SYDNEY: Australian home prices rose  moderately in May while sales of new home slipped and consumers cut back on debt, suggesting higher interest rates were working to rebalance the economy to a more sustainable path.

KUALA LUMPUR: Crescendo Corporation Bhd's first quarter earnings rose 6% to RM4.812 million from RM4.522 million a year ago and it expects performance to improve in the current financial year.

It said on Tuesday, June 29 that revenue increased 23% to RM44.69 million from RM36.36 million due to higher sales in construction services and concrete products.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mutiara Goodyear Development Bhd posted net profit of RM8.89 million in the fourth quarter ended April 30, 2010 and expects the current financial year to be satisfactory due to improving outlook for the overall economy.

KUALA LUMPUR: Several property and real-estate development-based companies engaged in share buy-back exercises on Tuesday, June 29, according to separate filings to Bursa Malaysia.

YTL Corporation bought back 42,600 ordinary shares of RM0.50 each for RM 317,762.51, while Hock Seng Lee bought back 33,000 ordinary shares of RM0.20 each for RM45,530.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sri Medan Duck Farm Sdn Bhd (SMDF), a wholly owned subsidiary of Emivest Bhd, acquired four pieces of freehold agricultural land totaling 18 acres in Johor from Ladang Ternakan Maju Sdn Bhd (LTM) for RM2.484 million, the Group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, June 29.

The sale includes structures on the land.

KUALA LUMPUR: Glomac Bhd's fourth quarter earnings surged 80% to RM12.45 million and the property developer expects its financials to improve, helped by the company's locked in real estate sales, upcoming property launches, and landbank expansion.

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian Pac Holdings Bhd will venture into property investment with the development of The Mall, a shopping mall that forms part of the RM1.5 billion KK Times Square II in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. When completed in 2013, The Mall would be the largest mall in the state capital.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway Holdings Bhd will this year launch another five projects with a total gross development value (GDV) of about RM600 million, its managing director Yau Kok Seng said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Naim Holdings Bhd (Naim) on June 28 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with several parties in China and Sarawak to develop Panyu-Miri Smart Cities (PMSC), it announced to Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, June 29.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mulpha International Bhd (MIB) on June 28 received the approval in principle to list its wholly owned subsidiary Manta Holdings Company Limited (MHCL) Group of Companies on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, it announced on Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, June 29.