WASHINGTON: Sales of previously owned US homes suffered a record drop last month as the boost from a popular tax credit waned, raising doubts the housing market recovery can be sustained without government support, according to Reuters.

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Corporation Bhd has set up a sub-subsidiary in China known as Shanghai YTL Hotels Management Co Ltd.

KUALA LUMPUR: YNH Construction Sdn Bhd (YNHC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of YNH Property Bhd, has been served with a writ of summons and statement of claim by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) for back taxes for the year of assessment 1999 amounting to RM998,678.38.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mudajaya Middle East Ltd, a 75% subsidiary of Mudajaya Corp Bhd, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two parties in Saudi Arabia on Jan 24 to set up a specialist equipment procurement contracting company called Mudajaya Power and Water Ltd (MPWL).

Mudajaya Corp is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mudajaya Group.

PUTRAJAYA: The Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) has been asked to stress on environmental preservation by ensuring that housing projects carried out by its members are equipped with a rainwater catchment system.

KUALA LUMPUR: Amendments to the National Land Code (NLC) have to be made in order to strengthen the latest Federal Court decision and protect landowners in Malaysia, said Parti Gerakan deputy president Datuk Chang Ko Youn.

KUALA LUMPUR: The outlook for the Malaysian property market in 2010 will be better this year in tandem with the country’s improving economy, according to a property developer.

KUALA LUMPUR: Retail and office units at the Oasis Ara Damansara project in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya are seeing encouraging take-ups with the latest shops and office units in Block C and Block D having sold 60% and 90% respectively, since their launch in late November last year.

BEIJING: Some banks in Beijing have raised mortgage rates on first homes to 85% of the benchmark lending rate from 70%, the official China Securities Journal reported on Jan 25.

The story cited an unnamed banker at a state-owned lender and also said some banks have lifted second-home mortgage rates to the benchmark level.

DUBAI: State-linked Dubai World's property and investment assets exceeded US$120 billion (RM410.4 billion) at the end of 2009 and could cover its debt of US$57 billion, an Arabic-language daily said on Jan 14.