson offered his views that it is important for investors to keep in mind the fundamentals which underpin property markets.
(Very true indeed. Let’s be reminded again that fundamentals do not change overnight. As for Ringgit, well whatever will be, will be, right? Hopefully our
neighbour cares to listen to Bank Negara’s ‘advice recently
)
Beyond his comments, the findings from Knight Frank’s Global Currency Report shows that fundamental market indicators such as price performance and yield should not be overlooked.  Knight Frank Asia Pacific head of research Nicholas Holt said currency is always a factor driving purchaser patterns and property asset performance. He said, “Currency can influence returns at the purchase, hold and disposal stages and investors need to be aware of how fluctuations can impact total returns over the lifetime of an investment”
Again, that full article here.

I personally think property market should also take into account a very important factor, the demographics of the population.  I know, some people think Malaysia is an awesome place to retire. I do agree but if I were to retire, I would not want to retire at a place where everyone is as old as me or older. Somehow I need more vibrancy. A younger population also mean there are a lot more happenings, progress and of course, a continuous price appreciation for the assets, along as the economy keeps moving.
Malaysia definitely have a young demographics.
Our median age is below 30, by the way. To all the property buyers who are buying because they are intending to stay here, you have definitely made a good choice. The reason? I love Malaysia too. Haha.

written on 29 Aug 2017

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Potential to reach RM3.75? As usual, it SHOULD depend on trade.

The following was said by Standard Chartered Bank chief economist for Asean and South Asia Edward Lee. “US dollar is generally still overvalued and in Asia, the ringgit is one of the currencies that is undervalued against the US dollar.”  He is a chief economist for a world renowned bank.  Here’s that
Full article in FreeMalaysiaToday (FMT) here.
With regards to his view, I shared a some views much earlier. An earlier article in July 2015 here. “
Ringgit is undervalued. I agree. “

By the way, the country is certainly growing stronger and not about to go bankrupt. Yes, the article and even this latest assessment came from a little me.

Here’s that assessment from Bank Negara Malaysia just days ago. “In 2017, the Malaysian economy recorded a robust growth of 5.9% (2016: 4.2%), supported by faster expansion in both private and public sector spending.” As for 2018, this is their assessment. “Amid the stronger global economic conditions, the Malaysian economy is projected to grow by 5.5% – 6.0% in 2018. Domestic demand will continue to be the anchor of growth, underpinned by private sector activity.”
Here’s that full report for download.
Reminder, this is the BNM report and not some government report or some politician’s assessment.

Coming back to the FMT article.
 The ringgit is expected to reach between 3.70 and 3.75 against the US dollar in the second half of the year on the back of the country’s solid economic fundamentals. Lee said, “We have seen a period when the emerging markets did not do so well because of the economic fundamentals.  Now the emerging markets are back to being positive and, in that sense, it is positive for emerging markets’ assets.” About the ringgit, he said, “Based on our estimation, the US dollar is generally still overvalued and we feel that in Asia, the ringgit is one of the currencies that is undervalued against the US dollar.” When it comes to the trade war, Lee shared that it is not all gloom because Malaysia may even see some positive spillover from it. He said, “In terms of some of the key exports from China to the US, you can see Malaysia as being one of the key exporters as well.”

All the best to all the developers yeah since I think everything has slowed down with the

anticipation of the upcoming General Election.

It may seem to many that it’s not the best time for any new launchings but actually when the right target market is given a choice which is at the right price, the better ones would usually make the right decision. This is the reason why property investors would continue investing while the waiting ones would continue waiting. Funny world but always true not just in Malaysia but everywhere around the world. Happy following and investing. Voting too!

written on 31 Mar 2018

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Reactivation of MM2H is applauded by MIEA. Concerns and suggestions too.

I was very happy when MM2H was reactivated with an enhanced set of requirements. I will be writing about it soon. Let’s just say that to me, MM2H is not just about getting people to come to Malaysia but it’s also a very good branding as well. The more people talk about us positively, the more we will be on top of their mind as a place to visit. Period. More about this soon. Let’s now look at views from the Malaysia Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA).

Press Release:

Reactivation of MM2H

In the first instance, we applaud the Ministry of Home Affairs to have reactivated the MM2H programme which indirectly will help our nation in the economic recovery plan.

Being a real estate association that represents the fraternity at large, we are always concerned as to how real estate laws, policies and programs can play a role in helping to strengthen the real estate market at which ever point the market is at.

