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Property News

Tekkun

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Loyal
Market is definitely moving southwards.
=============================

Keppel Offshore and Marine cuts another 2800 workers

APRIL 19TH, 2016

Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine provided a dampener to festivities during Singapore Maritime Week with the revelation that the company has cut an additional 2,800 workers as the offshore downturn continues to starve the company of new orders.

The company said within its latest set of quarterly results that it has reduced its workforce by 9.4% since the beginning of 2016, with 500 of the workers let go in Singapore while 2,300 were at overseas yards.

During 2015 Keppel has reduced its direct staff and subcontracted workforce by around 13,900 because it was expecting “a possibly long winter.”

Keppel said that in the first quarter of 2016, it had reduced its total overheads by 28% compared to the first quarter of 2015.
 

ECboy

Alfrescian
Loyal
Market is definitely moving southwards.
=============================

Keppel Offshore and Marine cuts another 2800 workers

APRIL 19TH, 2016

Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine provided a dampener to festivities during Singapore Maritime Week with the revelation that the company has cut an additional 2,800 workers as the offshore downturn continues to starve the company of new orders.

The company said within its latest set of quarterly results that it has reduced its workforce by 9.4% since the beginning of 2016, with 500 of the workers let go in Singapore while 2,300 were at overseas yards.

During 2015 Keppel has reduced its direct staff and subcontracted workforce by around 13,900 because it was expecting “a possibly long winter.”

Keppel said that in the first quarter of 2016, it had reduced its total overheads by 28% compared to the first quarter of 2015.

Keppel not doing well coz of crappy clients like Sete, which owes them >S$200mil

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/com...razil-means-no-work-by-keppel-for-client-sete
 

Tekkun

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Loyal
And in Malaysia, downturn is just as bad. Megasteel which is part of the Lion Group is not spared.

===================================================================

Over 200 Megasteel workers stage protest following layoff BY C. PREMANANTHINI - 18 APRIL 2016 @ 7:48 PM BANTING:

More than 200 employees of Megasteel Sdn Bhd - Lion Group staged a peaceful protest in front of the company’s factory today, demanding fair compensation. Raja Badrulizaman, who represented the employees at the picket, said that they were called for a meeting on March 31 and told that most of the employees will either be relocated or have their services terminated. However, on Apr 1, they were given a 24-hour notice of termination from the company. Many of us here have worked for more than 10 years, and there are some senior employees with 30 over years of experience. "Megasteel and local steel manufacturers have been badly affected by rampant imports at dumping prices the past several years. "This has resulted in low orders and low capacity utilisation of 20 per cent to 30per cent with the major steel mills incurring heavy losses of more than RM2 billion in 2014 and bank borrowings in excess of RM12 billion," she said. She said Megasteel is running its operations intermittently leading to many employees being laid off or retrenched. She said the management of Megasteel understands and is concerned with the plight of its employees whose livelihood are being threatened. "The company has and will continue to engage with all stakeholders and the relevant authorities to try and address the unavoidable issue of lay off and retrenchment of its employees given the present difficult business environment. "We are with constant consultation with the authorities such as the JTK and Industrial Relations Department. "Megasteel is also in discussion with the Metal Industry Employees Union (MIEU) to seek an amicable solution to the employees’ plight and concerns," she said.

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/04/140006/over-200-megasteel-workers-stage-protest-following-layoff
 

mpan12

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http://sbr.com.sg/source/propertyguru/luxury-home-prices-slump-amid-rental-rout

It is not always rosy and bao jiak when buying properties in Singapore. When the chips are down, some may face greater losses compared to a $300K loss in JB. Moreover it may be easier to hold a $300k JB property compared to a $1.3million or more SG condo.

SG properties are for those who have money to invest in. The value and demand for SG properties are always there compared to JB.

The sellers of those condos are not likely to lose money if they had bought their properties several years ago. Even in this soft market, they would have made several hundred thousand SGD even if they sell now. Of course it's still less than during the good times but they can still profit. Anyway, this downturn only affects mainly the luxury units in CCR.

