SELANGOR, 1 March: Organised by REHDA Insitute, the conference was attended by numerous industry players involved in the banking, manufacturing, construction and real estate and property development sectors.
Datuk Muztaza Mohamad, REHDA’s National Treasurer & Institute Trustees kicked off the day’s events with his keynote address; in which he highlighted that more policies should be implemented by the government to rejuvenate the property market. “A reduction in stamp duty charges, extending the Step-Up Financing Scheme (SPEF) to private residential projects as well more infrastructure projects will help stimulate market growth,” he said.
Chris Tan, Founder and Managing Partner of Chur Associates played host for the event, which saw various talks and forums divided into three sections – Macroeconomic Outlook & Economic Issues, Investment Outlook: China Factor and Real Estate & Trends Outlook.
Issues covered include:
- Should Bank Negara Malaysia ease lending for property purchases?
- 2017 Real Estate Outlook: What to build, where to build, how to sell?
- Falling Ringgit, Bank Interest Rates, Trumpism: How are our major economic sectors faring?
- The China factor: What JV and partnership opportunities are there for Malaysian companies with China companies?
- What real estate investment and development strategies can you implement in this current market?
The list of speakers consisted of prominent industry figures including Lee Heng Guie, Executive Director of Socio-Economic Research Centre; Alan Tan, Chief Economist of Affin Hwang Investment Bank Berhad; Foo Gee Jen, Managing Director of CBRE I WTW and Sarkunan Subramaniam, Managing Director of Knight Frank Malaysia; Haresh Khoobchandani, CEO of iProperty.com Malaysia & Singapore, and Datuk Christopher Boyd, Executive Chairman of Savills.
QUOTES OF THE DAY
Some of the day’s key takeaways were:
The One Belt One Road policy is a huge thrust for China investors to venture into South East Asian countries. Malaysia is especially attractive, its sizable Chinese population lends a competitive advantage and is a strong determinant for Chinese businesses to anchor their products/investments here.
–Robin Yang, MD of MCC Overseas (M) Sdn Bhd-
Why are foreign property investors venturing into Malaysia? This country has it all; location, accesibility, necessary infrastructure, stability, cultural harmony and easy and supportive foreign policies such as the Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H). The main draw is purchasers get value for money – RM1 million buys you 1,190 sq ft of space in Malaysia as compared to 140 sq ft in Singapore and 150 sq ft in Hong Kong.”
–Haresh Khoobchandani, CEO of iProperty.com Malaysia & Singapore-
The local housing industry wilI be going through a structural change in the next 5 years – It is getting very expensive to develop properties; developers should move towards building their brand equity instead of relying on the age-old but cost-heavy strategy of landbanking. We will witness more joint ventures like the one between EcoWorld Group and EPF; developers will partner with institutions/pension funds as equity partners to develop their projects.”
–Datuk Christopher Boyd, Executive Chairman of Savills–
Promotions and discounts for home buyers including deferred payment schemes will only work to a certain extent. A revolutionary reinvention is required to address the affordability issue – in order to bring down the cost of properties, developers should consider building bare shell homes as what is being done in China and Thailand. Not only is the entry point much lower, purchasers will get to furbish and renovate their properties to their liking and budget as well.”
-Sarkunan Subramaniam, Managing Director of Knight Frank Malaysia–