We wish to establish that there are currently 57,748 MM2H holders having contributed RM11.98 billion to the economy. While the move to reactivate the MM2H is a good move, we are of the opinion that certain new requirements needs to be revisited in order to stay on course of the purpose it was intended for.

Our observations and recommendations are as follows;

1. The quota of not more than 1% of the Malaysian population is acceptable to keep control of the limit of MM2H recipients.

2. The imposition of an increased processing fee and levy is acceptable to gain greater revenue for the country.

3. Increase in the minimum income of RM40k per month from current RM10k per month is too drastic a move. Perhaps different classes of applications can be tailored in order to cater to the various types of foreign applicants.

4. Having liquid assets of RM1.5 million from current RM350,000 (over 50yrs) & RM500,000 (under 50yrs) is a dramatic change and should be applicable based on the different class of application.

5. The tenure of the visa shall remain at 10 years to provide stability.

6. Placing fixed deposits of RM1m in a Malaysian bank from current RM150k (over 50yrs) & RM300k (under 50yrs) is a six-fold and three-fold increase which is a dramatic rise. This again should be based on the different class of application. This sudden move will discourage foreigners to participate in the programme and it will not be a stimulus for the agents to secure them.

7. Applying this new rule to existing MM2H recipients will be dampening and not practical. Policies needs to be consistent in order to promote confidence. We propose that all
existing MM2H pass holders should not be affected by this new ruling
. It is more so to show our credibility in the laws we introduce and uphold it as there exists trust and goodwill from those who participated in the programme. It is important to state that we are involving people’s lives.

8. In the light of the pandemic and in order to allow sufficient time for preparation,we proposed to defer the new criteria to Dec 2022.

9. The real estate market is reeling due to COVID-19 and the lockdown. We should have plans for the recovery of the real estate sector and we see that MM2H will play an important part if we play the cards well.

10.Malaysia is not the only country which has similar programs, making it harder will drive the new applicants away and secondly to retrospectively apply these rules to existing pass holders will give a negative impact on our MM2Hprograms.

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I was very happy when MM2H was reactivated with an enhanced set of requirements. I will be writing about it soon. Let’s just say that to me, MM2H is not just about getting people to come to Malaysia but it’s also a very good branding as well. The more people talk about us positively, the more we will be on top of their mind as a place to visit. Period. More about this soon. Let’s now look at views from the Malaysia Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA).

Press Release:
Reactivation of MM2H

In the first instance, we applaud the Ministry of Home Affairs to have reactivated the MM2H programme which indirectly will help our nation in the economic recovery plan.

Being a real estate association that represents the fraternity at large, we are always concerned as to how real estate laws, policies and programs can play a role in helping to strengthen the real estate market at which ever point the market is at.

We wish to establish that there are currently 57,748 MM2H holders having contributed RM11.98 billion to the economy. While the move to reactivate the MM2H is a good move, we are of the opinion that certain new requirements needs to be revisited in order to stay on course of the purpose it was intended for.

Our observations and recommendations are as follows;

1. The quota of not more than 1% of the Malaysian population is acceptable to keep control of the limit of MM2H recipients.

2. The imposition of an increased processing fee and levy is acceptable to gain greater revenue for the country.

3. Increase in the minimum income of RM40k per month from current RM10k per month is too drastic a move. Perhaps different classes of applications can be tailored in order to cater to the various types of foreign applicants.

4. Having liquid assets of RM1.5 million from current RM350,000 (over 50yrs) & RM500,000 (under 50yrs) is a dramatic change and should be applicable based on the different class of application.

5. The tenure of the visa shall remain at 10 years to provide stability.

6. Placing fixed deposits of RM1m in a Malaysian bank from current RM150k (over 50yrs) & RM300k (under 50yrs) is a six-fold and three-fold increase which is a dramatic rise. This again should be based on the different class of application. This sudden move will discourage foreigners to participate in the programme and it will not be a stimulus for the agents to secure them.

7. Applying this new rule to existing MM2H recipients will be dampening and not practical. Policies needs to be consistent in order to promote confidence. We propose that all
existing MM2H pass holders should not be affected by this new ruling
. It is more so to show our credibility in the laws we introduce and uphold it as there exists trust and goodwill from those who participated in the programme. It is important to state that we are involving people’s lives.

8. In the light of the pandemic and in order to allow sufficient time for preparation,we proposed to defer the new criteria to Dec 2022.