As for JB properties at $300k, the demand is relatively less. The value doesn't hold as well with age also. You may buy it much cheap than an SG property, but can you find buyers readily? Can you still make as much profits if you sell now compared to SG property?

Cheap does not necessarily mean it's good. Even though $300k is much less than $1.3 million, nobody will want to lose this money if it can be prevented.
 

Frodo

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Loyal
SG properties are for those who have money to invest in. The value and demand for SG properties are always there compared to JB.

The sellers of those condos are not likely to lose money if they had bought their properties several years ago. Even in this soft market, they would have made several hundred thousand SGD even if they sell now. Of course it's still less than during the good times but they can still profit. Anyway, this downturn only affects mainly the luxury units in CCR.

As for JB properties at $300k, the demand is relatively less. The value doesn't hold as well with age also. You may buy it much cheap than an SG property, but can you find buyers readily? Can you still make as much profits if you sell now compared to SG property?

Cheap does not necessarily mean it's good. Even though $300k is much less than $1.3 million, nobody will want to lose this money if it can be prevented.

Of course nobody wants to lose any money if they can help it. But losing a cool SGD$1 million dollars is not a small pill to swallow either, unless one is filthy rich. I’m just saying that the burden of a $300K loan is far more manageable than a $1 million loan, when the market is not doing well. Anyway my view is that JB and SG present different opportunities to different folks. For peasant folks like me who have no spare money to invest and certainly no money to lose, SG properties are virtually untouchable for me but JB offers me something that SG cannot. I’m also not saying that cheap means it’s good, though I would say that to me it is good that it is cheap, relatively speaking of course.:p
 

potter

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Loyal
Of course nobody wants to lose any money if they can help it. But losing a cool SGD$1 million dollars is not a small pill to swallow either, unless one is filthy rich. I’m just saying that the burden of a $300K loan is far more manageable than a $1 million loan, when the market is not doing well. Anyway my view is that JB and SG present different opportunities to different folks. For peasant folks like me who have no spare money to invest and certainly no money to lose, SG properties are virtually untouchable for me but JB offers me something that SG cannot. I’m also not saying that cheap means it’s good, though I would say that to me it is good that it is cheap, relatively speaking of course.:p

Those who bought yrs ago..must be ah gong to sell it away, as an alien. Provided got many properties in mly.:p
 

snowbird

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Loyal
Which residential development that has taken place?

This article was published in 2014 during the peak of launching of residential units all over JB, you should read this again, very carefully.
http://www.stproperty.sg/articles-p...-down-fears-of-property-glut/a/174342/page2/1

The justification for the 300,000 new homes, under construction or planned in JB given by the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) CEO Mr Ismail Ibrahim.

His reasons basically:

1. The MRT/BRT (bus rail transit) between JB and SG targeted to be completed by 2018 or latest by 2020.
2. Petroleum Integrated Complex in Pengerang (PIPC) when completed will ultimately need 1,400,000 employees and 600,000 new homes in the Iskandar region.

Now 2016, two years later, the RTS is still talk only with nothing confirmed...........so now maybe possible in 2025 ?
PIPC, now with RM5.1 billion project officially scrapped last week and starting of major development in PIPC pushed to AFTER 2018
So new housing units completed in 3 years time for the projected 14,000 new jobs, including 4,000 professionals will not get a tenant for a long long time.
 

xebay11

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Loyal
This article was published in 2014 during the peak of launching of residential units all over JB, you should read this again, very carefully.
http://www.stproperty.sg/articles-p...-down-fears-of-property-glut/a/174342/page2/1

The justification for the 300,000 new homes, under construction or planned in JB given by the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) CEO Mr Ismail Ibrahim.

His reasons basically:

1. The MRT/BRT (bus rail transit) between JB and SG targeted to be completed by 2018 or latest by 2020.
2. Petroleum Integrated Complex in Pengerang (PIPC) when completed will ultimately need 1,400,000 employees and 600,000 new homes in the Iskandar region.

Now 2016, two years later, the RTS is still talk only with nothing confirmed...........so now maybe possible in 2025 ?
PIPC, now with RM5.1 billion project officially scrapped last week and starting of major development in PIPC pushed to AFTER 2018
So new housing units completed in 3 years time for the projected 14,000 new jobs, including 4,000 professionals will not get a tenant for a long long time.

