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New developments to share

Valdez

Alfrescian
Loyal
Seizing opportunities across the Causeway

SPURRED by restrictions back home, Singaporeans have now cast their eyes on Malaysia, particularly the Iskandar region. The close proximity and warmer economic ties with Malaysia have sparked increased interest from investors keen on buying property across the Causeway.

Iskandar Malaysia (IM) is estimated to have 1.35 million people, or 43 per cent of Johor's population of 3.17 million. Some 66 per cent of the population is of working age.

A slew of high-end property projects have already hit the market to cater to the workforce and student populations that are expected to grow once IM reaches a tipping point. Investors also appear to be more confident now that much of the infrastructure and a number of catalytic projects are in place.

Demand from foreign investors from Singapore, mainland China and Japan has been robust since the last couple of years. IM encompasses a land area of 2,217 sq km, about thrice the size of Singapore. It consists of five flagship zones - Johor Baru city, Nusajaya, Western Gate Development, Eastern Gate Development and Senai-Skudai. Each has a specific development master plan. They are carefully calibrated to achieve the long-term vision for Iskandar, which is to be "a strong and sustainable metropolis of international standing".

In the past decade, property prices in Johor have not been able to keep up with other Malaysian cities like Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The main reason is that Johor was perceived as a local's market which international investors paid little attention to.

In the last two years, development ramped up sharply, and The Financial Times newspaper reported that it attracted about US$35 billion in cumulative investments as of November 2012.

Perceivable improvements to IM have also injected confidence into Johor real estate. Johoreans and investors from other parts of Malaysia are now drawn to IM by the prospects of capital appreciation and a reasonable income return.

One key project is EduCity, a spacious campus housing some leading schools and tertiary institutions, including Singapore's Raffles University Iskandar, Newcastle, Reading and Southampton universities and Marlborough College. Johor Premium Outlets, which features more than 80 brands such as Armani, Coach, Nike, Ralph Lauren, Swiss Watch Gallery and Tommy Hilfiger opened its doors in Kulaijaya in 2011.

Legoland Malaysia, the first of its kind in Asia, opened last September. These attractions have since become a magnet for regional tourists. Kota Iskandar and the Puteri Harbour waterfront development are also undergoing massive transformation and will eventually emerge as vibrant and dynamic destinations for work, live and play.

Rising Chinese interest

Mainland Chinese investors have recently emerged as a new force in IM. In the past, the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme attracted few applicants from China because Malaysia was not a popular destination for emigration. Even among those who apply to stay, most of them favoured Kuala Lumpur over other cities.

In the past, many would have chosen the United States, Australia, Canada and Singapore as their top choices for emigration, but some of these countries have since tightened their immigration rules and the entry requirements have become more stringent. It benefited countries like Malaysia where there is still a sizeable local Chinese community that shares a similar language and culture with China. The number of mainland Chinese applying for MM2H has soared to the top of the list.

Meanwhile, the country's bilateral relations with China have also reached an unprecedented level after the first Malaysia-China industrial park was launched in February 2013. Hong Kong-listed Chinese developer Country Garden has geared up to build a RM18 billion (S$7.2 billion) integrated waterfront development in Danga Bay after its maiden township projects in Kajang and Rawang Malaysia.

China-based developer Zhuoda Real Estate Group has also tied up with Iskandar Investment Bhd to develop mixed residential and commercial projects in Medini International. The gross development value of the project is estimated at RM2.5 billion. Chinese investors who are on the lookout for capital appreciation will soon be able to have a slice of this growing investment pie.

In the past, many Singaporeans were not keen to buy homes in Johor Baru because of a perceived high crime rate. Investors mainly focused on Kuala Lumpur and Penang as they were considered safer bets.

However, as prices in these traditional hotspots soared to new highs, the lure of living larger for less has drawn more Singaporeans to Johor.

Iskandar Malaysia seems to have changed the way people look at Johor. Located just 20 minutes from the Tuas checkpoint, many up-and-coming housing estates there have drawn investors with their premium quality and effective security systems. Coupled with lower cost of living and ease of access, more Singaporeans have started to explore the possibilities of retiring in Johor. The investment properties they purchased in Johor today may well be their ideal retirement homes for tomorrow.

In addition, the latest moves by the Singapore government to curb buoyant prices with measures that affect all residential properties have also fuelled demand for IM projects. Mortgage financing for Iskandar homes at both the local and Malaysian banks are also made available to Singaporeans.

On the business front, the Iskandar region has also stood out from countries like China, Myanmar and Vietnam as one of the top business locations due to its close proximity to Singapore.

