Ten Malaysian food manufacturers and exporters and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council participated in the fair that attracted 980 exhibitors from more than 30 countries.It also saw more than 25,000 trade-related visitors.

The Malaysian pavilion was alongside booths from countries such as Korea, Thailand and Greece.

The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) Sydney Trade Commissioner Ong Yew Chee was delighted with the response from the food industry players.

“An estimated 1,677 people visited the Malaysian pavilion, resulting in 1,500 meetings and enquiries for Malaysian companies,”

Ong said.

One of the companies to benefit significantly from the trade fair was Yit Kang Frozen Foods.

Following a recent market visit to Australia, Yit Kang representatives were introduced to grocery wholesaler Rockman Pty Ltd, by Matrade Sydney. Now, its products are distributed to most of Australia’s Asian grocery stores.

The fair was also a chance for the company to introduce its products to consumers. Similar success stories have been documented in previous years.

After attending Fine Food Australia in 2007, Spritzer Bhd caught the attention of Joseph Marando, the director of sales and marketing for Impulse Products.

The company now imports about 30 containers of mineral water monthly from Malaysia.

Ong said participating in trade fairs like Fine Food Australia was the best way for Malaysian companies to promote food and beverage products to Australia and the rest of the Oceania region.

The fair was also a good opportunity for Malaysian companies to meet directly with importers, gain an insight into the Australian market and assess the strength of competing countries in the region, he added.

In 2008, Australia’s imports of selected food products from the world were valued at A.25 billion. Malaysia was ranked as the fifth largest source of imports for Australia in selected food and beverage products and the largest from ASEAN.

Other than Yit Kang, the Malaysian companies that participated in Fine Food Australia were Alif Food Industries Sdn Bhd, Baba Products Sdn Bhd, Fresh and Tasty Sdn Bhd, HOTSB Marketing Sdn Bhd, Kawan Food Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Marine Gold Marketing Sdn Bhd, QL Food Sdn Bhd, Torto Food Industries (M) Sdn Bhd Universal Nutribeverage Sdn Bhd.

The trade fair next year will be held in Melbourne.

Source: Bernama

Stephen Huggins, President of TSI International Group, said Malaysia was an ideal place for foreigners to have a “second home” among other Asian nations.

Four key criteria considered by foreigners when picking a second home is economic and population growth, political stability and financial transparency with security,” he told reporters after the launch of TSI International Group in Malaysia by Deputy Foreign Minister A. Kohilan Pillai.

Kohilan, in his speech, said land in Malaysia was fast shrinking and it was a good idea for Malaysians to learn ways of investing in TSI International.

” Their concept of buying land and studying projects to be implemented are akin to two-in-one method. Land value in the country has also appreciated by leaps and bounds,”

said Kohilan.

Huggins also said his company is to increase its net current asset worth C120 million (RM382.88 million) to C00 million (RM1.59 billion) by 2015.

Source: Bernama

More Malaysian companies should consider investing in Morocco’s booming construction industry, particularly in its housing sector, says Malaysian Ambassador to Morocco Datuk Othman Samin.

“We have very good investment prospects in this sector led by Kausar Corporation, a flagship company of the Al-Hidayah Group of Companies, which is building houses in a new township,” he told Bernama.

The Malaysian company is currently undertaking housing construction in Tamesna, a self-contained new city being developed between Rabat, Temara, Skhirat and Ain Aouda, about 12km south of Rabat, Morocco’s capital city.

The new township aims to relieve Rabat of its growing chaotic urbanisation and will have access to the Casablanca Highway as well as the opportunity for better infrastructure planning.

“We are promoting Malaysian expertise globally and since the housing sector is growing in Morocco, hopefully more Malaysian companies will emulate the success of the Al-Hidayah group,” he said.

Othman, who started his tour of duty as ambassador to Morocco in 2007, said he hoped to boost Malaysian companies’ participation in the host country’s development and expand investment prospects.

“The Al-Hidayah Group, for instance, is now building one hostel project and a nursing school next, which means they have successfully branched out their investments,” he said.

Othman said the Al-Hidayah Group is also currently in talks with the host country to bring in KPJ Healthcare Berhad (KPJ), the healthcare arm of Johor Corporation (JCorp), to manage hospitals in Morocco.

The envoy said another Malaysian company, KPS, currently has an electronic components production unit in Mohammedia.

“Another area with big potential is trading,” he said, adding that: “Malaysian furniture is very popular here. Thus, Malaysian companies should seize this opportunity.”

Othman said the Malaysian Embassy in Rabat is also helping MARA through KOMITA, a consortium of agro-based food producers and entrepreneurs, to bring in products produced by Bumiputera entrepreneurs such as soya sauce, cookies and biscuits.