9. The real estate market is reeling due to COVID-19 and the lockdown. We should have plans for the recovery of the real estate sector and we see that MM2H will play an important part if we play the cards well.

10.Malaysia is not the only country which has similar programs, making it harder will drive the new applicants away and secondly to retrospectively apply these rules to existing pass holders will give a negative impact on our MM2Hprograms.

We would like to propose that the Ministry of Home affairs should also consider to look into different classes of applicants to cater to the various types of foreign investors to attract the right groups of people who can add value to our country. Secondly, a review should be done in the applying of the new rules to existing pass holders so as to ensure, there is no disorder in the lives of the 57,000 pass holders. This will boost the confidence of foreign investors both in our nation and its policies.

We hope the positive view for the betterment of our country be taken into serious consideration.

—— the end—–

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Reading, Southampton, Newcastle and Iskandar

The first one is pronounced ‘REDING’ as in past tense of read. Southampton and Newcastle are more famous of course as we see them in action every week in the Premier League. What do these three have in common? All three are famous UK universities which has opened their branch campus here in Iskandar. They are part of the Educity blueprint which seeks to transform Iskandar into an education hub for overseas students. What does it hold for the property sector in Iskandar you may ask. These are just students, they can’t be buying properties, or can they?

Actually, I do agree, if the parents are super rich, they may prefer their children to be enrolled in prestigious universities in the home country. Nevertheless, these super rich parents are nowhere as many as those parents who are quite rich but may not want to spend too much. Sending their kids to a good UK university to a much cheaper place, not to mention nearer may just be more appealing. Consider this. Typically, one year of tuition fees and living expenses in UK may be RM100,000 conservatively. However, doing a degree here in Iskandar and graduating with one may set you back just over RM100,000. Note, the Degree certificate is identical to the one in UK and the medium of instruction is English with majority of the lecturers expats because otherwise it would be tough for them to maintain a similar programme and standard as that of its origin country.

When these universities reaches a typical capacity of say 3,000 students, the total housing needed per university may reach 600 units of apartment / condos easily. Ratio of 5 students to one apartment / condo. What about the teaching staffs? What about the admin staffs? What about the supporting industries such as food? Services? Now, do you see a good demand for these units? However, if you are thinking of buying a RM1,000,000 condo today to cash in on that idea, think again. For those you can only target the senior management staffs of the university. Personally, I would just buy an apartment, quite close to Educity and make it super comfortable, fully furnished with broadband and even Astro etc. I think the demand is there. We shall see if my plan works in near future.

Oh yeah, I did not yet include the following institutions: Marlborough College, Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), Netherlands’ Maritime Institute of Technology and Raffles University.

written on 4 June 2014

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40% ready for retirement and 80% have strategies!

Do you know this property investment strategy? Buy a KL property today, pay for it slowly and by the time we need to retire, just sell it and we can move back to our little hometowns out of KL. Actually, this is not such a bad strategy even considering that we would own just one property from now till we retire. Of course, the more the merrier and currently, I have more friends without a property compared to those with a property. Looking ahead however, how prepared are Malaysians when it comes to their retirement?

Latest

Bank Negara Malaysia’s survey as reported in Bernama showed that

92% of Malaysians worry over their
financial health
 and needs at old age as well as being unprepared for retirement. According to BNM assistant governor Jessica Chew Cheng Lian there are 33 percent who were ‘very worried’ while another 59 percent is “a bit worried.” I personally believe that when we are worried or very worried, we would do something about it. Hopefully, a few years down the road, these numbers would improve then. The worst thing is that we are not prepared and yet we are not worried.

She further revealed something more positive. 40 percent of Malaysians said they are ready for retirement and 80 percent have strategies to meet expenses at old age. The strategies include relying on the children or partner, continuing working, and relying on government financial assistance. Most Malaysians have a passive strategy for retirement. 42 percent preferring to buy properties, 25% opting to save money in the bank and 18% depending on the
Employee Provident Fund (EPF)
. I personally believe in all three and not just any one of these three. What’s your strategy? Happy retiring.

written on 11 Aug 2016

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Getting ready for the next global recession?

In an article by a prominent economist, Tan Sri Lin See Yan in The Star, it was entitled, “Watch out for the next global recession.” To summarise, in the recently concluded IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Lima, Peru, global economic outlook appears to be a gloomy one. Growth forecasts were downgraded and it is now expected to be 3.1% in 2015, the lowest since the 2007/2008 crisis. US economy remain weak and Germany, the leading nation for European Union is facing falling exports and industrial production. China is leading a downturn in emerging market economies(EMEs). I think this includes Malaysia as well.

