City & Country: Your view of the property market and going forward, are you excited?
Datuk K Salman Younis: We are definitely excited. There is a lot happening in Malaysia and we see a lot of opportunities with the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP). We are involved in a number of projects under the 9MP and hope to be involved in more. We are currently selling projects in all of the initiatives announced… the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) and the Sabah and Sarawak initiatives. A lot of the economies are being affected by the slowdown in the US due to the subprime crisis. Most markets are soft and the general feeling is that if the banks declare the full extent of losses by mid-year, the situation should start improving from September.Malaysia, by and large, has not been affected badly and there are many reasons for this – the 9MP, various government initiatives and strong prices for its commodities on the market, among others. The sectors facing a slowdown are the high-tech ones, which are not a major component of the Malaysian economy.Malaysia should continue to do okay. The country has not been affected by the US crisis also because the prices of real estate here are still low compared to the region, making it an attractive buy. We see more and more foreigners coming to buy real estate.

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By ZAZALI MUSA (The Star)JOHOR BARU: Three local companies will undertake new waterfront property projects worth about RM540mil in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) this year. Kota Selat Tebrau Sdn Bhd, Best Reality Point Sdn Bhd and Tune Hotels Sdn Bhd have projects slated in Danga Bay, which is within the 25km stretch of the IDR waterfront.

“The investments are a clear indication of confidence not only by foreign investors but also among local investors in the IDR,” Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman in a statement. (more…)