KUALA LUMPUR: Housing loan provider Malaysia Building Society Malaysia (MBSB) recorded a 644% increase in net profit to RM43.197 million in its 1Q ended March 31, 2010, compared with RM5.803 million in the same period last year.

Its pre-tax profit jumped 341% to RM43.179 million in the quarter under review compared with RM9.789 million in the same quarter last year.

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Corp Bhd announced a 120.4% growth in revenue to RM11.786 billion for the nine months ended March 31, 2010, compared with RM5.349 billion for the preceding corresponding period ended March 31, 2009.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd plans to build an office block on its newly acquired 1.1-acre freehold tract located adjacent to Menara Hap Seng on Jalan P Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: Penang property prices are expected to see a softer rise over the next few months due to the rising interest rates environment, unless there are extraordinary events in the property scene to boost home-purchases, Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partner director Michael Geh told City&Country of The Edge Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR: The development of KTM Bhd (KTMB)-owned land in Singapore is a breakthrough that will bring economic advancement to both Malaysia and Singapore, Khazanah Nasional managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said on Thursday, May 27.

Ng (left) receives the prestigious Green Mark Gold Award from BCA Chairman Quek See Tiat in Singapore on May 26

HONG HONG: After hiring office space from landlords of serviced business centres in Hong Kong for a few years, UK-born Chinese businessman Andrew Chung and his Australian partner Lachlan Sloan decided last year to switch roles and become landlords themselves.

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry will have its own building following the purchase of Menara PjH from Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd, worth RM167 million.

The agreement to buy the building was signed between the ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib and Putrajaya Holdings' chief executive officer, Datuk Azlan Abdul Karim, here on May 27.

HONG KONG: Mainland developer Longfor Properties has seen its contract sales drop by 40% to 1.5 billion yuan (RM716.7 million) so far this month from April as buying interest is dampened by central government efforts to cool the market. The firm has sold 2.5 billion yuan worth of properties in April.

HONG KONG: The poor response from bidders to the last two land auctions has convinced analysts they were correct to change their forecasts for the outlook for home prices by the end of the year from positive to zero growth.