PENANG: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was again taken to task for playing a fact-twisting and blame-shifting game on the conversion of a 1.4ha plot adjacent to the Eastern and Oriental (E&O) Hotel in Lebuh Farquhar, here from leasehold to freehold.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Colour of the Year 2010 is Airy Marina Blue, according to AkzoNobel, the world’s largest paint and coating company and supplier of leading brands like Dulux. It described the colour as an optimistic hue that symbolises infinite horizons, new beginnings, renewed energy and a positive dynamic.

KUALA LUMPUR: Faber Group Bhd via its subsidiary Faber LLC has been awarded a contract for the improvement, development, upgrading and maintenance of infrastructure facilities and projects at Madinah Zayed – Zone 1 in Abu Dhabi.

 KUALA LUMPUR: The full report on the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide on Dec 6 last year has not been made public.

KUALA LUMPUR: Across the National Capital Region (NCR) in Delhi and Bengaluru, the share of Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) in organised retail space has shrunk, according to DTZ Research’s October 2009 report on emerging retail trends in India.

SEOUL: South Korea’s National Pension Service, the nation’s biggest investor, said it was approached to jointly buy Sydney’s Aurora Place and it hasn’t made a “serious consideration” on the proposal.

BEIJING: China should immediately halt some of its real estate stimulus policies, or risk inflating a bubble that in its bursting would wreak financial and even social trouble, a government newspaper said on Nov 23.

When the government decided to impose the 5% real property gains tax (RPGT), the move did not go down well with house buyers, long-time property owners, some developers and those promoting Malaysian real estate overseas. Industry players were stunned when the RPGT was announced during the unveiling of Budget 2010 on Oct 23.

Fancy owning a house which will be featured in a Hollywood movie? Doug Liman, director of blockbusters such as The Bourne Identity, Mr & Mrs Smith and Jumper, recently shot a scene for his upcoming film, titled Fair Game, in one of the bungalows at Country Heights Damansara,in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

We want to establish ourselves as one of Malaysia’s top 10 developers in three years,” announces Yeoh Soo Ann, group CEO of Encorp Bhd. That’s a bold statement, considering the young age of the company’s property development arm.