How come so many said there will be another meltdown next year? Don't understand leh? Can you kindly explain to us? I thought US president election is next year so should be good right?
What's this talk of meltdown? AProf, needling us again ? In fact more good news in yesterday's Singapore Business Times front page.... (but maybe too soon to open...they should wait till Legoland )
Published May 6, 2011
Iskandar bets big on designer discount outlet
By PAULINE NG
IN KUALA LUMPUR
THE Iskandar Regional Development Authority is looking to the opening of the much-awaited Johor Premium Outlet (JPO) with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.
There is anticipation because the international designer discount outlet is expected to give fledgling Iskandar Malaysia a timely boost given the projection of four million visitors annually. And trepidation because the surge in numbers will test its preparedness, said chief executive Ismail Ibrahim.
The Premium Outlet will be the first of its kind in South-east Asia and the prospect of 330,000 sq ft of designer fashion and accessories at discounted prices has already stirred the imagination of shopping-mad Malaysians, Singaporeans and others in the region.
The RM149 million (S$61.5 million) mall will join the existing 52 outlets in the United States, Mexico, Japan and South Korea.
The first phase, involving 175,000 sq ft of upscale shopping at Kulaijaya, will be launched in the second half of the year. It marks the foray into Malaysia of New York Stock Exchange listed Simon Property Group whose subsidiary Premium Outlets is a 50:50 partner in the JPO with Genting Plantations.
The Genting group which owns Resorts World Sentosa and Resorts World Genting in Pahang has cannily located JPO on 17ha that is at the intersection of the North-South Expressway and the Second Link, making it easily accessible from Johor and Singapore once other planned interchanges are completed such as the RM1.1 billion six-lane Coastal Highway which is scheduled to open at the end of the year.
Other on-going infrastructure includes the 7km Eastern Dispersal Link which will be ready in March 2012, and the 77 km Senai-Desaru highway.
The good news for users is they will be toll-free.
The infrastructure is expected to help Iskandar reach a tipping point next year when other catalyst projects such as the Newcastle Medical School (expected to be completed this year) and Legoland are completed.
At a media briefing in Iskandar, KGV-Lambert Smith Hampton (Johor) executive director Samuel Tan said Kuala Lumpur developers are beating a hasty path to Iskandar because its upside now is so much greater, with recent property transactions registering noticeable increases in value. 'People are land-banking and every day we get calls to help them find land.'
'Because the new southern link will make travel seamless, if you know anyone who wants to sell land near Pasir Gudang, we have ready buyers.'
Land in Danga Bay sold for about RM220 psf about four years ago but has now risen to RM400-plus psf, he said. And depending on where residential properties are sited, some have doubled in value since 2005. Most of Johor's failed projects from the 1990s have also been taken over by private companies and rehabilitated.
The building boom notwithstanding, Mr Ismail cautioned against an overhang and has advised developers to identify the anchor economic activity that will drive their townships rather than merely jumping on the bandwagon.
However, he observed there are more owner-occupier buyers now compared to previously, owing to expectations of greater integration with Singapore once a planned rapid transport system (RTS) link is established between the city state and Johor Baru.
Malaysia's RTS is expected to link with Singapore's MRT but details remain sketchy as both governments continue to negotiate on numerous issues including a planned wellness township to be built jointly by Khazanah Nasional and Temasek Holdings.
Johor chief minister Ghani Othman indicated the RTS is likely to connect to an interchange station at Kempas since JB central lacks the requisite space.
Those delays notwithstanding, he conceded Iskandar's tax sweeteners also need reworking because they have had little impact, many perceiving them to be too restrictive. As a result, only a dozen companies and three individuals have applied for the incentives.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,437750,00.html?