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.

If you take a drive to Kemensah, a stone’s throw away from the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, you will notice a number of on-going projects there. The area is attractive for its lush greenery and impressive hills, its proximity to the Kuala Lumpur city centre, and several major expressways that ensure convenience and connectivity.

Since the launch of Bandar Nusajaya in 2006, UEM Land Holdings Bhd’s focus has been on developing the flagship zone of Iskandar Malaysia in Johor. Many joint-venture deals have been sealed with local and foreign partners to build developments and amenities in the 23,875-acre township.

Mention Waz Lian Group and you are likely to get blank stares. That’s not surprising as the company has deliberately kept a low profile although its property arm has been active in the industry for over a decade.

The term “solar energy” is not new to us — electricity is generated from the sun’s rays, directly via photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly through concentrating solar power.  The latter uses the sun’s energy to boil water, which is then used to provide power. But let’s be honest, most of us wouldn’t know a PV cell or a solar cell if it hit us in the face.

The segment of the property market in Singapore that seems to be immune to the government measures announced on Feb 19 relating to stamp duties and loan-to-value (LTV) limit appears to be landed housing, which was the best-performing residential sector last year.

KUALA LUMPUR: Amtek Holdings Bhd has disposed of its unit Amtek Realty Sdn Bhd for RM4.6 million.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on April 2, the company said the entire equity in Amtek Realty, comprising five million shares of RM1 each, was sold to Commerce Dot Com Sdn Bhd on the same day.