I was right all along. Never count eggs before they hatch in MY. I have been shown many wonderful proposals while looking at property in MY but I know how Malaysia works.
 

Tekkun

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Loyal
I was right all along. Never count eggs before they hatch in MY. I have been shown many wonderful proposals while looking at property in MY but I know how Malaysia works.

I really salute these people.
Investing on the back some political announcements or something which have not materialse yet.Talk is cheap and these investors swallowed it all.
But what to do, they are not Malaysians. :smile:
 
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snowbird

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Loyal
Malaysia BOLEH convince these people to invest without thinking. After that they kpkb.
Kinda scared cannot grab on time on any whispering investments.

So, in your valued opinion, should foreigners / SPRs / locals still invest in residential property Iskandar now?
I say invest, so those who are buying for self stay are not included here.

Yes, why?
No, why?
Don't know, why?
 

Tekkun

Alfrescian
Loyal
So, in your valued opinion, should foreigners / SPRs / locals still invest in residential property Iskandar now?
I say invest, so those who are buying for self stay are not included here.

Yes, why?
No, why?
Don't know, why?

Okie, for starters, I would qualify myself. I am a Malaysian who invested in Iskandar, KL, Singapore and some overseas. And I would not be investing anymore in Iskandar especially in residential properties. So what I am saying might be biased. So read with a huge discount. Btw, I started off buying my first low cost house in 1984, so you can say I came a long way.

Everyone has their own priorities in life. The money you keep in Singapore bank has a FD of max 1.6% pa. So people are thinking all the while how to make more money. They tried shares, bonds, reits, etc. Not really give you good returns, some negative and most of them tanked.They would love to buy Singapore properties to be stable but it is too expensive. The amount they have is neither here nor there.

People invest in Malaysia to park their money for few purposes. One is to get a better ROI and I know personally a Singaporean who invested in a condo Meritz, KLCC and also Pavilion. I do know a brother here who bought One KL. But when you invest for investments with your hard earned cash, you look for projects that give you immediate returns. You do not buy new projects unless you are so very confident. Same goes for Iskandar. You do not buy into the unknown for investments. You wait till you get the actual picture before you jump in. But the entry cost might be high and the risks are higher in terms of repairs. The other is property psf basis compared to Singapore, more so with the forex advantage.The potential upside is there.

Then why do Singaporeans buy new projects in Iskandar? Most buy cos the entry cost is low. It give them an opportunity to own a property with minimal cost. They cannot afford to save for years and when they got enough, the goal post move again. So it is either you jump in or you won’t get to go in at all. I would say if you want to buy purely for investments, open your eyes big big and do not listen to anyone. Trust yourself and go to the site yourself and feel. Many just buy and don’t even know where it is. They trust those brochures that has nice views and clear water. They think the world is so perfect. And they listen to the politicians and press release as gospel truths. This is Malaysia, not Singapore. Overall, we take calculated risks in everything we do. Calculated risks in this case, we have when investing in Iskandar is the monetary much lower than In Singapore. People buy cos they are comfortable with the surroundings. They can feel and manage the risks.

They hope there will be CA. Let’s leave CA aside as over long term, any properties in the world would have CA unless there’s a radiation leak. Then they look for tenants and hope rentals would cover their mortgage. If I were them, I would see if the infra and the neighbourhood would support these rentals. Is the pillars of the economy there to support these rentals? Or is it just a hyped up one? Look at history. For the past 25 years, is Malaysia badly affected by recession and can it recover?

So in summary, yes can invest but it all depend on what and how you go about it as above.

Happy reading.
 
Last edited:

Frodo

Alfrescian
Loyal
Okie, for starters, I would qualify myself. I am a Malaysian who invested in Iskandar, KL, Singapore and some overseas. And I would not be investing anymore in Iskandar especially in residential properties. So what I am saying might be biased. So read with a huge discount. Btw, I started off buying my first low cost house in 1984, so you can say I came a long way.