A growing number of Singaporean companies have relocated or expanded in Malaysia in recent years due to improved accessibility and low business cost. Companies are much more comfortable investing in IM now as the investment landscape has changed dramatically. Temasek Holdings, CapitaLand and Ascendas have also invested heavily in Iskandar. More international players will certainly follow suit in future.

Ease of travel

A new high-speed rail train between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to be built by 2020 will take just 90 minutes to travel between the two cities, while progress has also been reported on the rapid transit link between Johor and Woodlands. There is definitely a lot more to look forward to just across the Causeway.

Investors should do their homework before venturing into property investment. Malaysia has a different set of legal framework and taxation structure. Effective from Sept 1, 2012, gains from the disposal of residential and commercial properties are taxed between zero and 15 per cent, depending on the holding period of real properties. The real property gains tax is 15 per cent if the property is bought and sold within two years. Buyers also need to take note of the additional costs such as state consent fee and loan legal fee for property investment.

Like all other investments, buying a property in IM is also not risk-free. How the IM real estate market fares in the long run will also depend on the health of its rental market, quality of the estate management and investment outlook for the region. It would thus be wise for buyers to beware of the risks and manage them with some flexibility.

In conclusion, Iskandar Malaysia yields some potentially profitable opportunities given the latest developments. The market has caught the attention of some local and overseas investors and is certainly one to watch in the near term.

The writers are from the International Projects Department at OrangeTee.com Pte Ltd.
 

FHBH12

Alfrescian
Loyal
Drumming up news on Iskandar to get more investors for Temasek projects that are launching in the next few months.
 

Valdez

Alfrescian
Loyal
Fancy running into 007 in Johor?

IMAGINE James Bond himself tearing down the Coastal Highway in Johor as he chases evil villains in his trademark Aston Martin convertible.

This might sound far-fetched to some, but it's a situation that could well one day be a reality. After all, Pinewood Shepperton, the British film production company behind the wildly popular James Bond franchise, is just weeks away from opening the doors to its new state-of-the-art production facility in the heart of the Iskandar Malaysia region.

It was back in December 2009 when Pinewood made headlines after announcing that it would pump in RM400 million (S$160 million) to set up shop on a vast 20-hectare site in Nusajaya, giving international film and television producers access to the largest independent integrated studio facility in South-east Asia.

Called Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios (Pims), this project - set to open in May - was born following a landmark strategic agreement between the Malaysian government's investment holding arm Khazanah Nasional and Pinewood Shepperton. Khazanah's wholly owned unit, Beserah Venture, is involved in the project.

Iskandar officials are hopeful that the fact that Pims is based in Johor would draw attention to the state's potential as a creative hub and eventually become Malaysia's movie capital and the Hollywood of South-east Asia. The studio is expected to generate an economic profit of RM1 billion over a period of eight years. Pims is being positioned as the catalytic project of Iskandar Malaysia's "Creative" cluster.

Pims chief executive officer Michael Lake told reporters at a briefing in January that the facility was expected to attract international production projects with a total budget of RM3.8 billion by 2020. About half that amount would be spent in the local economy, including local wages, he said.

Spending

The budget includes the hiring of thousands of full-time and freelance workers, the use of studio space, film production equipment, logistics, food and beverages, lodging and the purchasing of construction and office supplies.

Mr Lake is an Australian film industry veteran who joined Pinewood Iskandar back in December 2010. He was previously president of Warner Roadshow Studios in Australia for 17 years. He was also the former president of WWE Films Inc in the United States.

When ready, Pims will offer five stages ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 sq ft, and two high-definition TV studios with a total seating capacity of 1,400. There will also be production offices, hair, make-up and wardrobe facilities and construction workshops. Several post-production suites are scheduled to open under the second phase of the development in September. Directly adjacent to Pims is Media @ Medini, a creative mixed-use development that will house businesses that support and add value to television and film production.

For Pims, one of the main attractions of Malaysia is its natural attractions such as tropical rainforests, beaches and mountains, which offer very different types of film locations from what is currently available at Pinewood's other studios in the United Kingdom, Canada, Dominican Republic and Germany.

Pims also hopes that its expansion into Malaysia - its first studio in Asia - will help boost its brand name in this part of the world and allow it to tap new opportunities in a new and growing market.

Pinewood has nearly 80 years of filming history and has been involved in over 1,500 productions including international blockbusters such as the aforementioned James Bond film franchise, the Harry Potter series, Batman Begins and The Da Vinci Code.