On bilateral trade between Malaysia and Morocco, the envoy said total trade between the two countries “is still small” with a trade balance in favour of Malaysia.

Based on figures available, total trade between Morocco and Malaysia in 2008 reached nearly RM234.2 million (US5 million), with total Malaysian exports touching RM182.2 million (US0.6 million).

Malaysia’s main exports are electrical and electronics products while its imports are food products and manufactured goods.

Othman said despite the limited resources, the Malaysian Embassy would find ways to implement the added responsibilities entrusted upon them such as enhancing cooperation in education and promoting tourism.

“Though tourism promotion is the duty of the Tourism Malaysia office in Jeddah, I like to promote tourism because it is an easier way to showcase the Malaysia’s image and we can see results quickly,” he said, adding that with the Malaysian government’s plan to bring in more Arab tourists, “we’ll do our best to showcase Malaysia by organising tourism-related programmes.”

In line with the government’s aspiration to turn Malaysia into an educational hub, Othman said the Malaysian Embassy would encourage more Moroccans to study in Malaysia while at the same time ensuring Malaysian students studying in Morocco stay focused on their education.

On the notion that only Morocco was sponsoring Malaysian students to study in Morocco, Othman was quick to point out that the Malaysian government through the MTCP (Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme) has sponsored Moroccan officials to be trained in Malaysia.

Source: Bernama

With the prospect of economic recovery and outbreak of H1N1 contained, Mihas organiser Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) expects to see higher participation and sales for next year’s trade fair. Matrade chief executive officer Datuk Noharuddin Nordin has set a conservative target of generating RM3.5 billion sales from Mihas 2010, which will be held from June 23 to 27.

Speaking at a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur, he said the sales generated at this year’s event comprised RM3.01 billion potential sales and RM226.4 million immediate sales. “These were generated from the exhibition segment of Mihas 2009 and the incoming buying mission (IBM) held in conjunction with the show,” he said. Last year, Mihas generated about RM2.2 billion in potential and immediate sales. Mihas 2009 , held from May 6-10, attracted 34,051 visitors, made up of 13,412 trade visitors and 20,639 public visitors from a total of 65 countries. The event was expanded to offer a total of 529 exhibitors occupying 628 booths.

“Foreign country participation increased from 19 to 31 countries. Since it was first organised in 2004, more than 130,000 local and international visitors have visited Mihas,” he said.

Noharuddin said the top five participating countries in Mihas 2009 were China, Iran, Palestine, Sudan and Indonesia. First-time participants included Japan, Tunisia, Russia, Burkina Faso, France, South Korea and Taiwan. In conjunction with Mihas 2009, Matrade organized the IBM from May 5-6, which attracted 429 foreign companies from 46 countries, with 596 representatives. “A total of 6,951 business meetings were held with representatives from 660 Malaysian companies,” he said. He said buyers were flown in by Matrade from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference countries, the UK, the US, Algeria, China, Senegal, South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia, Singapore, Canada and Japan.

Source: The New Straits Times Press

A local company, Terang Jaya Kayangan (M) Sdn Bhd has been appointed by investors from the three countries to carry out the planning for the project.

The chief executive officer of Terang Jaya Kayangan, Datuk Zainal Abidin Hamid, said the development of the tourist township will involve the building of a theme park, floating town, shopping centre, hotel and five-star resort as well as education centres and tourist based hospital.

It would also have low cost, middle cost and exclusive housing estates as well as government offices.

The development site is strategically located as it will be close to the beach and surrounded by lush vegetation and this is expected to attract the interest of investors particularly from the Middle East who are wishing to make Malaysia their second home, Zainal Abidin told a press conference here Thursday.

Work on the project is expected to take off in June next year and its completion is expected in 2020.

Construction will be carried out in three phases begining with the eco tourist spots and a floating township while the second phase will see the development of hotel while the third phase will include an Islamic financial centre as well as cultural centre.

When the township is fully completed, it is expected to provide a total of 40,000 job opportunities.

Source: Bernama

Mr. Atif Naweed, Managing Director of Axis-Markizz L.L.C, represented the group in the signing of the agreement with Dr. Abou Taleb Talebi, Chairman of Almasah International Real Estate in the presence of Mr. Foo Fatt Chuen, Chairman of Axis Identity Group and Mr.Che Kim Ling, Group Chief Executive Officer of Axis Identity Group. The contracted value for these projects amounts to AED295 million.

The completion date for the three projects is planned for the third quarters of 2010.

