Invest
IIB 'adopts' first school in Johor
11 April 2012, By News Straits Times
SK Sungai Danga comes under Iskandar Investment Bhd’s ‘care’ in a bid to boost its students’ academic performance ISKANDAR Investment Bhd has chosen SK Sungai Danga here as the first school under its school adoption programme.
Education@Iskandar Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Khairil Anwar Ahmad said the school's adoption programme was IIB's initiative to enhance the academic performance of the rural schools' 206 pupils.
Prior to the adoption, he said IIB had already carried out various programmes in the school. They include providing essentials and materials under its Back To School programme.
"We bought uniforms, shoes, bags and stationery for the pupils.
Govt may double minimum price of houses foreigners can buy
11 April 2012, By The Star
The Government is considering raising the minimum floor prices of houses foreigners are allowed to buy to RM1mil from the current RM500,000 in an effort to control the rise in property prices, sources said.
They said such a decision was “in the pipeline” and the implementation would be made by the economic planning unit (EPU) under the Prime Minister's Department currently headed by Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop
Property developer opens gallery in Lion City to attract locals and expatriates
05 April 2012, By The Star
UEM Land Holdings Bhd has opened a property gallery in Singapore targeting Singaporeans and expatriates as its potential property buyers and investors.
The gallery is located at a row of three-storey pre-war Chinese shophouses along Tan Quee Lan Street, Heritage Place which have been conserved and converted into offices and food and beverage outlets.
The shophouses were previously the living quarters for many early Chinese immigrants who came from mainland China to Singapore seeking for a better life in the former British Colony.
The area is now one of Singapore’s renowned business districts and tourist attractions where heritage and historical buildings stand side by side with modern skyscrapers.
Govt spending RM880mil on flood mitigation projects
27 March 2012, By The Star
Department says 32 flood mitigation projects under way. The Government, via the Irrigation and Drainage Department , will be spending RM880mil on flood mitigation projects throughout the country.
Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said that a total 32 projects were under way and were expected to be completed by the end of the year.
He said flood hazard maps for six major river basins Muar, Kulai, Kinta, Selangor, Muda and Kedah had been completed.
Johor’s new global school
26 March 2012, By Bernama
AN international school valued at RM60 million will be built in Seri Alam, Johor, which is expected to be completed by September next year.
Pasir Gudang Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the Excelsior International School will be constructed on eight hectares of land and will provide an option to parents who send their children to schools in Singapore.
“There are parents who send their children for schooling in Singapore and this will offer them a choice.
“This way, they no longer need to get up early to send their children all the way there,” he told reporters after the school’s ground-breaking ceremony at Jalan Purnama, Bandar Seri Alam, recently.
Leveraging on an iconic brand - Sunrise and UEM Land
26 March 2012, By The Star
The merger of Sunrise Bhd with UEM Land Holdings Bhd early last year is set to provide a much-needed boost to the enlarged UEM Land group. StarBiz's ANGIE NG recently caught up with UEM Land MD and CEO Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim on the group's plans, going forward.
STARBIZ: Since the takeover of Sunrise by UEM Land, what are the plans for the Sunrise brand with regards to its land bank and plans for new projects?
SP Setia posts record-breaking first quarter
23 March 2012, By Business Times
SP Setia Bhd yesterday announced a record-breaking quarter with sales at RM933 million for its first quarter ended 31 January.
Growth forecast for Malaysia realistic: Economist
23 March 2012, By Business Times
BANK Negara Malaysia's new growth estimate of 4 per cent to 5 per cent this year is realistic in a sluggish external demand environment, a regional economist says.
But domestic demand, which is expected to be main driver of growth, will be affected by the central bank's tightening policy stance on credit, said Dr Chua Hak Bin, who is Bank of America Merrill Lynch head of Emerging Asia Economics.
"Domestic demand growth will be affected by the policy measures for cars and properties and we have already seen the January sales number for cars dip," he said in an interview here yesterday.
JCorp bonds to be govt-guaranteed
23 March 2012, By The Star
Johor Corp (JCorp), the asset-rich but debt-laden state investment arm, has received the green light from the Government to issue up to RM3bil in government-guaranteed bonds as part of its debt refinancing plan, sources said.
The sources said that the bonds would be issued “soon” by its arrangers CIMB and Maybank, well in time to meet the July 31 deadline when RM3.6bil of JCorp's existing bonds mature.
SP Setia earnings up 19%
23 March 2012, By The Star
SP Setia Bhd posted a 19.3% year-on-year jump in net profit to RM74mil for its first quarter ended Jan 31.
The property giant attributed this mainly to an increase in gross profit margins from 25% to 30%.
However, revenue for the quarter under review declined by 5.3% to RM491.6mil.
