BOAO, China: Commercial property developer SOHO China said it plans to increase its investments in 2010, but will be cautious in the face of domestic housing prices it believes are rocketing at unsustainable rates.

HONG KONG: The warnings about a bubble in mainland property prices continue to come in thick and fast.

On Friday, billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros - famed as the man who broke the Bank of England - declared "there is undoubtedly a bubble in real estate" in China that, he warned, could reverberate around the world if it burst.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's powerful property tycoons exert considerable influence over the city, and there are signs that this sway is growing with positions they control on advisory and statutory bodies increasing threefold since the handover.

BOAO, CHINA: China's banks must report on the quality of their loan books by the end of June and take fresh steps to rein in risky lending to land developers, the chief banking regulator said.

Liu Mingkang, head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said he would send inspectors into the banks next quarter to root out loans that had been made illegally.

Though it aborted two property finance investments here last year, the Kuwait Finance House (KFH) group remains optimistic about Malaysia.KFH (Malaysia) Bhd (KFHMB) CEO Jamelah Jamaluddin tells City & Country the company will explore direct investments in Malaysian property by way of purchasing the assets or shares of a company.She did not disclose the amount the bank has allocated for dire

It is always heartwarming to learn how someone rose from poverty and hardship to attain success and affluence. Such is the story of Datuk S P Lim, founder and managing director of Titijaya Group. What started out as a small construction sub-contracting outfit is now a property development company,  with completed projects worth over RM900 million, mainly in Klang, Selangor, Lim’s hometown.

The five terraced houses in Lebuh Clarke were done up as individual units for those who want the experience of staying in traditional terrace with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a balcony upstairs, and a large living room and garden downstairs.

There has been a rush for landed property in the Klang Valley in recent months, sending prices skyrocketing. Demand has surged especially for terraced houses in established neighbourhoods such as SS2, Damansara Jaya and Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

Real estate development is no longer just a business of building and selling a roof above one’s head.

The original idea was to find a house in George Town and convert it into a haven for local artists. What has risen instead is the 50-room Tanjung Penaga Boutique Hotel at 50 Hutton Lane, a labour of love for world-renowned architect Hijjas Kasturi and his wife Angela.