News by Meena Lakshana

The shift of focus to affordable housing below the RM500,000 per unit range, which has been seeing more resilient demand than higher-end properties, may strain the margins of developers, especially those who are not traditionally involved in this housing category, said Kenanga Investment Bank.

Developer Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd, a unit of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), has awarded a two-year RM268.9 million contract for common infrastructure works at its Kwasa Damansara township to construction and civil engineering works specialist, TSR Capital Bhd.

Mah Sing Group Bhd, the country’s second-largest property developer by sales value, said it will discuss with Great Doctrine (M) Sdn Bhd to renegotiate the terms of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) for the proposed acquisition of a 85.43-acre (34.57ha) piece of land in Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (SSAAS) golf course in Shah Alam, Selangor, for RM327.48 million or RM88 per sq ft.

MKH Bhd’s indirect subsidiary Amona Metro Development Sdn Bhd plans to acquire a 84% stake in Temara Pekeliling Sdn Bhd, the owner of a 1.5-acre (0.61ha) leasehold plot in Jalan Tun Razak, part of where the Pekeliling flats used to stand, for RM5 million.

The project involves structural, architectural, mechanical and electrical works, besides associated external and landscaping works for the two phases.

DASH, costing about RM4 billion, will be a 20.1km highway traversing Shah Alam's Puncak Perdana U10, Kota Damansara, Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Perdana. SUKE, costing RM4.18 billion, will be a 24.4km highway connecting Sri Petaling to Cheras and Ulu Kelang.

In a statement, 1MDB said under the share sale and purchase agreement (SSA) executed between 1MDB and the IWH-CREC consortium, the consortium had agreed to pay RM7.41 billion (of which 10% or RM741 million is payable upon execution of the SSA) for its 60% share in the Bandar Malaysia project, based on the land value of RM12.35 billion.

A news report in Singapore's The Straits Times, quoting a ministry spokesperson, said that both governments were discussing the possibility of having two services — a non-stop express service linking Malaysia and Singapore, and a transit service in several locations in between.

Despite the expectation of a slimmer margin, IOI Properties chief executive officer Lee Yeow Seng said the group is confident of achieving its RM2 billion sales target for FY16.

IOI Properties had said that the acquisition would enable the company to expand its land bank. The land is situated within IOI Resort City, fronting the entrance of Putrajaya, and next to the South Klang Valley Expressway.