SHANGHAI: China's banking regulator has ordered banks to conduct checks to see whether any of their loans have illegally gone into the stock or property markets, a banking source told Reuters on Monday Feb 1, the latest move in a clampdown on excessive bank lending and rising asset prices.

HONG KONG: The estimated number of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) in negative equity in Hong Kong fell 44 percent to 466 cases at the end of December from 835 cases at the end of September as property prices rose, data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed.

KUALA LUMPUR: In its latest monetary policy statement on Jan 26, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) kept the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) unchanged at 2%, as widely expected, and reiterated the “appropriateness” of the current monetary policy stance against the backdrop of re-emerging inflation, Standard Chartered Global Research said on Feb 1.

SETIU, (Terengganu): Peladang Setiu Agro Resort (PSAR) Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pertubuhan Peladang Setiu will invest RM12 million to develop six resorts at Laguna Gong Batu in Setiu this year.

PSAR managing director Mohamad Saipuddin Abas said the company had applied to the state government for a 12 hectare site for the resort project which includes aquaculture farms.

SHAH ALAM: Yayasan Melaka has helped Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan (YBK) Selangor to settle its quit rent arrears amounting to RM5.7 million to the Selangor government on Monday Feb 1 afternoon, YBK Selangor chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Sakom said.

The payment was made online to the account of the state treasury by Yayasan Melaka at 3pm, he told Bernama when contacted here.  

SHAH ALAM: Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) will soon air a special documentary to promote i-City, the 29-hectare digital township in Shah Alam, Selangor as a new tourist destination.

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government proposes to build 1,442 semi-detached houses on 55.8 hectares of land under the Bukit Botak development plan to resolve the settlers relocation housing issue in Bukit Botak, Selayang.

KOTA BARU: The Kelantan Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) has urged the state government to shorten the land approval process from six months presently.

Its chairman Sekarnor Che Omar said the government's delay in issuing land approvals had caused developers much concern as it affected construction cost.

SHANGHAI: Colliers International today announced strategic appointments for its senior management team.

Jan 21, 2010, seemed to be a very significant day for the development of Malaysian land law, with headlines nationwide lauding another landmark decision that corrected a “blatant error” which had stood as good law for the better part of the last decade.