SINGAPORE: Perennial Real Estate, a firm set up by former CapitaLand retail chief Pua Seck Guan, has hired Goldman Sachs, DBS and Standard Chartered to help it raise as much as S$1 billion (RM2.38 billion) in a property trust initial public offering (IPO), sources with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.

Perennial intends to list a business trust in Singapore that will comprise mostly shopping malls in China, said the sources, who declined to be named because the matter has not been made public.

Pre-marketing of the deal is scheduled to begin later this month with the formal launch of the IPO slated for the end of March, the sources added.

A spokeswoman for Perennial, which is involved in the development and management of malls as well as property funds, said the firm has businesses in China, India and Singapore and it "continues to explore opportunties in these markets".

The three banks either declined comment or could not be reached.

By Reuters

It was a mixed year for the Malaysian property sector in 2010.

A few things to note include the implementation of the LRT and MRT systems, the Greater KL Transformation Plans, the New Economic Model, the 10th Malaysia Plan and the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP).

The plans are to pave the way for the country to become a high-income nation, boosting demand for properties in Greater KL, Penang and Johor.

The government also announced plans to open up some of its prized landbank around Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley for redevelopment.

Among the government-owned prime land are the 20ha at Jalan Cochrane, some 12ha in Ampang Hilir, and smaller parcels at Jalan Stonor, in Brickfields and Bukit Ledang, off Jalan Duta.

But the crown in the jewel is the redevelopment of the Rubber Research Institute land in Sungai Buloh and the Sungai Besi land, and building of Matrade Centre and the Kuala Lumpur International Financial District (KLIFD)

OSK Research Sdn Bhd head of research Chris Eng said the LRT and MRT projects have added excitement to the market as some homebuyers have begun to speculate which housing areas would benefit from the locations of these stations.

"These projects in the short term will create excitement and attract more capital into the region, thereby potentially boosting or sustaining the values of certain properties," Eng told Business Times.

Malaysia's residential property sector is expected to register the highest sales transactions on record in 2010 of around RM50 billion (2009: RM42 billion).

MIDF senior analyst Syed Muhammed Kifni Syed Kamaruddin said this can be attributed to accommodative home-financing schemes and greater housing demand, especially from upgraders.

"Residential sales transactions are estimated to rise by some 20 per cent annually to breach the RM50 billion mark for the first time in 2010," he said.

Another notable good news is the guaranteed downpayment of 10 per cent for houses below RM220,000 for first-time buyers earning below RM3,000 a month, implying full financing of the value of a property.

Muhammed Kifni said the move will spur demand for affordable housing.

A new scheme where the Employees Provident Fund contributors can withdraw more from their Account 2 savings for their first home will help the market.

The bad news would be the cap on the loans-to-value ratio for third housing mortgages and onwards by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to curb speculation.

Effective November 3 last year, house buyers who have two mortgages and apply for their third loan can only get 70 per cent financing of their house value.

Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association president Datuk Michael Yam had said this will affect the upmarket segment by 20 per cent.

BNM's Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) hike to 2.25 per cent from a record low of 2 per cent in 2010 has softened the market a little.

But Previn Singhe, founder of Zerin Properties, said broad-based landed properties and condominiums in good location will continue to move.

By Business Times

KUALA LUMPUR: Main-board listed Hua Yang Bhd is selling 73 retail units in its flagship commercial property, One South, Sungai Besi, to South Crest Synergy for RM105mil.

One South, an iconic landmark in Sungai Besi, is a mixed development project spread over 1.72ha and is a key revenue driver for the company.

The development represented a large chunk of RM1bil worth of projects that the group was rolling out, the company said in a statement yesterday.

By Bernama

The Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) expects raw material prices for the construction industry to increase this year but still at a manageable level.

Its president, Kwan Foh Kwai said, the association expects the increase to be less than 10 per cent.

If raw material prices increase by more than 10 per cent, than the industry players would look at alternative sources, he told reporters after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MBAM and Open University Malaysia (OUM) today.

"Raw material prices have always beeen subject to market forces. There will be increase (in prices) but within a reasonable percentage," he said.

On the 2011 outlook for the industry, Kwan said the MBAM is optimistic that the year would be good for the industry, backed by the implementation of projects under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

On the MoU, he said both parties would work together to come up with educational and training programmes for the construction industry.

He highlighted that at present, there was a critical need to replenish the pool of skilled construction manpower, as a majority of the workers in it are already ageing.

According to Kwan, it is estimated that 35.1 per cent of local construction personnel would reach the age of 50 and above, seven years from now.

"The OUM programmes are specially developed and designed for working adults. The courses developed will incorporate knowledge and entrepreneurship skills which would be industry oriented," he explained.

Among the programmes are an Executive Diploma in Construction Project Organisation and Control, an Executive Diploma in Construction Management, an Executive Diploma in Project Management, an Executive Diploma in Contract Administration, an Executive Bachelor in Construction Supervisory Management, an Executive Bachelor in Integrated Contruction Project Management and an Executive Bachelor in Contract Management and Administration.

The Vice Chancellor of OUM, Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Anuwar Ali said, the programmes are expected to start next month.

By Bernama