Everyone has their own priorities in life. The money you keep in Singapore bank has a FD of max 1.6% pa. So people are thinking all the while how to make more money. They tried shares, bonds, reits, etc. Not really give you good returns, some negative and most of them tanked.They would love to buy Singapore properties to be stable but it is too expensive. The amount they have is neither here nor there.

People invest in Malaysia to park their money for few purposes. One is to get a better ROI and I know personally a Singaporean who invested in a condo Meritz, KLCC and also Pavilion. I do know a brother here who bought One KL. But when you invest for investments with your hard earned cash, you look for projects that give you immediate returns. You do not buy new projects unless you are so very confident. Same goes for Iskandar. You do not buy into the unknown for investments. You wait till you get the actual picture before you jump in. But the entry cost might be high and the risks are higher in terms of repairs. The other is property psf basis compared to Singapore, more so with the forex advantage.The potential upside is there.

Then why do Singaporeans buy new projects in Iskandar? Most buy cos the entry cost is low. It give them an opportunity to own a property with minimal cost. They cannot afford to save for years and when they got enough, the goal post move again. So it is either you jump in or you won’t get to go in at all. I would say if you want to buy purely for investments, open your eyes big big and do not listen to anyone. Trust yourself and go to the site yourself and feel. Many just buy and don’t even know where it is. They trust those brochures that has nice views and clear water. They think the world is so perfect. And they listen to the politicians and press release as gospel truths. This is Malaysia, not Singapore. Overall, we take calculated risks in everything we do. Calculated risks in this case, we have when investing in Iskandar is the monetary much lower than In Singapore. People buy cos they are comfortable with the surroundings. They can feel and manage the risks.

They hope there will be CA. Let’s leave CA aside as over long term, any properties in the world would have CA unless there’s a radiation leak. Then they look for tenants and hope rentals would cover their mortgage. If I were them, I would see if the infra and the neighbourhood would support these rentals. Is the pillars of the economy there to support these rentals? Or is it just a hyped up one? Look at history. For the past 25 years, is Malaysia badly affected by recession and can it recover?

So in summary, yes can invest but it all depend on what and how you go about it as above.

Happy reading.

Wisdom post spotted which should be flagged and pinned!
 

Tekkun

Alfrescian
Loyal
When you invest, you look for instant returns and pillars that support rentals. This is an example.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Business NewsHome > Business > Business News
Tuesday, 19 April 2016 | MYT 4:29 PM
McDermott shift from Singapore to Malaysia done by June

SINGAPORE: The relocation of Houston-based McDermott International from Singapore to Malaysia is expected to be completed by June.

Its vice-president and general manager for Asia-Pacific, Hugh Cuthbertson said the transition was underway and new personnel were being recruited in Kuala Lumpur since two months ago.

"We will continue this and hope to have the office fully manned by June.
"Our new head office has been fully prepared and out-fitted, it is already functioning and new personnel are already working from it," Cuthbertson said in an email interview with Bernama.

Besides McDermott, other multinational oil services companies, including Technip and Subsea 7, are also relocating to Malaysia from the republic.
McDermott, which provides engineering solutions and designs oil production facilities, was reportedly bucked the trend of most offshore and marine players and done relatively well in the past year.

It grew its order book of oil production facilities last year to US$4.2 billion (US$1=RM3.89) from US$3.6 billion in 2014, the largest increase in orders since 2012, a report said.

"Our move to Malaysia was influenced by several factors, we have a client base in Kuala Lumpur and we want to work closely with clients as we move forward.

"Kuala Lumpur is also increasingly recognised as a regional hub for the oil and gas industry. Many of our key suppliers and specialist vendors are based there and there is a strong oil and gas industry engineering base as well," Cuthbertson said.


On April 13, McDermott named its US$453 million new flagship vessel DLV2000, proving that it is positioning itself for the global energy recovery amidst a lower global oil price and reduced deep water exploration. The first project DLV2000 will be deployed for is the INPEX Ichthys Liquefied Natural Gas project in offshore Western Australia next month.
The DLV2000 will add high-end capabilities and versatility to McDermott's global fleet by utilising a single vessel on projects requiring a combination of pipelay, heavy lift and deck space for structures and offshore workforce accommodation that would normally be executed by multiple vessels.
McDermott is a leading provider of integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPIC) services for offshore and subsea field developments worldwide, offering financial strength through diversity. It delivers fixed and floating production facilities, pipelines and subsea systems from concept to commissioning to help all companies safely produce and transport hydrocarbons.

