Asian real estate investment markets recovered strongly in 2H2009 after enduring a difficult start to the year. Investment turnover bottomed out in 1Q but improved thereafter as investor confidence returned, underpinned by low financing costs, the recapitalisation of private and public real estate funds/investors and the stabilisation of prices across key markets.

DUBAI: Dubai developer Emaar Properties will roll over 4.5 billion dirhams (US$1.23 billion or RM4 billion) debt maturing in 2010 into long-term project financing deals, a local daily said on Sunday, April 4 citing a company spokesperson.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hwang DBS Vickers Research has raised its target price for Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) to RM2.25 adding that the Employees Provident Fund may be forced to make a higher offer if it is serious in bringing its stake to 50%.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) has the right resources to help the government and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) in implementing the proposed development of 3,000 acres (1,214ha) of land in Sungai Buloh for a new hub in the Klang Valley, said MRCB CEO Mohamed Razeek Hussain.

PETALING JAYA: Plus Expressways Bhd (PLUS), the largest highway concessionaire in the country, will build three elevated interchanges at a cost of RM250 million in Sungai Buaya, Selangor; Alor Pongsu, Perak; and Bukit Gambir, Johor; for the convenience of users of the North-South Expressway.

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu government is to resolve problems associated with land applications immediately through the e-Mohon system installed at the Lands and Mines Office, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said here.

He said e-Mohon was a computer process which expedited applications by way of democraticising land distribution to the landless.

CHONGQING: Evergrande Real Estate Group (SEHK: 3333), the mainland's third-largest developer, is to beef up its Chongqing presence with a three billion yuan (HK$3.41 billion) tourism investment.

Liao Jianing, a director at Evergrande Real Estate Chongqing, said the firm had acquired a development site in Huayan, Jiulongpo district, for 900 million yuan last month.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) and property stocks are alternatives to property investment. While both are listed on Bursa Malaysia, they offer different potential risks and rewards.Hall & Chadwick Asia Sdn Bhd chairman Kumar Tharmalingam says some Malaysian investors still believe REITs are no different from property stocks.

The Maju Group is in for exciting times. Newly appointed CEO Amro Al Khadra, who hails from Kuwait, is charting a new course that will catapult the group into overseas markets.

Investment gurus Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump once remarked on their love for investing in property. This can be said to be true of Asia Pacific investors as well, according to The Wealth Report 2010 published by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank recently. “People love hard assets,” the report quoted Citi Private Bank Asia Pacific head of real estate investments Quek Kwang Meng.