SINGAPORE: ITB Asia 2010 opened here today with the travel industry in Asia looking confident again and enjoying strong growth in leisure, meetings and corporate travel.

Exhibitor numbers at the travel show organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) was up 6.0% compared with last year, with growth in the travel industry reflecting much improved economic growth figures and demand in Asia.

BEIJING: Seven projects with a combined gross floor area of approximately 775,000 sq metres are expected to make debuts in the Beijing retail property market in 4Q10, Colliers International said.

It added that four of these new projects, accounting for 75.75% of the total new supply in the quarter, are located in non-traditional catchment areas such as West Chang An Avenue.

HONG KONG: China-based developers bid prices of land up by more than 46% week on week last week, brushing aside concerns that the central government is serious about cracking down on property price growth.

HONG KONG: Analysts say the government's latest measures to rein in fast-rising property prices won't work.

But that doesn't mean the administration is wrong to try damping down the market, says one observer.

SINGAPORE: The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced on Oct 19 that it has accepted an application from a  developer to put up a hotel site at Robinson Road/Boon Tat Street for sale via public tender.

LONDON: Savills Research expects the value of serviced plots and serviceable land in the United Kingdom to grow over the next few years, as supply of this type of land is likely to become increasingly constrained following uncertainty and hiatus in the planning system.

However, it noted that the outlook for value growth of bulk land at the national level is poor.

Property

KUALA LUMPUR:  Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has defended the proposal to build a 100-storey tower in Kuala Lumpur, costing RM5 billion, saying it was not a waste but an opportunity to generate the economy and create an icon for a developed and modern Malaysia. The prime minister said the construction of the tower would benefit many sectors.

SHANGHAI: China's banking regulator urged lenders to stop providing loans to developers who hoard land or delay property sales, the China Business News reported on Wednesday, Oct 20, an effort to help shield banks from risks in the real estate industry.

KUALA LUMPUR: Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd has been awarded a RM205.8 million contract to design and build a government office building and external works in Putrajaya, it announced on Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, Oct 19.

The group was awarded the contract by Putrajaya Holdings Bhd, and work is expected to start this year and be completed in 2013.