BEIJING: With one arm, China is pouring cold water on property speculators. With the other, it is tossing a life buoy to the real estate sector via increased spending on affordable housing.

It is a tricky balancing act, and the stakes are high.

KUALA LUMPUR: Boustead Holdings Bhd posted pre-tax profit of RM185.9 million in its second quarter (2Q) ended June 30, up 126% from the corresponding period last year.

The group's revenue of RM2.98 billion for the first half of 2010 was also 20% higher than that posted during the corresponding period last year.

Hock Seng Lee

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During the company’s briefing last week, management clarified a few matters. It said it has appointed a consultant to investigate Sime Darby’s alleged cost overruns and maintains that no further provisions are needed. In the Middle East, WCT is awaiting the results of 2 tenders and is bidding for the Dukhan H’way extension.

BEIJING: Chinese companies in Shanghai have falsified answers in replies to some surveys by the national statistics agency, calling into question the reliability of the country's property market data.

LANGKAWI: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is against the proposed RM130 billion Langkawi bridge project as it will erode the island's unique features.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway City Bhd (Suncity) posted net profit of RM71.66 million in its second quarter ended June 30, 2010 (2Q2010) on the back of a revenue of RM262.29 million.

Suncity said on Friday, Aug 20 the financial performance was mainly driven by the group's core businesses being the property development and property investment segments.

BEIJING: If housing prices in China plummeted by 60%, there would be no noticeable increase in the default rate on loans issued by China Construction Bank (CCB), a newspaper report reported on Monday, Aug 23.

SHANGHAI: Sales of new homes in Shanghai fell 48% during the first seven months of the year from the same period a year earlier due to the government's efforts to cool the property market, the Shanghai Daily reported on Monday, Aug 23.

New home sales reached 9.11 million square metr4s, the newspaper said, citing data from the Shanghai Statistics Bureau.

Like most young couples, Betty and her husband were looking for an affordable landed property as their first home in 2008. “It took us a few months to finally decide on one and I must say the developer’s 5/95 package was most attractive,” she tells City & Country. Their pick is a 2-storey terraced unit in S P Setia Bhd’s Bandar Setia Alam in Shah Alam.