In fact, simulations by IMF showed that the worst case scenario would be that the world’s growth falling to just 2 percent which is already regarded as a global recession. Citibank forecasts that a global recession will happen in 2016. In fact Japan is already on the verge of recession and Europe faces the potential of deflation. EMEs continue to show weaker growth as well. In fact for EMEs as a whole, 2015 is already the 5th consecutive year of growth decline. Main causes include poor productivity and low aggregate demand which is compounded by an aging population and political instability. Majority of commodity exporters experienced a sharp fall in their currencies against the US$.

Okay, enough of these bad news. If you want, you can read that long article in The Star. Just drop by their online site. The question that is on my mind would be what would be some of the potential opportunities that may appear in the next few months. Perhaps the current slowdown in property transactions would get worse before it gets better? Maybe the current stock rally may not last and Ringgit’s current value may drop further? If we are eyeing the property market, have we identified that few properties that we would like to buy if prices fall? Read here:
Why 10 percent is significant to me

How would you choose some undervalued stocks which should still perform well and thus the upside potential is there once BURSA’s bull returns strongly? Read here:
Undervalued is slow. Speculating is fast

I think it’s better that we prepare and not just be forwarding all these negative news around and yet doing nothing about it. Whatever happens to the world will not give you money for your retirement. Whatever you do would. Happy deciding.

written on 24 Oct 2015

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Ready, Steady, Grab the opportunity. (KLCC area)

During lunch the other day, a good friend shared with me about her second property. It was a condo unit of over 1,500sf in KLCC area for just slightly lower than RM750,000. That’s around RM490 psf, a price which is considered impossible for all new launches today in the KLCC area. This tells us that the secondary market remain attractive and there are gems to be found when one is ready. In fact even when we talk about affordable units today, it should not be confined to just the state or the federal government’s initiatives, it should include the often overlooked secondary properties as well.

My friend has been talking to me about buying another unit for the past one year.
(Updated recent May 2016 examples of listings – as per image)
 She has been checking the prices of all the condos in the areas she liked and has even gone to view some units, both new and secondary. Thus, one can say that in terms of the pricing in the areas that she like, she is well versed with them. With more months, she continued to build up her war-chest and during one farewell lunch, she browsed a property portal and saw the unbelievable unit up for sale. She called, went viewing the next day and paid earnest deposit right after. Come on, when it’s really good, it’s not the time to think. I told her, she was lucky because if I saw it first, I would have grabbed it too. She laughed and said she will help me to look out for other units.

Just a few days ago, a reader of kopiandproperty.com asked me if I would share with him how to buy a property without any downpayment. I told him that I have no idea and it is best that he go and look for those advertisements in Facebook of a few property gurus who kept telling everyone that if you follow their way you will be very rich. In fact, one does not need any money at all to buy. I disagree with this type of ‘Investment.’ Just think, what if majority of EVERYONE in the market is doing this. I think the mortgage crisis in US many years ago would happen again in Malaysia.

If it is investment, it should be like what my good friend did. She had a target for a second property, she saved ENOUGH downpayment for one unit. Then, she searched, browsed, viewed and then she found one. This is investment. This type of investment would hardly cause any bubble brewing because she is buying well within her means. Oh yeah, that property that she was buying belonged to a businessman who is relocating to Hong Kong. That agent she called stays in the same condo block. The condo is also not that new, around 15 years but maintenance has been good all these years. Things do happen when you are determined and work for it. Happy investing and stop speculating.

written on 3 June 2015, updated on 9 May 2016 with image of latest KLCC listings.

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Must stay in KLCC area? Don’t wait. Buy now!

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Ready to buy, buy, buy cheaper luxury stuffs?

