KOTA BHARU: Hotel occupancy in Kelantan increased 10.7% from January to September last year, state director of Tourism Malaysia Zurina Abdul Samad said on Tuesday, Jan 11.

She said that 638,000 people stayed in hotels in the state in those nine months, compared with 576,000 in the corresponding period of 2009.

HONG KONG: The home of Hong Kong's richest man is again the subject of controversy, after the government leased a vacant lot next to Li Ka-shing's house for use as his private garden.

The building at 79 Deep Water Bay, under reconstruction, will get a garden of similar size to the house's site — 11,800 sq ft — a map from the Lands Department reveals.

DUBAI: Dubai builder Arabtec said its board will call a shareholders meeting to seek approval for a capital raise through a rights issue and sale of five-year convertible debt.

SHANGHAI: Shanghai, the most populous city in China, will likely impose a property tax in the first quarter of this year, after getting a go-ahead from the central government, the China Daily said on Tuesday, Jan 11.

PETALING JAYA: The ending of the proposed merger between IJM Land Bhd and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) has come as a disappointment for the former's shareholders.

KUALA LUMPUR: A new mixed development, Eve Suite, is coming up in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya.

The RM350 million development consists of 570 SoHo or studio suites, and 143 units of serviced apartments in its first phase, while the second phase will consist of 30 units of two-storey strata shops.

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI: Hong Kong and China stocks retreated on Monday, Jan 10 as property and banking issues fell on a report that the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing may impose a property tax in the current quarter.

SYDNEYL Residents in Brisbane, Australia's third largest city, sandbagged their homes against rising waters on Monday, Jan 10, as police warned people in smaller outlying towns to be ready to abandon homes as forecasters predicted more heavy rain.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tambun Indah Land Bhd (Tambun Indah), a property developer in Penang, saw its initial public offering (IPO) of 11.05 million shares oversubscribed by 14.9 times.

The company received 10,751 applications for 175.7 million shares with a total value of RM123 million, it said in a press statement on Monday, Jan 10.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd (Hap Seng) plans to undertake initiatives to increase the free float and liquidity of its shares and raise capital to drive its expansion plans.

The proposed initiatives include a private placement of new shares of up to 20% of the current share capital of the company, a two-for-one bonus issue and a one-for-five renounceable rights issue.