According to Mr. Che, the Group Chief Executive Officer, ‘It is encouraging that despite the current economic environment, the group is able to obtain substantial orders from abroad. These three orders have been carefully selected after elaborate pre-qualification and due diligence from a list of more than 20 potentials. On the other hand, the client has nominated us because we have been able to provide them a total solution that covers financial, technical and delivery aspects of the project. This success has opened the doors to a number of other potentials that will contribute in excess RM1 billion to orders for 2009. This would indeed be a classic example on “Bloom from Gloom”.

Source: PRLog.org

Fiabci is the French acronym for the International Real Estate Federation.

The first runner-up for the retail category was Shanghai Wanda Plaza, Shanghai, China.

Awarded by an international panel comprising top real estate professionals and experts, the Fiabci Prix d’Excellence rewards overall merit and not just aesthetics, functionality or size.

The winners will gain access to unique international platforms for their projects and companies throughout the extensive Fiabci network of more than 60 member countries and over 120 professional organisations worldwide.

The awards presentation ceremony was supposed to be held during the 60th Fiabci World Congress in Beijing.

However, it was called off three days before it was due to begin on May 19 on concerns over the spread of the A (H1N1) influenza.

Lisa Kurrass

Instead, the ceremony was held here in Malaysia for Pavilion Kuala Lumpur to receive the award from Lisa Kurrass, the new Fiabci World president.

The award was received by Datin Cindy Lim, deputy chairman of Pavilian Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

Pavilion Kuala Lumpur has a total of 450 tenants across 1.3 million sq ft of net of retail space.

It has received about 48 million visitors since its opening in 2007.

Fashion makes up 60 percent of its retail composition, 21 percent food and beverages and 19 percent urban leisure.

Federal Territories Minister, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, and chairman of Urusharta Cemerlang Sdn Bhd (owner of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur), Tan Sri Zainol Mahmood, also attended the ceremony.

Source: Bernama

Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has invested over RM300 million to set up its non-chilled distribution centre in Bukit Beruntung, Selangor.

The centre is expected to be opened this September, its chief operating officer, David Hobbs said.

“We are very committed to the Malaysian market. The new distribution centre could be the most modern distribution centre in Malaysia,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the “Tesco International Sourcing Programme” seminar here today.

Hobbs said Tesco Stores Malaysia is also planning to set up seven new stores this year.

Tesco Stores Malaysia was incepted on Nov 29, 2001, as a strategic alliance between Tesco Plc UK and local conglomerate, Sime Darby Bhd.

It commenced operations in February 2002 with the opening of its first hypermarket in Puchong, Selangor.

The hypermarket operator currently employs nearly 12,000 workers and operates 30 stores nationwide.

The “Tesco International Sourcing Programme” seminar was jointly organised by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and Tesco Malaysia.

Dr Wong Lai Sum

Matrade deputy chief executive officer (Trade Promotion) Dr Wong Lai Sum said the seminar was an on-going effort to promote Malaysian-made products internationally.

She said the seminar will provide an overview of sourcing requirements for Tesco stores worldwide, which includes customer preferences, packaging, regulations and logistical arrangements.

In conjunction with the seminar, Matrade is organising several one-to-one business meetings between Tesco officials and Malaysian companies from various industries.

Meanwhile, Hobbs said about seven Malaysian suppliers sell their products at the Tesco UK at the moment.

Source: Bernama

iProperty.com Malaysia, Malaysia’s No. 1 property website with the largest online database of properties for sale and rent in the country, and part of Asia’s group of leading property portals iProperty.com Group, announced today that it has implemented the Google Maps API technology on its award-winning website to provide a significant boost to the experience of property hunters who visit the portal.

Visitors to the website are now able to view the exact location of properties via Google Maps, a function that greatly enhances the property search experience. Google Maps allows viewers to switch between map view with streets and building outlines to satellite view with the top of houses and buildings shown.

The Google Maps function adds further value to the already information-rich property listings on the iProperty.com Malaysia website. At present, iProperty.com Malaysia’s listings have many features that provide potential buyers and renters with information on the property as well as multiple channels to quickly and easily contact the respective real estate agents. These features include photographs, videos, facts and figures, descriptions, floor plans, loan calculator, agent details, quick enquiry form and an instant messenger function that allows interested buyers to immediately chat with agents, who are online, to find out more.

Property hunters may now search for most of iProperty.com Malaysia’s properties on a single map interface too. The “Search by Map” interface, which visitors can either launch directly or through the property search engine on the website, enables them to look for property on an interface that gives them a much richer experience from what they were previously used to. Viewers may zoom in on a particular property on the online map, view partial or full details of the property, send coordinates to a GPS device and in the near future, view nearby amenities. This “Search by Map” interface is the first in a series of innovative Google Maps API implementations that will be released on iProperty.com Malaysia.