Let’s not talk about property today. Let’s talk about my other interest, shopping. From shoes to watches to clothes and handbags for my wife (99% of all my wife’s handbags were bought by me), I could shop for hours. I think this is one way I can also manage whatever stress I may have from work. Of course, it must be managed CAREFULLY or less the stress would go into financial stress. Haha. Okay, I passed by Mitsui Outlet Park the other day when I was driving towards KLIA2 to take a flight to Singapore. I think it’s ready to open on 30th May 2015. Yes, it’s just 7 days away! Take a look below:

The official website said that this is ‘where luxuries always come affordable.’ To be honest, it would be tough for luxuries to become affordable BUT I think it is safe to say that when you are there, you get to buy original luxury at cheaper prices. Instead of going to many different shopping centres to find all the brands in Mitsuit Outlet Park, you can now drive to just one place and find them. Please do note that ‘Outlet’ means these goods are possibly one season or more behind. In the US or Hong Kong, luxury must also be the same season. Not many wants to be seen with last season’s handbag. Here in Malaysia or even Singapore, only the brand counts, fortunately. That’s why there are lots of Singaporean cars in Johor Premium Outlet every weekend.

Some sports brands which are available are as follows:

I should be there on the second weekend. If I bought many stuffs, will share in another article. If I did not buy much, well I think this Mitsui Outlet Park needs to do even better. For those who managed to get some great deals, do share yeah. Happy buying!

written on 23 May 2015

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Ready to work beyond 70? Get ready to enjoy it.

I enjoy working. These days I enjoy working with people even if at times, it can be tiring. Do you enjoy working? How about working till 70 or beyond? According to one latest study, Singapore Life Panel Study, Singaporeans from the ages of 55-59 expect to work till 65. Half of the men and one third of the women surveyed think so.
This is the article in StraitsTimes.
Basically, the study shows that there would be more older people in the workplace since people expect to be working longer. One major reason is definitely because people are living longer which meant that the money they have would have to be stretched longer. In the same article, Professor Susann Rohwedder, a senior economist at non-profit research organisation Rand Corporation in the United States, said: “Internationally, what drives retirement are the institutions and financial incentives. When there’s a financial incentive to get out of work, you will get out.”

Another major reason stated for these older folks working longer is because they do not have pensions.This is not a situation unique to Singapore though. This is an earlier article with regards to the situation in Malaysia.
Working longer may be a necessity and not a choice.
Before we start to complain that our EPF should work harder or to provide much higher returns, it is certainly time for us to also do more. What can we actually do about it? Or should we just work longer? Well, experts say that if we save one third every month, we should be able to

enjoy two thirds of what we have when we retire.
As for those who has only EPF as ‘investment’ today, it’s really important to note that just relying on
EPF is not going to be enough.

I would just say that if we invest in a new property every 10 years, we should easily have 3 by the time we retire. Selling two of these is likely to give us more money to sustain us until the day we say bye bye.

I say get ready to enjoy it because my ex CEO used to tell all of us that if we enjoy what we are doing, then we are no longer working. I love to teach and I hope one day I can become a lecturer again. ( I was a part-time lecturer for a UK-degree programme in Penang for a few semesters before)  I think the younger generation just need more interesting lecturers who can pique their interest to learn and not some boring lectures. Haha. 😛  More importantly however is to have enough that we can enjoy our
retirement like David Backham.
More importantly, we should have more financial investment knowledge too.
Do
 you save enough to retire? Better save enough to invest

Here are some resource to help us in our journey.
Resources we have access to for our investments

Happy learning and investing.

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written on 28 Oct 2017

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“Real connectivity” needed for business opportunities

TheEdgeProperty’s symposium on the High Speed Rail must have received huge attention.The symposium was organised by TheEdgeProperty.com and supported by The Edge Malaysia. Yes, kopiandproperty.com was also invited to attend but I have planned a family holiday many months back. The presenting sponsor is Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC). I think from this one event, everyone has gotten better informed. Regardless of what the
naysayers say about the HSR
, I am very sure they continue to read and follow the news because they may still be worried to lose track of what’s really happening. Yes, this is no different from those who tell me “economy is so bad…” and the next question is “where should I buy.”

We are always open for more ‘opportunities.’ During the symposium on 27th August 2016, many experts have suggested that private and public sectors must collaborate to ensure “real connectivity.” This is the only way to allow business opportunities to grow. According to Ho Chin Soon, the chairman of Ho Chin Soon Research, “The improved connectivity will move the central of gravity from the central region to other places, such as how the highway connectivity has shifted the central gravity from Petaling Jaya to Puchong and now HSR will expand the golden triangle areas to open up more opportunities in older places like Bukit Bintang.” In terms of where the central gravity is, let’s not be too unduly worried. For first-time homebuyers and small time investors, we should ensure what we buy is
connected to the public transportation network
. It will provide more advantages compared to areas without such connections.