Pims is expected to do much more than simply raise the standards of Malaysia's film industry. It is projected that the studio would have created over 10,000 jobs by 2020. There will also be a spike in demand for complementary service providers including creative designers, costume makers, audio professionals and stylists.

Creating jobs

Besides providing employment to the local economy, Pims and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority - the federal statutory body responsible for realising the vision and objectives of Iskandar Malaysia - will work together to train new talent under a creative industry talent development programme. This programme, which begins this month, is an intensive 8-12-week course and will train people in areas such as wardrobe, hair, make-up, production accounting and set construction.

The plan is to train up to 1,500 people by the end of the year, with this number set to grow as more productions come to Iskandar Malaysia in the coming years.

"Johor is going to be the real beneficiary economically of what we're doing here," said Mr Lake in a Bernama report last September. "This is not just about building the facilities in the hope that people will come, it's about building a big creative industry in Malaysia."

On its part, Malaysia has been going all-out to promote the country as a choice location for film-making. The government has a new Film in Malaysia Incentive, which is a 30 per cent cash rebate for certain expenditures - including set production, and food and beverage costs - incurred while filming in Malaysia.

The criteria is a minimum production expenditure of RM2.5 million for domestic film productions, and RM5 million for foreign ones. For TV series, the minimum expenditures are RM193,000 per hour for domestic and RM385,000 per hour for foreign.

According to Malaysia's National Film Development Corporation's website, the number of local feature films in Malaysia increased 55 per cent to 76 in 2012. Malaysia's film industry is valued at some RM450 million a year, but with more foreign participation expected to pour in, the government is aiming to grow this sector by 20 per cent annually over the next decade.

About 130-150 foreign productions come to Malaysia every year from Europe, the United States and across Asia including Singapore, South Korea and India. They shoot everything from films to TV series and documentaries.

Some films made at Pinewood include:

Alien 3 (1992)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
The Wolfman (2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (2011)
 

tigerbear

Alfrescian
Loyal
Fancy running into 007 in Johor?

IMAGINE James Bond himself tearing down the Coastal Highway in Johor as he chases evil villains in his trademark Aston Martin convertible.

This might sound far-fetched to some, but it's a situation that could well one day be a reality. After all, Pinewood Shepperton, the British film production company behind the wildly popular James Bond franchise, is just weeks away from opening the doors to its new state-of-the-art production facility in the heart of the Iskandar Malaysia region.

It was back in December 2009 when Pinewood made headlines after announcing that it would pump in RM400 million (S$160 million) to set up shop on a vast 20-hectare site in Nusajaya, giving international film and television producers access to the largest independent integrated studio facility in South-east Asia.

Called Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios (Pims), this project - set to open in May - was born following a landmark strategic agreement between the Malaysian government's investment holding arm Khazanah Nasional and Pinewood Shepperton. Khazanah's wholly owned unit, Beserah Venture, is involved in the project.

Iskandar officials are hopeful that the fact that Pims is based in Johor would draw attention to the state's potential as a creative hub and eventually become Malaysia's movie capital and the Hollywood of South-east Asia. The studio is expected to generate an economic profit of RM1 billion over a period of eight years. Pims is being positioned as the catalytic project of Iskandar Malaysia's "Creative" cluster.

Pims chief executive officer Michael Lake told reporters at a briefing in January that the facility was expected to attract international production projects with a total budget of RM3.8 billion by 2020. About half that amount would be spent in the local economy, including local wages, he said.

Spending

The budget includes the hiring of thousands of full-time and freelance workers, the use of studio space, film production equipment, logistics, food and beverages, lodging and the purchasing of construction and office supplies.

Mr Lake is an Australian film industry veteran who joined Pinewood Iskandar back in December 2010. He was previously president of Warner Roadshow Studios in Australia for 17 years. He was also the former president of WWE Films Inc in the United States.

When ready, Pims will offer five stages ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 sq ft, and two high-definition TV studios with a total seating capacity of 1,400. There will also be production offices, hair, make-up and wardrobe facilities and construction workshops. Several post-production suites are scheduled to open under the second phase of the development in September. Directly adjacent to Pims is Media @ Medini, a creative mixed-use development that will house businesses that support and add value to television and film production.

For Pims, one of the main attractions of Malaysia is its natural attractions such as tropical rainforests, beaches and mountains, which offer very different types of film locations from what is currently available at Pinewood's other studios in the United Kingdom, Canada, Dominican Republic and Germany.

Pims also hopes that its expansion into Malaysia - its first studio in Asia - will help boost its brand name in this part of the world and allow it to tap new opportunities in a new and growing market.

