LAHAD DATU: Lahad Datu, which is among the rapidly developing districts in Sabah, should be upgraded to a municipal council, from a district council currently, Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur, said Friday March 12.

SYDNEY: Australian property firms and pension funds, armed with a multi-billion dollar war chest, are poised to go on a shopping spree, eyeing distressed real estate targets from the United States to across Asia.

Money is plentiful and credit is cheap and there is no shortage of potential targets following the seizure in U.S. real estate markets in recent years.

PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Property Bhd is expecting good sales for iits high-end development named "Seri Pilmoor" in Ara Damansara.

The project with a gross development value of RM469 million comprises 74 bungalow retreats from 6,500 sq ft and 34 semi-detached homes from 4,600 sq ft ensconced within 28.5 acres of landscaped elevated freehold land.

PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Property Bhd hopes to maintain its 28 per cent profit margin for its current financial year ending June 30, 2010, said Managing Director Datuk Tunku Putra Badlishah Tunku Annuar.     

KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak-based property developer, Naim Holdings Bhd plans to venture into Libya to undertake the construction of several facilities.

Naim is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with the General Board of Privatization & Investment (GBPI) of Libya at 4pm on Friday, March 12.

KUALA LUMPUR: TA Enterprise Bhd (TAE) has proposed into inject its hotel in Singapore to 69.66%-owned subsidiary TA Global Bhd (TAG) for RM651.8 million.

TAE had announced previously that it would do so when it acquired the hotel for RM635.8 million last November.

KUALA LUMPUR: The ongoing battle for control of beleaguered Ho Hup Construction Co Bhd has taken yet another twist. The company has been served with an ex-parte injunction obtained by the Registrar of Companies that forbids, among others, former managing director Datuk Low Tuck Choy from voting at its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled for March 17.

SHANGHAI: China is requiring a down payment for land purchases equal to 50% of a plot’s price and prohibited the supply of land for villas as the government sought to increase affordable housing.

The down payment must be paid within a month of signing the purchase contract, the Ministry of Land and Resources said in a statement on its website late Wednesday March 10.

BEIJING: China will conduct a five-month-long campaign aimed at reining in illegal land speculation and development, state media reported, adding to government efforts to cool the country's heady property market.

KUALA LUMPUR: HwangDBS Vickers Research, which recently hosted the DBSV annual property talk by CB Richard Ellis (Malaysia), says demand for niche residential products still strong, but weak for high-end condos.

It said on Friday, March 12 that new office space coming in next two years should be absorbed, but potential overhang beyond 2012.