BBCC Development Sdn Bhd CEO Datuk Richard Ong said the connectivity between all public transportation systems, such as Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rapid Transit (LRT) and public buses also need to be improved to effectively connect people from HSR stations to other locations. This is very true but there must also be continuous steps to keep improving the ‘comfort’
level of these connectivities.
 All these stations should not be hot and stuffy every afternoon. Else, majority of all those non-office workers would still drive instead of taking the public transport. Malaysia is still a HOT country…….

This should not stop here. The bus stops should have sufficient benches (which will not absorb heat) and cover (a roof to keep away the sun and rain). No one would like to stand under the sun for even a few minutes while waiting for the bus. I think the current complaint is the punctuality of these buses. It has to be improved tremendously. Use Singapore as benchmark even if they should be better simply because of a smaller area of coverage. To be very frank, encouraging people to walk a few hundred metres (5-8 minutes) from their home to the nearest
public transportation point
 is not easy. Let’s ensure if they do walk, they do not start cursing when they arrive at those points.

Savills Malaysia executive chairman Christopher Boyd reminded everyone that infrastructure development is a
 long-term development
 which will not see an explosion in value in the short term. He explained, Based on the experience of countries which already have HSR, the rental yield growth and capital appreciation will take time to see the impact.” I also think the prices should not just suddenly appreciate. Else we would see the Central Business District (CBD) effects of many modern cities where everything within these places are grossly expensive. Even one car park slot in some of these areas are higher priced than a condo in Malaysia. Happy learning and yes, do read about all the comments from all the speakers / forum panelists in the symposium in
theedgeproperty.com.my

written on 27 Aug 2016

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Real deal. RM72,500 for a 657 sq ft LMC unit by balloting.

The state is Penang. The area is a

higher end one; Tanjung Tokong.

The lucky ones I believe are Penangites too. In fact, there were 87 of them. These are the winners who got one unit of the low-medium cost (LMC) apartment built by Eastern & Oriental Berhad (E&O).
Here’s that news in TheStar.
 It does not state how many people actually submitted their applications which would give us a better indication as to how many more are waiting for these LMC units. One lucky buyer said that she was currently living in her father’s three bedroom flat in Air Itam and now she could move to the new unit with her two children, aged 12 and 18. She said this was her third application after her 2004 and 2008 applications. (I could not imagine 8 pax within a flat. Assuming the flat is 650 sq ft, then everyone has just 81 sq ft.
Hong Kong’s micro-flats start from the same size as a Tesla. 162 sq ft.

The LMC flat is Selasih Court. The units are sold at only RM72,500. Another successful applicant was a fisherman with a family who has stayed in a transit home for the past 10 years. He is a father of 10. This was E&O’s third LMC housing project, after the Court and Palm Court in 2009. E&O had delivered 1,336 units of affordable housing since 2009. Penang State Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that the state would continue to ensure that affordable housing in Penang is fixed at RM42,000 and RM72,500 for low-cost (LC) and LMC housing. Selasih Court is a 2.3ha development comprising 644 units by E&O Property (Penang) Sdn Bhd with 544 units sold to UDA Holdings Berhad. All the units are measuring 657 sq ft and are housed in two 15-storey blocks.
Here’s that news in TheStar.

Do you need a home? If you believe you qualify to apply and need a more comprehensive list of the affordable homes in Penang? Do refer to friendly property site in Penang here.
PenangPropertyTalk: Affordable Housing Projects and Location.
One major requirement is that the buyer would have to be a Penangite. I think this is okay because the state should ensure all Penangites have a place to stay first. As for those who are buying these units to rent out to others, please do reconsider. From the above article, the buyers really do need the units. My personal belief is that everyone should be assisted to own a home because this is a basic need. Nobody wants to rent a place and forever be under the whims and fancies of the owner. Happy staying there dear Penangites who are successful in getting one unit.

written on 30 Sept 2017

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Real estate agent in Penang property market

A friend just decided to join a real estate agency. It is his second time going into the field.

Ever wondered what it is like to be a registered real Estate agent dealing with Penang properties?I happen to have some experience with the agents and penang property market. Depending on how successful you are as an agent, your answer may be, ‘rewarding’. If you are struggling your answers may be it is tough! Real Estate agents are supposed to be a professional lot. If I have a family and I want to buy SOHO units, the real estate agent should give me sound advice. Options for me before I decide.

