Surprise is the word to sum up the Malaysian retail industry in 2009. While some retailers suffered in view of the challenging times, others turned in a better performance than in 2008.

Last year, Malaysians were the largest group of foreign buyers in the Singapore private residential market, followed by Indonesians, mainland Chinese and Indian nationals, according to a study by DTZ as at Dec 15. This was the first time in at least three years that Malaysian buyers have outnumbered Indonesians, who have traditionally occupied the top spot (see charts).

Breathing new life into PJ

Participants at a recent international conference on urban regeneration were stumped when local town planner Ahmad Jefri Clyde threw a question at them: Where is the centre of Petaling Jaya?

The Malaysian construction industry lacks skills, declares Dinesh K Nambiar, managing director of WTW Bovis Sdn Bhd. The company is the Malaysian entity of Bovis Lend Lease, a global project and construction management company operating in more than 30 countries worldwide.

The property auction market in the Klang Valley is expected to stay quiet till 2Q2010 as prospective bidders take year-end breaks or mull the fixed 5% Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), auctioneers say.

KUALA LUMPUR: AmanahRaya-REIT Managers Sdn Bhd, manager of AmanahRaya REIT has proposed to acquire two properties from Amanah Raya Bhd, trustee for Kumpulan Wang Bersama.

KUALA LUMPUR; Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) is set to launch the first block of its Quayside Seafront Resorts Condominium within its Seri Tanjung Pinang development in Penang in 1Q2010. The project, with a gross development value of RM1.8 billion, comprises seven blocks next to Straits Quay, an international marina and retail landmark on the island.

HANOI: Hanoi plans to put open five more luxury hotels, offering an additional 2,000 rooms during 2010, the National Tourism Year, according to a report Friday Jan 15 by Vietnamese news agency, VNA.

KUALA LUMPUR: Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur, a newly completed luxury serviced apartment project, expects its room occupancy to increase to 65 per cent as business travel picks up this year.

"The economy is sort of stabilising, with corporate travellers coming back to Malaysia for business," said Fraser Place General Manager, Shirley Lai.

KOTA KINABALU: The Transport Ministry will no longer tolerate further delays in its development projects, especially in upgrading or putting up new infrastructures. Its minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat said any problem on the part of the contractors must immediately be conveyed to the ministry in order to work out immediate solutions.