SINGAPORE: Indonesian congolemerate Lippo Group has hired Bank of America's Merrill Lynch to advise on the potential sale of First Media, its cable TV and internet business, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tune Hotels has removed the administration fee it previously used to charge for room reservations across all its existing 12 hotels, effective Wednesday, Jan 5.

"Tune Hotels is removing the RM10.90 admin fee across our entire chain — for good," said its group chief executive officer Mark Lankester in a statement on Wednesday.

CANBERRA: New home sales in Australia faltered in November 2010 amidst rising interest rates, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA) in a statement on Wednesday, Jan 5.

BANGKOK: Pruksa Real Estate Pcl, Thailand's second-largest property developer by market value, has ambitious plans for new projects this year and expects to boost both revenue and net profit by up to 36%.

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asia's largest property developer CapitaLand is open to the idea of a listing in China, where the firm's shopping mall unit plans on almost doubling its number of properties, Singapore's Business Times newspaper reported on Wednesday, Jan 5.

LONDON: AXA Real Estate said it was aiming for €1 billion (RM4.08 billion) in a debt fund after raising an initial €350 million, as it aims to take advantage of a shortage in bank loans to the commercial property sector.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tomei Consolidated Bhd entered into a sale and purchase agreement on Dec 27, 2010 for several freehold plots to Oasis Properties Sdn Bhd for RM4.6 million, the group stated in several announcements to Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, Jan 4.

KUALA LUMPUR: GHU Holdings Bhd has entered into a preliminary agreement with the Development General Company of Jiangsu Gaochun Economic Development Zone, Jiangsu Province to construct a 180 million yuan (RM83.43 million) water treatment plant that will treat 100 million litres per day, the group announced on Tuesday, Jan 4.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway City Bhd's (SunCity) third phase of Sunway Merica in Penang — comprising of 12 exclusive units of 3-storey semi-detached (semi-D) houses — has received over 500 interested buyers since it opened for registration in mid-December 2010.

KUALA LUMPUR: This capital city will boast another tourist attraction in February with the launch of the "Kuala Lumpur City Walk" which highlights the "Malaysia, Truly Asia" tourism promotion theme.