However where Penang is concerned,  one seller may ask ten agents to sell for him. This excludes the non- registered brokers, neighbours, security guards and relatives. With such an environment, it is not easy to be a good agent. Now we come to the main point. If it is so easy being a registered agents, it will not be easy to be an agent. I repeat. If it is so easy, it will become not easy. There would be 100,000 people queuing up to be real estate agents in Penang and it would be near impossible for you to earn a living as there are not that many properties on sale.

Thus, my advice is still, work hard, improve your property knowledge and negotiation skills. When the goings get tough,  the tough gets going. It takes time to build up your name. It takes word of mouth for people to know you are good. It takes a never ending effort if you would like to be successful and be very rich. Join a good agency, listen to the owner / mentor because if you are successful he is successful.

Last but not least, be a registered agent and do not do any ‘undertable’ stuffs. It’s your career and your life.

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Transactions, Prices, AGENTS, all down

It has been a long time that we have been hearing about the slowing down of the property transactions in Singapore and Malaysia. The prices in Singapore are also softening, especially the luxury ones and to a lesser extent, even the HDB ones. With less to fight for, the number of licensed real estate agents are also on a downtrend. In Singapore, with the current market sentiment and situation, there are a lower number of new property agents entering while some are choosing to just let their license lapse. (As per Council for Estate Agencies)

Current total property agents are at 30,830. I know this is down because 2 years ago, I have come to know that there were already 31,000 agents in Singapore. Thus, the number for 2015 is smaller than even the number that I know 2 years ago. Last year, there were a total of close to 32,000 agents. Total new agents are at 3,006 versus 3,336 a year ago and in 2013 it was 4,567! Yes, times are changing. The current number fortunately is still higher than the total in 2012 which was at 30,577 but the difference is very small.

Singapore’s having full employment and it’s Unemployment number is lower than 2%. This meant that there are more jobs waiting for you than there are talents which is the major reason why for many years Singapore has been attracting foreign talents too. Recently, these hiring of foreigners become much harder and I think this may be one reason why some of these agents are going back into the corporate world. Perhaps the new openings are indeed much more attractive as there are now restrictions in hiring foreigners before trying to fill it with a citizen first. However, I think when the times are better, many of these agents would be back. The reason being, when you are a property agent, there are actually no limits to your earning. As long as the market is good, sky is the limit to how much one can do. It should not be too long, hopefully.

written on 22 Jan 2015

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Real estate approved investments in Malaysia dropped 70 percent.

Just read another alarming piece of news for the property market, or is it? Isa crisis about to hit the Malaysian property market? According to MIDA’s numbers, approved investments in real estate for Malaysia dropped 70 percent from RM88.6 billion in 2014 to RM 26.9 billion in 2015. On an overall basis, Malaysia’s approved investments for 2015 at RM187billion was also 21 percent lower compared to 2014. MIDA however said that RM187 billion is still above its targeted annual average of RM148 billion. It was RM235.9 billion in 2014. So, perhaps they are right, Malaysia is still having a surplus from previous years when compared to the targeted number.  Happy? Sad? Confident with the number?

Actually, for those who kept saying that Malaysia’s property market has oversupply, this should be a good news. If the government kept approving all these new real estate investments, it should be pushing towards a bubble building and one day, bursting? For condos, read here:
Luxury condominiums oversupply in Kuala Lumpur
  For Iskandar, read here:
How true is Iskandar’s oversupply situation?
 In terms oversupply for commercial properties in Penang, read here:
Retail Penang is facing oversupply, more coming
  Even today, many are questioning why are there so many approved new high-rise offices being approved. Aren’t there already oversupply of offices in KL? Read here:
KL office rental under ‘threat’ due to over-supply
 Let’s hope this sudden drop can give the property market a breather. Honestly, as long as this is not continuous year after year, it should be just fine.

To those who believe that this is an alarming news indeed, then do note that today the whole world is potentially in a recession. Read here:
Getting ready for the next global recession?

China is slowing a lot when compared to just years ago if they do not have the largest reserves in the world, the whole world may be in deeper trouble. Even our strongest neighbour economically, Singapore has started to show some weakening signs with the continuous low oil prices. There are no signs of oil price recovering soon and even Petronas is looking to reduce its expenditure by RM15 – 20 billion for 2016! The approved real estate investments have to slow down with all these happening the background. We better be worried more if it does not.

