NEW YORK: The number of slum dwellers has increased by 55 million in the last 10 years to a total of 827.6 million this year, according to UN-Habitat's annual report.

KUALA LUMPUR: JAKS Resources Bhd will take the lead in the joint venture in completing the Paya Peda Dam in Besut, Terengganu for a contract sum of RM333 million.

KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Retail Bhd (BRetail) will be listed either in June or July, says Berjaya Group chairman and chief executive officer Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun.

The listing of BRetail will raise RM50 million from exercise and it will be used for expansion, he said on Thursday, March 18.

KUALA LUMPUR: S P Setia Bhd posted net profit of RM38.19 million in the first quarter ended Jan 31, 2010, up 22.5% from the RM31.17 million a year ago and this saw the property developer raising the group's sales target by 25% to RM2 billion for the current fiscal year.

PETALING JAYA: Property developer Blackstone Seven Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Allstones Group Asia, has launched its latest project -- the Taragon Kelana Commercial Centre (pictured) in Kelana Jaya.

BEIJING: Banks should control the pace of their lending and be aware of the risks entailed in extending credit to the property sector and to local governments, Chinese bank regulators said in remarks published on March 18.

PETALING JAYA: Real estate developer, Shanghai Greenland Group kicked off three  property projects in Chengdu, China, with a total investment of 10 billion yuan (RM4.85 billion) on March 17.

HONG KONG: An asset bubble in the Hong Kong property market is looking increasingly likely. Homebuyers "high" on low interest rates, like drink drivers made careless by alcohol, seem increasingly indifferent to the long consequence of their decisions.

NEW YORK: Simon Property Group Inc has been corresponding with bankrupt General Growth Properties Inc about revising its offer, sources close to the matter said on March 16.