McDermott has served the energy industry since 1923 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. - Bernama
 

xebay11

Alfrescian
Loyal
Okie, for starters, I would qualify myself. I am a Malaysian who invested in Iskandar, KL, Singapore and some overseas. And I would not be investing anymore in Iskandar especially in residential properties. So what I am saying might be biased. So read with a huge discount. Btw, I started off buying my first low cost house in 1984, so you can say I came a long way.

Everyone has their own priorities in life. The money you keep in Singapore bank has a FD of max 1.6% pa. So people are thinking all the while how to make more money. They tried shares, bonds, reits, etc. Not really give you good returns, some negative and most of them tanked.They would love to buy Singapore properties to be stable but it is too expensive. The amount they have is neither here nor there.

People invest in Malaysia to park their money for few purposes. One is to get a better ROI and I know personally a Singaporean who invested in a condo Meritz, KLCC and also Pavilion. I do know a brother here who bought One KL. But when you invest for investments with your hard earned cash, you look for projects that give you immediate returns. You do not buy new projects unless you are so very confident. Same goes for Iskandar. You do not buy into the unknown for investments. You wait till you get the actual picture before you jump in. But the entry cost might be high and the risks are higher in terms of repairs. The other is property psf basis compared to Singapore, more so with the forex advantage.The potential upside is there.

Then why do Singaporeans buy new projects in Iskandar? Most buy cos the entry cost is low. It give them an opportunity to own a property with minimal cost. They cannot afford to save for years and when they got enough, the goal post move again. So it is either you jump in or you won’t get to go in at all. I would say if you want to buy purely for investments, open your eyes big big and do not listen to anyone. Trust yourself and go to the site yourself and feel. Many just buy and don’t even know where it is. They trust those brochures that has nice views and clear water. They think the world is so perfect. And they listen to the politicians and press release as gospel truths. This is Malaysia, not Singapore. Overall, we take calculated risks in everything we do. Calculated risks in this case, we have when investing in Iskandar is the monetary much lower than In Singapore. People buy cos they are comfortable with the surroundings. They can feel and manage the risks.

They hope there will be CA. Let’s leave CA aside as over long term, any properties in the world would have CA unless there’s a radiation leak. Then they look for tenants and hope rentals would cover their mortgage. If I were them, I would see if the infra and the neighbourhood would support these rentals. Is the pillars of the economy there to support these rentals? Or is it just a hyped up one? Look at history. For the past 25 years, is Malaysia badly affected by recession and can it recover?

So in summary, yes can invest but it all depend on what and how you go about it as above.

Happy reading.

I would say barring the 1MDB debacle, putting money into RM FD is a damn good return, why dabble with property for investment if your pockets are not deep?

My simple colleague put a few hundred thousand in RM FD, when the RM was sliding he took out all his funds, waited for the bottom and went in again, I bet his investment pays off more than any here who bought Malaysian property.

As for self stay, buying for retirement is a reasonably sound investment, but when I discussed this with a colleague, he immediately talked about safety issues.
 

Tekkun

Alfrescian
Loyal
I would say barring the 1MDB debacle, putting money into RM FD is a damn good return, why dabble with property for investment if your pockets are not deep?

My simple colleague put a few hundred thousand in RM FD, when the RM was sliding he took out all his funds, waited for the bottom and went in again, I bet his investment pays off more than any here who bought Malaysian property.

As for self stay, buying for retirement is a reasonably sound investment, but when I discussed this with a colleague, he immediately talked about safety issues.

Absolutely agreed. In bad times, money in my own pocket is anytime better than those in the bush.
RM 1.0m give you RM 3,743 per month based on 4.2% FD. It is good rate in Malaysia. Even Singapore Gov. Bonds give you only 1.7% only.
 
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