Personally, the drop simply reflects what is happening in the world today and we should keep promoting Malaysia, that’s all. I am sure MIDA is not going to just sit down and do nothing. Seriously, luxury properties are the first to be hit when slowdown happens, especially when there are too many of them. As long as we buy objectively, everything looks okay for now. Anyone thinking of quick money should avoid the ‘sticky’ property market. Oh yeah, Ringgit has strengthened a bit compared to the nearly 19 percent fall last year. Perhaps better times are coming and it’s time for other countries’ currencies to be tested instead. As a Malaysian, I think we have had enough in 2015 where our currency is concerned. Happy ‘real estate’ thinking.

written on 1 Mar 2016

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Press Release: REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATIONS SAY NO TO ILLEGAL BROKERS UNDER THE TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION GUISE

Joint Press Statement
by
RISM, PEPS, PEHAM, MIPFM and MIEA

RE: REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATIONS SAY NO TO ILLEGALBROKERSUNDER THE TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION GUISE

We collectively wish to caution members of the public to deal only with Real Estate Agents and Firms registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP) when engaging any person or persons to carry out real estate services which include selling, buying, renting, leasing, tenancy administration and advisory services.

This is a reminder that there are people who are not estate agents but who are really operating estate agency business illegally, and using many forms of creative ideas to do so. Real Estate service is gazetted as a “professional service” under the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act 242, 1981, to protect the public.

It is also to ensure that if anyone other than those registered carries out the work as an agent in any form or shape or manner, they will be committing an offence and can be charged in court with a fine of not more than RM300,000.00 and imprisonment for not more than three years or both.

While this is the law, many have found the work of an agent ‘lucrative’ and have ‘jumped’ into provide real estate service. This then defeats the purpose of an Act of Parliament which is designed primarily to protect public interest and to detail out the professional obligations of what an Estate Agent should and should not do within the ambit of the law.

The process to be registered as a Real Estate Agent and to register a Real Estatefirmgoesthrough a rigorous process to ensure compliance of law. Real Estate Agents takeaminimumof FOUR years to be registered after exams and practical training before settingupReal Estate firms.

Real Estate Negotiators (RENs) are salespeople employed by registeredfirmsafter completing a Negotiators Certification Course and is issued with a RENtagwhoareunder the direct supervision of a Registered Estate Agent. Any wrong doingof thesalesperson (REN) will render the REA responsible and accountable and as theregulatingbody BOVAEP will take the necessary action.

Before anyone engages any individuals or firms to represent them find out whether they are registered. The process is simple:

1. Visit
http://search.lppeh.gov.my;&nbsp
;

2. Key in the Firm name under Search for Firm; or

3. Key in the Agent’s Name under Member if he or she is a REA or PEA; and if a REN do a Negotiator Search;

4. It will show whether they are registered with the board and the firm they are representing.

The profession is relatively young and are regulated by BOVAEP, the purpose is to protect the public against unethical practices. As in many other professions, there may or has had bad apples, hence, all ‘bad apples’ are or will be dealt with by the BOVAEP when complaints are made by the public against such individuals and disciplinary action can and will be taken including but not limited to the suspension of his or her practice.

This allows the public to have recourse and remedy through the board against agents who infringe the Act, Rules or the standards.

Traditionally, the illegal brokers are individuals in the Kampung or the city who acts as an intermediary to introduce buyers or sellers. Today, the profession has matured and organized firms are providing excellent services to the community.

It is under these situations that various setups appear under the guise of providing other services but indirectly carrying out real estate services. They call themselves financial consulting firms, tech firms, project marketing firms etc., with technology behind them.

Today, they not only do the work illegally but are challenging Act 242 openly and questioning the validity of what the government expects the professionals to do and directly undermines the sanctity of the Real Estate Profession.

As National Associations representing the various disciplines under the Act, we cannot watch and see the eroding of this moral, legal and fiduciary responsibilities by illegal brokers which undermines our work as registered practitioners.

We also have a moral duty to protect the profession and kindly request the authorities to do what is necessary to check the growing menace of illegals and the impact they are having on the profession and the public.

The public should also be discerning to check the validity of the practitioner before engaging them and not to pay any fees (as provided by the law) if they are found not to be registered and make formal complaints to BOVAEP if they have been misled.

In conclusion, it is important to state that we are not against innovations and technology, but we want to reinforce our stand that we cannot condone anyone, either individuals or companies in any form or shape who do not comply to existing laws of the land where it fits as far as Real Estate Agency practice is concerned.

Date : 7 Sep 2021

Click here for the full press release.

— End of press release —

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