Pinewood has nearly 80 years of filming history and has been involved in over 1,500 productions including international blockbusters such as the aforementioned James Bond film franchise, the Harry Potter series, Batman Begins and The Da Vinci Code.

Pims is expected to do much more than simply raise the standards of Malaysia's film industry. It is projected that the studio would have created over 10,000 jobs by 2020. There will also be a spike in demand for complementary service providers including creative designers, costume makers, audio professionals and stylists.

Creating jobs

Besides providing employment to the local economy, Pims and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority - the federal statutory body responsible for realising the vision and objectives of Iskandar Malaysia - will work together to train new talent under a creative industry talent development programme. This programme, which begins this month, is an intensive 8-12-week course and will train people in areas such as wardrobe, hair, make-up, production accounting and set construction.

The plan is to train up to 1,500 people by the end of the year, with this number set to grow as more productions come to Iskandar Malaysia in the coming years.

"Johor is going to be the real beneficiary economically of what we're doing here," said Mr Lake in a Bernama report last September. "This is not just about building the facilities in the hope that people will come, it's about building a big creative industry in Malaysia."

On its part, Malaysia has been going all-out to promote the country as a choice location for film-making. The government has a new Film in Malaysia Incentive, which is a 30 per cent cash rebate for certain expenditures - including set production, and food and beverage costs - incurred while filming in Malaysia.

The criteria is a minimum production expenditure of RM2.5 million for domestic film productions, and RM5 million for foreign ones. For TV series, the minimum expenditures are RM193,000 per hour for domestic and RM385,000 per hour for foreign.

According to Malaysia's National Film Development Corporation's website, the number of local feature films in Malaysia increased 55 per cent to 76 in 2012. Malaysia's film industry is valued at some RM450 million a year, but with more foreign participation expected to pour in, the government is aiming to grow this sector by 20 per cent annually over the next decade.

About 130-150 foreign productions come to Malaysia every year from Europe, the United States and across Asia including Singapore, South Korea and India. They shoot everything from films to TV series and documentaries.

Some films made at Pinewood include:

Alien 3 (1992)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
The Wolfman (2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (2011)


They are so many news about Iskandar via Media, newspaper , equities research reports and etc etc almost every week non stop.... It's really getting super hot! The second wave of buying interest!
 

whoami

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
They are so many news about Iskandar via Media, newspaper , equities research reports and etc etc almost every week non stop.... It's really getting super hot! The second wave of buying interest!

Wat we read...and wat we see piling after piling...project after project...are juz tip of the iceberg.

Super wave aka datang......:smile: :smile:
 

pockaroo

Alfrescian
Loyal
IMO, the way I see it is not a matter of "if". It is more a matter of when. Things are generally getting more expensive in JB now compared to 2 years ago. Food price inflation accounts for part of it.

Parts of JB is definitely more crowded now and likely to stay that way. However won't have to worry about over-crowding and that is a good thing.
 

FHBH12

Alfrescian
Loyal
IMO, the way I see it is not a matter of "if". It is more a matter of when. Things are generally getting more expensive in JB now compared to 2 years ago. Food price inflation accounts for part of it.

Parts of JB is definitely more crowded now and likely to stay that way. However won't have to worry about over-crowding and that is a good thing.

I usually avoid Aeon now as I can't find parking easily nowadays. Not to mention the queue of car at the traffic junction waiting to turn in. Even the Giant that was fairly empty last year became challenging to find parking.
 

terencetan1981

Alfrescian
Loyal
I usually avoid Aeon now as I can't find parking easily nowadays. Not to mention the queue of car at the traffic junction waiting to turn in. Even the Giant that was fairly empty last year became challenging to find parking.

Tell me about the stupid taxi driver that parks at the bus stop and no authority does nothing about it.
 

potter

Alfrescian
Loyal
I usually avoid Aeon now as I can't find parking easily nowadays. Not to mention the queue of car at the traffic junction waiting to turn in. Even the Giant that was fairly empty last year became challenging to find parking.

tot u said BI gd..? titter.gif
 

FHBH12

Alfrescian
Loyal
Too good n convenient. Now everyone swarms in. Def not a place for retirement anymore going by e rate prices r going up.
 

1nottiboy

Alfrescian
Loyal
Too good n convenient. Now everyone swarms in. Def not a place for retirement anymore going by e rate prices r going up.

Night Club KTVs are missing. once they appear in BI, my retirement plans would be complete. Pls bring on the china girls!!!
 
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