Chief Executive Officer of the iProperty.com Group Ken Tsurumaru said:

“As the country’s leading Malaysian property portal, iProperty.com Malaysia is constantly looking at ways to enhance the property hunting experience for Malaysians, and arming them with knowledge to make informed decisions. We are extremely delighted to showcase our Google Maps API implementation on our award-winning property website http://www.iproperty.com.my as the first phase of this exciting initiative. The possibilities presented by this Google Maps API technology are extremely exciting and we look forward to working closely with the Google team to develop applications that would further enhance the property hunting experience on our Malaysian website.”

“When people first look into buying a property, they take into consideration many factors including how built-up the surrounding area is as well as its proximity to infrastructure such as LRT and monorail stations, and schools. The Google Maps function helps buyers quickly and effectively assess a property’s surroundings, which are important considerations in purchasing a property,” said Tsurumaru.

The Google Maps feature will be particularly useful for people seeking Malaysian property remotely, such as foreign investors located overseas and expatriates relocating to the country. Investors can now immediately access properties available in locations of their choice, and study the surroundings and locality before making trips to Malaysia to view these properties. Expatriates looking for accommodation prior to their move to the country can use Google Maps to determine ideal areas to reside in, based on proximity to their new workplace, international schools, train stations, recreational facilities, entertainment outlets and shopping malls.

According to Tsurumaru, the next step is to develop a mapplet that will allow iProperty.com to have its local data and active listings, which are dynamic by nature, on the newly launched Google Maps Malaysia to reach millions of Internet users in Malaysia and around the world.
“We consider our current implementation the first phase of our Google Maps adventure. Our immediate next step is to fully integrate the Google Maps API with our property search engine to provide a seamless experience where users can switch between search results on a list and search results on a map. On top of that, we may also roll out features like heat maps based on transaction prices and possibly, depending on the readiness of the markets, to create mobile applications using Google’s technologies to benefit our users,” said Tsurumaru.

With Malaysian REITS down but not out in the face of an economic downturn the Malyasian Government has bolstered this popular investment class with a 2009 Budget allowing REITS to open their investor register to up to 70% foreign ownership.

With some M-REITS being 10-45% off their 2007 peaks the move has been welcomed by the sector says Elvin Fernandez, a Malaysian property valuer and Managing Director of the Khong & Jaafar Group of Companies who is a speaker at the upcoming Cityscape Asia conference in Singapore on May 19-21.

“The incentive is ‘right on the button’ as it was awaited by REIT managers and the market for the industry to leap into a period of sustained higher growth and hopefully stake a claim as a regional centre for the REIT industry,” Mr Fernandez said.

While political uncertainty and rising unemployment has impacted market confidence in Malaysia, some key indicators remain sound. Prime office real estate is still generating yields in the region of 7-8%, while the residential market, although currently subdued, is supported by the youthful country’s extremely high rate of new household formation who demand about 80,000 units of houses from the primary market per year, according to Mr Fernandez.

“For Malaysia as a whole, the key relationship between house price increases and income increases has also been tracking in unison over the past 12 years, suggesting a basis for reasonable price support in the market,” Mr Fernandez said.

Malaysian house prices increased at a compounding annual rate of 5.09% over the 12 year period, while household income was up by 5.14% per year over the same period.

“With property (from construction and services) directly contributing some 6.5% of Malaysia’s economy, but impacting as many as 140 other industries and services indirectly, the health of the property sector is a matter of national importance and this explains the Government’s helping hand to the REIT sector,” Mr Fernandez says.

A strong contingent of Malaysian developers is also showing at the Cityscape Asia exhibition to be held at the Suntec Convention Centre. Confirmed exhibitors include Mah Sing Group, EPAD, RS Capital, East Ledang, Danga Bay, Mulpha, NASA TTDI, Camko City, and a number of developers from the Iskandar Development Region which is backing up its successful foray at Cityscape Abu Dhabi with the opportunity to access South East Asian and Chinese investment at the Singapore event. They will also come together during the exclusive Cityscape Asia Investors & Developers Networking Reception to forge international relationships and discuss business and investment issues.

The role of other regional Governments will also be under the spotlight at Cityscape Asia.

The Singapore Government pleasantly surprised the local property sector with a 40% rebate on property taxes in its January 2009 stimulation package, while the Vietnam Parliament is debating changes that could increase sales volumes to overseas based Vietnamese by as much as 1000% per year from September 2009.

In Jakarta, major Government-backed infrastructure projects such as a Monorail, MRT and Airport link are boosting the property sector while stronger regulations for property valuation have improved transparency in debt finance and capital markets over the past few months.